I'll stand by you

And so the World Cup competition rolls around yet again and we stand divided by the teams we support.

Going by reactions from friends and family, my support of Team England puts me firmly in the minority but no matter. I know their chances are slim at best, but that's really not the point.

You support a team because you identify with them ... for me ... since childhood. You don't support just the favourites of Spain, Italy or Brazil and keep switching loyalty with each competition ... where is the sportsmanship in that?

You remain a team supporter in good times and in bad. You take a deep breath and stand tall when you look at the fixtures. Even though at the back of your mind you know it's gonna be a hard fight, you never lose the faith.

But that's a lesson in life too ... you have to believe in yourself and in your people who work under you. No matter how daunting the task seems, you steamroll ahead never doubting that you have what it takes to get the job done. When you push you team onwards, your faith in them has to be larger than life so that they too will believe and with that, conquer.

Barring hope beyond belief, Team England will get blasted out but I will still cheer them on. I won't waste time reading the post match reports with all their recriminations and the 'I-told-you-so' finger-waggings of journalists - armchair critics who probably haven't kicked a ball in years.

England will still be my team well beyond that final whistle.