It has been one of the strangest weeks I have ever known in English football, but I am still backing the national team to finish it on a high with a win.
With all the talks of drug-testing, strikes and off-the pitch violence, it is quite easy to forget that England has its most important game for over a year tomorrow.
Understandably, there has been plenty of talk in the run-up to the game about the incident regarding Rio Ferdinand.
When the story broke earlier in the week, it was clear it was going to have a massive destabilising effect on the squad and that is how it has proved.
The tabloids and quite a few of the people I have spoken to have 'laid into' the players for considering striking the match after the Manchester United defender was pulled out of the squad over the FA.
My view is that the sport's governing body has, not for the first time, over-reacted.
Ferdinand has claimed that he missed the drugs test because of a clumsy mistake and he should at least have been given the right to explain himself before this decision was made.
As it is, the FA have turned judge and jury and have decided to punish him without having heard the full evidence. It is for that reason that I have complete sympathy with the players.
I would like to make it clear that during my time with England in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there is no way I would have ever considered refusing to wear the Three Lions of England. It was something I was very proud of and I will always treasure my caps.
But there are exceptional circumstances and I firmly believe that is the case here.
The England players know they are in for a tough game tomorrow and have seen one of their star players taken away without him being given the chance to fight his corner.
What Sven Goran Erikkson must be thinking is anybody's guess but he know faces the task of uniting a group of players who are clearly totally disillusioned with the people who run the national game.
What the players must do is somehow try and put the events of the last week to the back of their minds and focus on getting a place in Euro 2004 without going through the play-offs.
During my time with Wolves and England, I played in a number of hostile atmospheres but I doubt none will compare to what David Beckham and his team-mates will face in Istanbul.
The fact that we have no supporters over there will also be a major disadvantage but I am hoping it may also bring the best out of players.
Hopefully it will be a us-and-them scenario and England can produce a real backs to the wall performance, knowing there will be millions cheering them on watching on television back home.
The loss of Michael Owen is a massive blow because he is a world-class striker but I am backing the lads to overcome all the problems of the last week and an intimidating atmosphere to win it 2-1 and spark a big Saturday night party back home.
