Nothing Like a Bit of Support

It does a player no end of good to have the reassurance that his boss is backing him every step of the way. Take Spurs manager Martin Jol for instance. He made it clear that he was appalled at England’s failure to take Jermain Defoe to the World Cup finals in Germany this summer, then as soon as the pre-season was over he followed that up by not quite selecting him for the Tottenham team. Talk about a near faith experience!

That makes Jermain Defoe the striker who finds it easier to get into England’s team than Jol’s. Steve McClaren must be thrilled.