IT is hard to imagine it now, but when Frank Lampard was playing for a struggling West Ham, he was famously booed by the supporters of his own team.

Last week, a group of more discerning footballing figures gave their own verdict on how the midfielder is doing.

Along with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o, the coaches and captains of every national team voted Lampard onto the three-man shortlist for FIFA's World Player of the Year. It is hard to imagine a more fitting finale to the 12 months he has just experienced.

While Ronaldinho is expected to pip him to the award, it is to be hoped that Lampard has a sizeable mantlepiece anyway.

He is the current Barclays Player of the Month, tops the Premiership scoring charts and was recently named runner-up in the voting for European Player of the Year.

On Saturday, the kick-off to Chelsea's game against Middlesbrough was almost delayed because the 27-year-old was picking up four more trophies on the pitch.

October's PFA Footballer of the Month award, a Barclays Goal Award for his ten league goals, and two additional trophies for becoming the first player to rack up 160 consecutive Premiership appearances. Not bad for a once-chubby teenager who was thought too slow and cumbersome to make it to the top of the game.

"I have to say that I find this totally normal," said his club manager, Jose Mourinho. "In my opinion, all that is happening is that people are finally recognising the quality of player he is."

Sven-Goran Eriksson was equally gushing in his praise, highlighting the all-round strength of Lampard's game as his biggest quality.

"He is one of the best midfielders in the world right now," said the England boss. "I can think of almost no weakness in his game.

"He has tremendous energy, a complete range of passing, he can tackle and scores more goals from midfield than most strikers."

That point is underlined by his 28 goals for club and country this year, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of Lampard's play is his sheer consistency.

It is almost impossible to remember his last bad game for Chelsea and, while he has occasionally under-performed for England, much of that is down to Eriksson's predilection for playing him out of position.

That Saturday's league appearance was his 161st on the bounce merely adds weight to the argument that he is coming close to replacing Roy Keane as the greatest midfielder the Premiership has ever seen.

"For me, the biggest thing about Frank is that he never misses a game," said Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren, who has worked closely with Lampard in his role as Eriksson's number two.

"He's played 160 consecutive matches in the Premiership and, make no mistake about it, when it comes to the modern game, that's an incredible achievement. I don't think we'll ever see that record broken, unless it's done by a goalkeeper.

"I've had the privilege of working with Frank for a few years now and, during that time, I've seen the rise and improvement in his play.

"His fitness and physique have improved no end and his approach to the game is excellent. There has been a phenomenal improvement in every aspect of his game over the last three or four years."

As he is only 27, it is quite conceivable that the best is still to come. Lampard shows no sign of slowing down and, given the quality that surrounds him at Chelsea, his game should continue to develop for at least another two or three years.

Ultimately, though, his reputation will depend on what he wins. To be considered one of the all-time greats, he needs to help Chelsea win the Champions League or assist England to victory in the World Cup.

Both of those are extremely tall tasks but, given everything he has achieved so far, it would be foolish to rule it out.