IN COMMON with millions of others, I was totally gutted and as sick as a parrot when Gareth Southgate's team failed to overcome the might of Spain.

Despite the profound disappointment I believe it is essential to keep a sense of perspective and hope the English squad view the defeat as part of a learning process that will lead to greater success.

There are no limits to what a positive outlook can achieve.

In the 1960s I was a member of a football team called the Wanderers who played football in the Grimsby Thursday league.

One game we played was against a team called the Nomads. We lost the game 22-1 but we were not discouraged in any way and made a decision to learn from the experience and improve our performances.

The next 14-0, which is a massive improvement on losing 22-1.

It just shows what the power of positive thinking can achieve.

Geoffrey Lindley