Lampard flagged up father's joy

Frank Lampard's corner-flag goal celebration will have struck a chord with the West Ham fans who boo him so enthusiastically: it was in honour of his father's most famous goal for the Upton Park club.

Frank Lampard senior scored the winner against Everton in the FA Cup semi-final replay in 1980 at Elland Road and, socks down in the all-white away strip of the Hammers, he celebrated by running around the corner flag.

His son said: "It was just for my dad. My dad scored against Everton many years ago and he ran round the corner flag, albeit in a semi-final. It was the proudest moment in his career and so it was just a little thing for my dad."

In his autobiograpy, Lampard cited his father, who was well known as an ardent self-improver in his own playing career, for pushing him on. As a young player Lampard senior bought himself a pair of running spikes and did short sprints on his own every day to improve his speed and power, a drill the passed on to his son. "He was ahead of the game," Lampard wrote. "He had a vision of how football was going ... he told me I had to increase my pace and strength."