Forget the idea that England has lost the bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Forget Lord Triesman and what he said to a woman in a restaurant.

The conversation was an irrelevance, it did nothing to damage the credibility of our case, and he is no longer involved in football.

So let's get behind England's 2018 bid, instead of trying to destroy it.

Let's forget Russia and the concerns about whether they might try to buy the FIFA votes they need.

Let's ask ourselves three ­questions instead. Have we got the best stadiums in the world? Answer: Yes.

Have we got the best football supporters in the world? Answer: Yes.

Does the home of football, which will not have hosted the ­tournament for 52 years, deserve another go at it?

Answer: Yes. Triesman's remarks embarrassed the bid, but Fabio Capello can have eyes only for England's efforts in South Africa.

Still, embarrassment fades. Other things, like the magnificent grounds which are monuments to our national passion, don't.

And the love of the game that fills those venues, from Old Trafford to ­Brisbane Road, from ­Stamford Bridge to Gigg Lane. That doesn’t fade, either.

Remember the way Euro 96 gripped the country and brought everyone together the last time we were home to a major tournament?

Well, multiply that by 100 for the World Cup. That's why hosting it is worth fighting for. It may even be that ­Triesman's exit will have strengthened the bid.There were those who considered him divisive.

There are still six months to go before the 24 members of the FIFA executive committee cast their votes in Zurich.

That's six months to press the case. Six months to erase the previous mistakes made by the campaign.

Six months to persuade 24 men that England will stage a better tournament than Russia, where there are huge question marks about whether its ­infrastructure will be able to cope, or Spain, whose domestic football is rife with casual racism and who staged the tournament as recently as 1982.