FRANK LAMPARD dedicated his FA Cup winner’s medal to his parents yesterday. His customary point to the sky acknowledged his mother Pat, who died just over a year ago, while his celebration mimicked his father, Frank Sr, who scored the winner — also against Everton — for West Ham in the FA Cup semi-final replay of 1980.

“I hadn’t planned the celebration,” he explained. “It came to me in the first half. My dad had gone to the corner flag, admittedly at about one mile an hour, and so that’s what I did. He was well chuffed.”

After being shackled by Phil Neville for much of the game, Lampard’s goal was the mark of a world-class player, one who can turn a game with a drop of the shoulder, as he did when finally getting the best of Neville. “I thought about taking it on my right,” he explained, “but I managed to get the best of Phil for once and took it on my left.”

Man of the match Ashley Cole become the first player in over a century to win five FA Cup winners’ medals. “I’m so proud about both of the achievements,” he said. “I heard the PA say I was man of the match and I had a little smile. I’d been playing with an injury for the two seasons before this, but this year I feel like I’m back to as good as I was for Arsenal.”

Both players praised departing manager Guus Hiddink. “He’s become one of the lads,” explained Cole. “It was a blow when we knew he wasn’t staying.”

Lampard said: “He’s kept things simple. It’s been how he conducts himself on and off the field and training ground. He’s been fantastic, he’s a managerial genius. Winning the FA Cup is special and hopefully it’ll be a springboard, and next season we’ll be in a position to move on.”

Chelsea skipper John Terry also paid tribute to Hiddink and revealed: “We gave him an engraved watch and a shirt signed by all the lads. He was really touched.”

David Moyes, the Everton manager, insisted it was vital that his team had made it as difficult as possible for Hiddink to win a trophy after less than four months in charge at Chelsea. “It was important for the Premier League. You have to work very hard in the Premier League for everything,” he said.

“This is a strong country of football and I wanted to try to beat Guus Hiddink and I congratulate him because he is a good manager, but I wanted it to be much harder for him to come into this country and win a trophy. I’m very proud of the players. They weren’t out of place today.”

Neville was sanguine in defeat. “At 1-1 we were the better team and felt we were the ones who would go on to score, but after they got their second goal they looked like they might get a third. It’s the first major final I’ve lost and it hurts,” he admitted. “But this club has had a good season, which hopefully we can build on.”