Frank Lampard is still bitter about the way he was treated by the fans at West Ham.
Frank Lampard has hit out at former club West Ham, and revealed that he is still bitter about the way he was treated by the fans at Upton Park.The England midfielder believes that he was an unpopular figure on the terraces because the fans thought he was only in the squad due to his family connections.
"Being Frank Lampard's son brought with it different rules to those which apply to every other player," he explains in his autobiography, serialised in The Sun.
"A section of the support believed I wasn't good enough for the starting line-up so I was put on the bench as some kind of favour.
"And they let me know this every time I moved to do a warm-up."
Lampard, also the nephew of manager at the time Harry Redknapp, was also disgusted that chairman Terence Brown even entertained the idea of nepotism.
"I felt suspicious about the people running the club and from that moment I'd never trust them again."
The worst moment of Lampard's West Ham career came when he broke his leg as an 18-year-old, and heard some cheers from his own supporters.
The abuse was so bad that he admits he did consider giving up on football altogether.
"I have tried not to think too much about what happened on March 15, 1997, but it's hard not to," he reflected.
"We were away at Aston Villa when I went to challenge for a ball and caught my studs in the turf. Pain shot through my leg and I knew straight away it was broken.
"As I was being carried off around the visitors' end at Villa Park I recall cheering and some applause. It made me feel sick to the stomach.
"It got to the stage when I thought about jacking in football altogether. I would rather work nine to five with my mates than take abuse from 30,000 people every other week."
Lampard has carved out a hugely successful career since switching to Chelsea in 2001, but his relationship with West Ham has still not picked up.
"Now I have won The Premiership with Chelsea and was runner-up to Ronaldinho as World Player of the Year it has become harder for the critics to handle," he said.
"I remember when Joe Cole first came to Chelsea he would turn away in disappointment if West Ham lost. I would smile.
"That's how deeply I felt. I wanted West Ham to lose. Now I don't even look for their results."
