Dear England

Working in professional football myself, this show was completely perfect for my world, however it’s also an intricate look at how mental health plays such an important part in creating elite athletes who literally have the weight of the world on their shoulders trying to bring home trophies and making the whole country proud. The intensity of being the face of a national football team is thrown to the forefront with some players having to deal with racial abuse coupled with the extraordinary pressure of playing in the beautiful game with the whole world watching.

We meet Southgate’s back room staff and from the start he was really passionate about providing the players with psychological support which came in the shape of Pippa Grange played with such poise by Samantha Womack. It’s really important to understand the psychological effect that sport can have on a player and offering them this support, if not laughed at to start with, really did shape a team that went onto great things under the leadership of Southgate. David Sturzaker embodied the England manager perfectly and performed with every inch of passion required to lead a National team. He seemed a calming influence, someone who didn’t need to shout and swear, but someone who had the best interest of the players at heart and of course wanting to right a wrong from his own career.