Frank Lampard criticises 'pig-headed' men who won't help at home

Football may still be known for being a bloke-y sport, but Frank Lampard has made big statements about women's rights that could help change the reputation of the game

The Manchester City player told the Sunday Times this weekend: "One of the best things in life is that bedtime reading thing when you are interacting with your child and picking them up on the school run."

Lampard, who has two daughters, Luna and Isla, with his ex partner Elen Rivas, tries to spend 20 minutes every weekday evening reading with them, then gives them 10 minutes of reading on their own.

"It applies to footballers, too. A lot of players I know with young kids are involved in reading bedtime stories with them or getting up in the night and doing feeds.

"It's a pig-headed, old-fashioned view to say mums should do all the work at home. Dads are eager to shoulder some too. We have all moved on a little bit."

Lampard published children's book Frankie's Magic Football in 2013 and wants to write a follow-up that emphasises the importance of women and girls in the sport with a female protagonist. He says it will mirror the "rise of the women's game, and the rise of women and their place in the world." However, Lampard's not alone in his literary career - Theo Walcott has also released a series of kids' books.

Lampard has taken to using interviews to endorse women playing the game, and this one was no exception.

"In the football world, it was a man's game for years," he said. "When I started playing [in 1997] it was looked at as a bad thing - a waste of time - by men in the game. Now women's football commands a huge amount of respect."

It was recently rumoured that Lampard was lined up to be the Conservative Party's replacement for disgraced MP Malcolm Rifkind. However, his spokesperson told The Independent this was not true.