It has been with considerable disbelief that I’ve watched all sections of the media turn against the England football team and their manager. That was until I remembered the sagas of Steve McClaren, Sven Goran Eriksson, Kevin Keegan and Graham Taylor.

I can sympathise with the public feeling of despair at 44 years without true world success, but spare a thought for how it must be to be a Scottish sports follower.

They’ve had 150 years of unmitigated national disaster, briefly punctuated by a few short false dawns. The Scottish media and fans have learnt well from the lessons of their humiliating 1978 Argentina World Cup campaign and, before that, the 1972 Munich catastrophe when they went out without losing a game.

Since then the media have been supportive but realistic and the fans, when they have the chance to go to a tournament, just party and have fun and get behind the team.

Is it not time for the media (and the fans) to realise that encouragement brings better results than fear, and when times are not so good it is important the encouragement should intensify.

Allan Neil, The Crescent, Lancing