On Sunday night, Frank Lampard delivered a heartfelt acknowledgment to his wife, a renowned TV presenter, after successfully leading Coventry City back to the Premier League after a quarter-century absence.

The ex-Chelsea and England star has steered the once-struggling Midlands team, which faced numerous demotions and financial crises since their Premier League exit in 2001, back to the pinnacle of English football.

When questioned about the role of family life, the typically private Lampard, now 47, expressed gratitude to his wife, a familiar face on Loose Women and Lorraine, as he accepted the Manager of the Year honor at the prestigious EFL Awards.

“I’m fortunate to have achieved a balance in my life, which is crucial for us. I can return home to a supportive wife who provides everything I need,” Lampard remarked to those gathered at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, with his wife listening on with a smile.

“She is my best friend,” he continued. “I’m serious; I’m fortunate she has her own career and understands the demands of this job. Every manager here will agree that having support is vital because this role is extremely demanding.”

“At work, you’re engulfed in a bubble with countless challenges, striving for excellence, and having that balance at home is essential,” he concluded.

Frank Lampard paid an emotional tribute to his TV presenter wife on Sunday evening after guiding Coventry City back to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years

After taking over the floundering club in November 2024, Lampard has overseen an extraordinary transformation, culminating in the moment they sealed promotion to the Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Blackburn on Friday.

While he was visibly emotional as the final whistle blew, Christine also shared her husband’s delight by reposting a clip of him celebrating with Coventry’s long-suffering fans on Instagram.  

During his post-match interview, Lampard fought back tears while reflecting on Coventry City’s journey back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence.

He told Sky Sports: ‘It’s amazing. The fanbase, what they’ve gone through, the disappointments, the moments.

‘To get a promotion with a non-parachute club, to see the boys there, it makes me emotional. They’re so great to work with. They deserve every moment of celebrating.

‘I’m proud. I’m proud of myself and the staff. We went into a bit of an unknown. We’ve fallen in love with the players and the fanbase, how they reacted. It’s right up there with what I’ve achieved – and I’ve won Champions Leagues with Chelsea.

‘But here we’re overachieving. Automatic promotion wasn’t in our plan.’

Lampard, who lives in a £10million mansion in London with wife Christine said his players would celebrate before going for the Championship title.

‘When I looked at Coventry I saw a club Mark [Robins] had done fantastic work with and I looked at the squad and thought there were players there we could work with,’ he said.

‘The resilience to come back after losing in the play-offs… We spoke in the summer about what we could do this season and whether we could finish third or fourth to get a home play-off in the second game which we didn’t do last year.

‘It’s such a good feeling that the boys have managed to get it over the line.’

After taking over the floundering club in 2024, Lampard has overseen an extraordinary transformation, culminating in the moment they sealed promotion to the Premier League 

Instagram followers praised the footballer following his tribute to Christine, during which he called the TV presenter his ‘best friend’ 

Long-suffering Coventry City fans celebrate following their club’s promotion on Friday 

He added: ‘Everything I’ve ever done has been a bit of a point to prove. I’m lucky I have that ingrained.

‘I had my moments and I think the trick of being a manager is you’ve got to walk out with a calm demeanour as a manager but it’s easier when you trust the players.

‘I’ve got players like Jake Bidwell and Jamie Allen who haven’t played every week but they’ve been the biggest voices in the dressing room.

‘The players can have a couple of beers on the way home but they’ve got to get the job done now.

‘I let them have a bit of a party after the Sheffield Wednesday game on Saturday because it was basically done then but I had the hump with them on Tuesday and Wednesday when they didn’t train well.

‘We want to go and get it done now. If we play how we have done the rest of the season we will be fine. We want to sustain it now.’