FLYING THE FLAG RUNS IN FAMILY FOR KIERAN
TOTTENHAM FULL-BACK DREAMING OF MAKING ENGLAND’S WORLD CUP SQUAD
Kieran Trippier is hoping to fly the flag for England at next summer’s World Cup, while his father Chris does the same back home in Bury.
The Tottenham rightback has won two caps under Gareth Southgate and the forthcoming friendlies against Germany and Brazil present a chance to nail down his place in the Three Lions squad ahead of Russia 2018.
If the 27-year-old does make the plane nobody would be happier than Chris Trippier, a die-hard England fan who has a long-standing tradition of hoisting a supersize St George’s Cross outside his house to celebrate tournaments.
The local authorities did not always share in the fun but Trippier has fond memories to look back on.
“My dad is mad for England. He had a big flag in his garden,” he said.
“It’s huge. A massive pole with a massive England flag and he brought the telly into the garden when it was nice weather. I can never forget it.
“The council tried to make him take it down, but he didn’t. They wrote letters to him and everything but he said: ‘I’m not taking it down’.
“The neighbours love it. I don’t know who complained about it, but it’s hilarious. We have a bit of banter about it to this day.”
Trippier is in no doubt it is being prepared for another outing in June.
That kind of dedication shows a deep-rooted passion for the national side still exists in the country, a notion that was called into question as Southgate’s side wrapped up qualifying last month with a pair of colourless wins over Slovenia and Lithuania.
The manager has admitted his team need to be more entertaining to win back some of the faltering fanbase, but any suggestion that pulling on the shirt does not mean enough holds no water with the Trippier family.
“I’ll never forget when we were in France (for his debut), my parents were both crying their eyes out,” he said.
“From playing in the Championship I’ve always dreamed about playing for England, putting on the jersey. It still gives me a bit of shivers.”
Trippier still has work to do to ensure he is in England’s World Cup squad, but his accomplished performances for Spurs, not least in their recent Champions League win over Real Madrid, are helping build a strong case.
“You can learn a lot playing against Real Madrid. These are the teams you want to play against,” he said. “I want to play as many games as I can to hopefully prove that I can be on that plane to Russia. Germany and Brazil will be a great test for us too.”