PFA chief Gordon Taylor has hit out at Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard over his claims that the Premier League's young players have it too easy.

Taylor said: "I used to clean boots and whitewash toilets as an apprentice. On the other hand kids used to go down pits and clean chimneys.

"We are now a civilised society and the aim must be to make youngsters better players by practising football more.

"There is no harm in learning about humility or discipline. We want younger players to learn that if they make the grade then we expect them to behave.

"Not that long ago there was not enough thought about training, the best times to train and rest, physiology and diet.

"We are producing better footballers now but whether we are producing better people is another matter. Clubs should think just as hard about that aspect, too."

The PFA issued a directive a few years ago that players on apprenticeships, scholarships and YTS schemes were not to undertake menial tasks such as mopping floors, only football-related jobs.