The final question of the interview proved the most difficult for Frank Lampard.

“How would you most like to be remembered at the end of your playing career?”

A long pause. Eventually: “Wow, that’s a tough one to answer.”

Another silence. Then: “I’d like the hard-working bit in there. Maybe, yeah, that’s it — a hard-working, talented midfielder, who scored loads of goals. That’ll do.”

Not obviously one for self-promotion, Lampard could have added much, much more.

He could have pointed to his 177 Premier League goals, he could have itemised his 106 England caps or the golden title-filled years at Chelsea climaxed by captaining the team in the 2012 Champions League win over Bayern Munich in Germany.

Instead, he wants to be remembered as a football talent, who grafted.

I suspect this modest piece of self-analysis would also satisfy the man who has had most influence over Lampard’s blue-chip playing career — his father, Frank senior.

It was 18 years ago that Lampard, then establishing himself at West Ham, gave me his first interview and his dad was alongside his son ensuring he did not put a foot wrong.

“Dad’s help has changed a bit over the years and as I started winning things,” smiles Lampard. “He still knows how to rile me, though, he’ll still pick out the one negative from a great game!

#CFC’s best ever midfield player Frank Lampard combined the hard graft with bags of talent http://t.co/h8o2qmoR2D pic.twitter.com/hdeoibazLO — Standard Sport (@standardsport) June 2, 2015

“I’m being a bit flippant. In a football sense he has been by far my biggest influence while my mum set me up as a person, helped me deal with the broader picture.”

Lampard’s mother Pat, who died suddenly of pneumonia in 2008 aged 58, is never far away, though. “I still talk to my mum all the time at work, at home, everywhere,” he says.

Now, after almost two decades as a professional, Romford-born Lampard is off to pastures new with a move to New York City— and he cannot wait.

“It feels the right time to be leaving the Premier League,” says the midfielder, who celebrates his 37th birthday later this month. “I thought it would have been at the end of last season but I’ve had a nice swansong with Manchester City. This will be a big challenge — a different challenge. We all know what the Premier League is about here in England but now I’m going to a new country and a new club which is a test in itself.”

Family is all-important to Lampard and he wants to make the transition right for everyone. Fiancee Christine Bleakley, subject to her own work commitments as a TV presenter, will join him in New York while his daughters, Luna and Isla will fly over during school holidays.

“Since I’ve been separated I’ve had the kids for three days a week but now I’ll have them in blocks and without, hopefully, losing too much time with them overall,” says Lampard.

“I’ve enjoyed my time at City but I did get a bit frustrated from January to April because even though I wasn’t playing every game before then when I did get on the goals were flying in.

“I thought I’d have a bit more time to play when Yaya Toure was away playing in the Africa Cup of Nations for six weeks but, in reality, I didn’t expect that much when I signed really — I thought I’d be a squad player who would play a bit.

“I’m not stupid. I’m coming up to 37 so I didn’t expect to play every game. To be honest, even at Chelsea for the last few seasons, probably from Andre Villas-Boas onwards, I hadn’t played that regularly. It can be frustrating but you have to understand, it is what it is.

“I am quite a driven sort of bloke and I hate not playing but you have to accept the circumstances and just get on with it.”

Considering Lampard holds the record for the most consecutive Premier League appearances by an outfield player — a run of 164 games which was only ended in 2005 by a virus — it is no surprise he is a little restless when out of the action.

A decade before setting that record, Lampard’s career began at West Ham under the tutelage of his father and manager Harry Redknapp.

“I have to credit my dad and Harry a lot for what I learned at West Ham,” he says. “I learned the basics well and because of dad, I took that home with me as well as the lessons on the training pitch.

“These days, we probably over-complicate it a bit but there are certain basics you need to teach young kids who want to be footballers and those lessons stay for ever.

“I was also loaned out to Swansea which matured me no end. I still remember taking the call from Harry. I was at my mum and dad’s house and he said I want you to go to Swansea on loan. I hardly knew where it was, who was the manager — what division they were in (it was League One).

“I had to drive there the next day. It wasn’t a case of asking me — I was told to get there. I had a good two months there, didn’t pull up trees but it was a massive character-building experience. It was a proper mans’ dressing‑room, we played long-ball, we were fighting for survival at the time. It made me realise a bit more what it took to become a player. It changed my whole perception.”

Frank Lampard: Career highlights 12 show all Frank Lampard: Career highlights 1/12 9 August 1997: Scores first West Ham goal, off the bench, in 2-1 victory at Barnsley 2/12 13 November 1997: Makes England under-21 debut versus Greece. He played for the team until June 2000 – scoring nine goals in 19 appearances Ross Kinnaird /Allsport/Getty Images 3/12 24 July 1999: Scores first European goal in the Intertoto Cup against Finnish side FC Jokerit Colorsport/REX 4/12 16 September 1999: Scores first UEFA Cup goal versus NK Osijek Phil Cole /Allsport/Getty Images 5/12 10 October 1999: First senior England cap in 2-1 friendly win over Belgium Laurence Griffiths /Allsport/Getty Images 6/12 14 June 2001: Joins Chelsea for £11 million – after 187 appearances and 39 goals for West Ham Ian Walton/ALLSPORT/Getty Images 7/12 20 August 2003: First senior England goal in 3-1 win over Croatia Jamie McDonald/Getty Images 8/12 28 November 2005: Wins Ballon d'Or Silver Award FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images 9/12 11 May 2013: Becomes Chelsea’s all-time record goalscorer with 203 goals – eventually ending his Blues career with 211. Michael Regan/Getty Images 10/12 10 September 2013: 100th England cap in World Cup qualifier versus Ukraine Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images 11/12 6 August 2014: Joins Manchester City as a free agent – going on to score eight times in 38 appearances Michael Regan/Getty Images 12/12 24 May 2015: Plays final Premier League game – after 609 appearances and 177 goals in England’s top flight – scoring in 2-0 victory over Southampton 1/12 9 August 1997: Scores first West Ham goal, off the bench, in 2-1 victory at Barnsley 2/12 13 November 1997: Makes England under-21 debut versus Greece. He played for the team until June 2000 – scoring nine goals in 19 appearances Ross Kinnaird /Allsport/Getty Images 3/12 24 July 1999: Scores first European goal in the Intertoto Cup against Finnish side FC Jokerit Colorsport/REX 4/12 16 September 1999: Scores first UEFA Cup goal versus NK Osijek Phil Cole /Allsport/Getty Images 5/12 10 October 1999: First senior England cap in 2-1 friendly win over Belgium Laurence Griffiths /Allsport/Getty Images 6/12 14 June 2001: Joins Chelsea for £11 million – after 187 appearances and 39 goals for West Ham Ian Walton/ALLSPORT/Getty Images 7/12 20 August 2003: First senior England goal in 3-1 win over Croatia Jamie McDonald/Getty Images 8/12 28 November 2005: Wins Ballon d'Or Silver Award FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images 9/12 11 May 2013: Becomes Chelsea’s all-time record goalscorer with 203 goals – eventually ending his Blues career with 211. Michael Regan/Getty Images 10/12 10 September 2013: 100th England cap in World Cup qualifier versus Ukraine Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images 11/12 6 August 2014: Joins Manchester City as a free agent – going on to score eight times in 38 appearances Michael Regan/Getty Images 12/12 24 May 2015: Plays final Premier League game – after 609 appearances and 177 goals in England’s top flight – scoring in 2-0 victory over Southampton

“The Chelsea team we had in 2005, when we first won the title, was special for me,” recalls the club’s record scorer with 211 goals. “We had Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Joe Cole — three wingers for two places — Didier Drogba and Eidur Gudjohnsen up front with Claude Makelele holding in midfield.

“That rivals any other Premier League team for me. We were a mixture of everything. It is a team which has sometimes been given a bad name outside the club, accused of being efficient and winning games 1-0. In reality we were bashing teams, Robben flying down one wing and Duff the other.

“We beat teams 4-0 but when we couldn’t do that, we still won 1-0 and that was the beauty of that team.

“We had finished second to Arsenal the year before but there was a feeling right through the club that we would win it in 2005. It was Jose Mourinho’s first year at Chelsea and he had brought a mindset with him.

“I don’t know how they compare with the Chelsea team who won the title this season but they were the best Chelsea team I played in. We also had a really good team under Carlo Ancelotti when we won the championship but we weren’t as consistent. That 2005 team was a bit of machine, possibly more so than the Chelsea team this year.”

A decade on, 34-year-old John Terry is still a rock in Chelsea’s defence.

“I’m not that shocked that John is still playing every week,” says Lampard. “I know Rafa Benitez didn’t think he could when he managed the team for a while but he was wrong – simple as that. There were some politics there though — and not on John’s part. I know John really well. He puts himself on the line, he looks after himself, trains hard and he’s not stupid, he eases back when he needs to. The manager respects him whereas, when Benitez was there, the club were a bit unstable generally and maybe John took the whack for that.

“I became a totally different player during my time at Chelsea. I arrived wet behind the ears, tried to get in the box and score as many goals as I could without getting involved in play.

“Starting with Claudio Ranieri and going right through, I was taught to become a more complete player. I learned myself too, how to improve. The best players never settle — they want to improve all the time.”

His last stop in English football, a one-season stay at City, has also enriched Lampard.

“It feels like I was there longer than I was,” he says. “It would be easy to say it was a bad move because City didn’t win the League but I don’t see it that way at all. My dad summed it up when the opportunity arose. He said, ‘you’re 36 son, they’re the champions of England, you’d be mad not to go for it’.”

Lampard also looks back at his long England career with some pride despite never getting beyond the quarter-finals on the international stage.

“At the time they were some of the lowest points in my career when we went out of big tournaments but looking back now I don’t see them like that,” says Lampard, who appeared in three World Cups. “As a kid you dream of playing for England but to go on and win 106 caps, I’m proud of that.”

Will he stay in the game when he finally retires? “I’m not someone who says they will miss the dressing-room banter. That’s not really me. I have a varied life and could get by without football if that’s the way it pans out. I’ll always keep my season ticket at Chelsea though and if they want me back in any capacity…”

Finally he has some advice for youngsters taking the first, faltering steps on the road he has trodden with such distinction. “If I was a father of a young player now I wouldn’t be telling him to go and sign for this club because they’re offering a few quid,” he says.

“That sets the tone for the boy. I would be telling him, ‘look son, you’re still a million miles away from where you want to be, even if you dip your toe in the first team’.

“I’d be saying, ‘be strong mentally, look after yourself, and don’t get involved in social media nonsense’. I don’t want to sound like a taskmaster because there’s a balance but I remember one of my and John Terry’s bugbears when I was at Chelsea was young players turning up for training in their flash cars and sitting in the Jacuzzi talking on their mobile phones.

“It might sound unimportant but I can assure them it makes a big difference.”

Good advice — and whatever you do, don’t forget to work hard.

It worked for Frank Lampard.