A West Wickham man has insisted he will be cheering on England in their World Cup this weekend – despite his former girlfriend dumping him for Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.

Russell Gibbs could be forgiven for being less passionate about England’s chances of success, but he is getting behind the team for their all-important quarter-final clash with Sweden on Saturday (July 7).

Southgate has previously admitted he met Alison, now his wife, for several secret dates in a Tesco car park when she was still in a relationship with her boyfriend.

In his autobiography, he described his desperate attempts to win her affections after spotting her working in a boutique in the early 1990s.

Speaking publicly about the split for the first time, Russell, from West Wickham, told MailOnline he had "no hard feelings".

He said: "Good luck to Gareth and good luck to Alison. It was all a long time ago.

"I am now very happily married myself with two kids and a great wife. Of course I will be supporting the England team and Gareth on Saturday. I wish the team and Gareth and Alison nothing but the best."