![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_GettyImages-2211298085.jpg\")
Frank Lampard’s Coventry are in the play-off race(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nEXCLUSIVE: Frank Lampard has turned Coventry City’s fortunes around since becoming their manager – helping them move from a relegation-threatened position to a Championship play-off contender<\/p>\n
13:00, 03 May 2025Updated 13:24, 03 May 2025<\/p>\n
Frank Lampard’s Coventry are in the play-off race(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A legend on the football pitch, Coventry manager Frank Lampard says winning at marriage is a completely different ball game. Former Chelsea<\/a> and England midfielder-turned Coventry manager, Frank will celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary to TV presenter Christine later this year.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview, he reveals: \u201cWhat keeps me and Christine going is we\u2019re there to support each other and we make each other laugh. We have a similar sense of humour. Christine\u2019s quite sharp and we\u2019re normally thinking the same thing, so the same situations make us laugh – I think laughing together is important for a happy marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank met the then Christine Bleakley at The Daily Mirror<\/a>\u2019s Pride of Britain Awards in London back in October 2009. But she thought he was pulling her leg when he told her he was a fan of The One Show, which she then presented with Adrian Chiles and she gave him a lighthearted brush off.<\/p>\n Persistent, he got her number and called as she was travelling home. She said afterwards: \u201cI said \u2018Wow, you\u2019re keen!\u2019 as a bit of a joke and we chatted. He said he enjoyed meeting me and would like to stay in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n Fast forward 16 years and they are happily married, sharing two children – Patricia, 6, and Freddie, 4 – while Frank also has teenagers Luna, 19, and Isla, 17, from a previous relationship with Spanish model Elen Rivas.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Championship final day permutations as THIRTEEN clubs set to learn fate<\/a>READ MORE: Mirror Football’s Championship predicts, title winners, play-off spots and relegation on final day<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHaving two young children does bring responsibilities and Christine has her own successful career, as well as pretty much being a full-time mum,\u201d Frank adds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to find the right work-life balance and support each other and it helps that we understand each other\u2019s lives, as both our jobs are pretty intense and scrutinised. But I’d be lying if I didn\u2019t say Christine takes more responsibility for our children, she\u2019s a fantastic mum.\u201d<\/p>\n Both aged 46, a shared love of football is also a big factor in their relationship. Christine co-hosts the Not Just Football<\/a> podcast, where she discusses football and other subjects with TV sports presenters Hayley McQueen and Kelly Cates.<\/p>\n Frank continues: \u201cI do have a pretty good work-life balance at Coventry, but at the same time I sometimes have to be away from home and Christine takes the brunt of the parenting. We enjoy being parents together but it\u2019s important to have time together, too.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got married in December 2015 – it was beautiful and we had a fantastic Christmas<\/a>, but our 10th anniversary coming up is one of the busiest times of the year for us. So we haven\u2019t any big plans yet, maybe we\u2019ll put it on hold and celebrate later with a trip somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Work is also an important part of life for Frank, who became one of the greatest attacking midfielders of his generation, playing for West Ham<\/a>, Chelsea, Manchester City<\/a> and debuting for England in 1999.<\/p>\n Frank – who is currently promoting the British Heart Foundation, Sky and EFL\u2019s Every Minute Matters campaign to encourage people to learn CPR using a 15 minute online course available using the BHF\u2019s RevivR tool<\/a> – played for the England team in 2006, 2010 and 2016, scoring 29 goals.<\/p>\n Still Chelsea\u2019s highest goal scorer of all time, despite hanging up his football boots in 2017, the campaign is very important to him.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because I\u2019m getting older, but you hear stories of people having a cardiac arrest more and more often,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve also got family members who have had heart issues so this campaign is important to me. But what shocks me even more is when I hear of younger footballers who have had cardiac arrests. It only takes 15 minutes to learn CPR and you could save someone\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank, who while playing for Chelsea won a host of honours, including the Premier League<\/a> and the Champions League<\/a> and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for his services to football, has turned Coventry’s fortunes around since becoming their manager – helping them move from a relegation-threatened position to a play-off contender.<\/p>\n And the highly ambitious sportsman has hinted he would certainly consider a shot at being England manager. \u201cI\u2019ve come to Coventry and I\u2019m really enjoying my work,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving had the different experiences as a manager – Champions League experience, Premier League experience and a relegation battle with Everton<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now I\u2019m back here and I want to lay down some good work, if I can, to improve the squad then we can come back again next year. Then I\u2019ll consider those kinds of options. I\u2019m a proud Englishman but right now my focus is on Coventry and doing my job as well as I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n Of his success as manager, he says, modestly: \u201cThere\u2019s no absolute genius on my part – I had an experience of trying to make a quick impact when I joined Everton mid-season and was trying to get quick results but every job, squad and individual is different.<\/p>\n \u201cI try to breathe confidence and good energy into the team, deliver clear simple messages on the training pitch and build on that. I walked into a very good dressing room in terms of environment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve got a really good team who want to do well for the club and we\u2019re in a position where the last game of the season we can try and make the playoffs which we never expected but now it\u2019s a reality and we want more.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very different when you\u2019re a manager – the responsibility is much greater – you have to try and work with the whole squad. You have a responsibility from the football club to lead and manage people on and off the pitch. You have to learn new things as quickly as you can when you step from being a player to a manager.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to try and improve all the time as there are lots of challenges and problems that you have to solve. And you have to stay levelheaded during good and bad times – it is more responsibility – but I also feel like I get more pleasure when things go well.\u201d<\/p>\n Join our new WhatsApp community<\/a> and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Sky Sports’ discounted Premier League and EFL package<\/p>\n This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> \u00a343<\/p>\n \u00a335<\/p>\n Sky<\/p>\n![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/3_soccer-england-11.jpg\")
Frank Lampard (right) during his England playing days(Image: PA)<\/p>\n![\"Lampard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_Football-Chelsea-v-Huddersfield-Town-FA-Cup-Fifth-Round-Stamford-Bridge-16208.jpg\")
Lampard is a Chelsea legend(Image: AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Lampard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1_GettyImages-2046007047.jpg\")
Lampard has with his wife Christine(Image: Jeff Spicer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Content](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1745298978_502_0_Sky-Factbox.jpg\")
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