footballworld

Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard launched the FA Skills programme in July aiming to get more 5-11 year olds improving their technical ability. Sixty-six coaches will be going into schools to help players of all abilities and as Lampard explains, the methods he learned as a youngster have stayed with him throughout his career.At Chelsea I practise after training because I was given that advice when I was very young: train and work on your skills after everyone else has gone home, work on your weaknesses where you can. That lesson has become part of me.Instead of thinking 'I've had enough now', or 'I can't do it', or 'I can't hit it with my left foot', to try and do more on your own is a great thing to make you into a player. I do lots of shooting, passing and sometimes fitness work if we haven't played games. I'll basically work on anything I feel is relevant at the time. If something is letting me down I'll work hard on that and hopefully the improvement will show in the following weeks.

I know first-hand that dealing with someone with a great technical ability can help you. Gianfranco Zola had probably the best technique I've seen in a footballer I've played with and he was always willing to help others. Zola was a massive influence on me because he arrived when he was 35 and I was amazed how someone at that age could still have that hunger to improve and to take me with him and say 'come on let's do it together'. He was the most talented player I played with. He used to work on shooting with his left foot so he was as comfortable with it as he was shooting with his right. These are basic things but it shows you that players at the top of the game are still doing them.

Football has always been the biggest thing in my life so at any moment after school or during my lunch break I would be training or just playing with my mates as much as I could.Undoubtedly there are more skilful players than me, players like Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney, Gianfranca Zola - they're the more technical players. I like to put myself somewhere in between - a bit of skill and a lot of hard work as well. But what is important is that you make the best out of yourself. There will be players who might not be technically fantastic, but they work as hard as they can at their game and they get themselves to a good level. You have to be very strong. A lot of football is about confidence and believing in yourself.

There is no player who plays at the top level for a long time who doesn't have a period where they come in for criticism or stick - it comes with the territory. So you have to believe in yourself in the bad times and try and come through it - that's a good lesson for anyone I think.

Wayne Rooney's spectacular late winner put Manchester United's Premier League title assault back on course and left Manchester City devastated at Old Trafford.David Silva's deflected equaliser put Roberto Mancini's side in sight of a point after Nani's first-half goal gave United a slender advantage in a tight and tense encounter. It was Rooney, however, who produced a moment of inspiration to score a stunning overhead kick that will live forever in the memory of United's fans and extended City's dismal sequence of only one league win in their last 27 visits to Old Trafford. Silva's fortunate leveller, unwittingly deflecting in substitute Edin Dzeko's shot via his back, had given City momentum but they were stopped in their tracks in the most dramatic fashion with only 12 minutes left.Nani's cross from the right flank was high and behind Rooney as he lurked near the penalty spot, but he elevated an indifferent personal display to the heights by readjusting his position and sending an acrobatic, unstoppable overhead kick high past startled City keeper Joe Hart.

The quality of the goal was worthy of winning any game and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may even look back on it as a strike that won the title after they bounced back from their first Premier League defeat of the season at Wolves last Saturday. Rooney, superbly shackled by City defender Vincent Kompany for so long as Ferguson surprisingly left Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, had previously cut a forlorn and frustrated figure but his natural instincts continue to serve him and United so well.And if his love affair with Old Trafford was strained by the saga of his demand to leave earlier this season, the bond was rekindled as United claimed a vital victory.

It enabled them to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points at the final whistle - and also inflicted a serious blow to City's own lingering hopes of mounting a challenge as they now stand eight points behind United having played a game more. City were left to regret failing to make the most of some early supremacy when Silva squandered the perfect opportunity to strike a crucial blow early on in the second minute. United boss Ferguson entrusted Rooney with a lone attacking role - and in the opening stages it was City who made all the running and should have taken the lead in the opening moments. Silva, a significant influence as City dominated, exchanged passes with Carlos Tevez inside the area and was left with only Edwin van der Sar to beat. The angle was acute but the gifted Spaniard was wasteful as he rolled a tame finish across the face of goal and inches wide.The hulking figure of Yaya Toure also cast a giant shadow over United's midfield as they struggled to assert any authority and he was frustrated when referee Andre Marriner ignored his penalty appeals when his cross struck Chris Smalling. As United finally started to pose a threat, Darren Fletcher headed straight at City keeper Hart from Ryan Giggs' cross - and the seemingly ageless Old Trafford veteran was instrumental when they took the lead four minutes before the interval.

Rooney challenged for Van der Sar's clearance and Giggs pounced to deliver an inviting pass for Nani, who escape the attentions of Pablo Zabaleta to slide a composed finish past Hart. City boss Mancini, who watched his team fail to capitalise on so much early possession, made a change early in the second half when he replaced Aleksandar Kolarov with Shaun Wright-Phillips.And in an attempt to actually call Van der Sar into serious action, something City had failed to do, he then introduced Dzeko for James Milner.

The impact was exactly what City required as both substitutes were involved when they drew level after 65 minutes. Wright-Phillips' cross fell to Dzeko and his effort took a vital touch of Silva's back to wrong-foot Van der Sar. Ferguson immediately introduced Berbatov for Anderson, but it was that moment of brilliance from Rooney that put them back in front and visibly deflated City. City were stunned at being struck by such a blow and their threat fizzled out as Old Trafford buzzed with excitement at what had unfolded. United survived in comfort to close out a crucial victory.