A few months ago I received a call from Steve Cooper, manager of the England Under 17 team, to ask me for some tips on how his side should prepare for the World Cup.

My response was simple - come and spend a week with the Indian national team and myself in Mumbai: we’ll let you have access to the best facilities in the country, as well as giving you a helping hand getting used to the place.

He readily agreed, and so four weeks ago Cooper and his team arrived to stay with us for the start of what turned out to be a wonderfully successful tournament.

They were an absolutely fantastic group. Their attitude was based around having fun but also being deadly serious when they needed to be, and I know Steve was delighted with their preparation.

On one their days off they went out to a local park. It was absolute pandemonium with locals flocking from miles around to see the England team at close quarters. They responded fantastically, playing football with the local kids and really getting involved. As someone who is well aware that the English youth does not necessarily have the best of reputations abroad it was wonderful to hear that the lads were brilliant with the local children. It was a wonderful idea to take them to the park and it paid off , people are talking about England and their behavior on and off the pitch.