I’m sure everyone has, at some point in their life, had a teacher or maybe a parent state the following annoying comment to them: I’m not angry...I’m just disappointed. Well, today I stated that phrase...to myself.

All week I have been trying to restrain myself. I have seen the bait dangling and with each passing day it has got closer and closer and today, I am biting.

I can’t believe it was only four years ago that Diego Maradona was in hospital after having suffered a heart attack. Having also battled drug addiction, fluctuating weight, and alcohol issues over recent years, I don’t think I would be the only one to sound a tad sceptical when presented with the news that within five years of his heart attack Maradona would be manager of the Argentina national football team.

So in an amazing turn in fortunes, a rather healthy Maradona touched down in Scotland for the friendly between Argentina and Scotland and he was up to his old tricks again. Buoyed on by the jubilant Scottish fans, Maradona unbelievably claimed that he should not be judged for cheating in the 1986 World Cup because of the doubt over one of Geoff Hurst’s goals that won England the 1966 World Cup.

England certainly didn’t cheat themselves into the World Cup history books. This was a goal that has been debated for over forty years but, whatever conclusion you reach about that ‘goal’, one thing that can never be suggested is that England cheated. The decision of the linesman was nothing to do with Geoff Hurst or any of the other players.

Diego Maradona on, quite literally, the other hand, cheated by deliberately handballing. I think the thing that has always riled the English so much is that he has gloated about it ever since. He has had no shame in the fact that he intentionally sought to win a game under dubious circumstances and it would appear that the only two nations who have been impressed by this act are the Argentinians and...the Scots.

So why do some Scottish fans express so much hate and bitterness towards the English national team? Well, the brief answer is concerned with success. England have won the World Cup, England are climbing up the world rankings, England have a wealth of incredible talent at their disposal. To put it briefly, Scotland haven’t.

I remember the 2002 World Cup very well. I was studying hard for my A Levels and trying to catch as much of the football as I could and one day I caught the most unbelievable sight on television: Scottish folk donning Brazil shirts ahead of England’s quarter-final match with the South American stars. I can completely understand the rivalry between the home nations and I think it is healthy. After all, there’s nothing like winning the bragging rights in the office the next day but a section of the Scottish fan base seems to take this rivalry to the extreme.

And so it was that Maradona was greeted like a national hero when he touched down in Scotland this week and, just like six years earlier when I saw the Scots in their Brazil shirts, this time the TV was showing shots of Maradona being greeted by hundreds of guffawing Scots – shouldn’t you have been at work lads?!

I guess it’s inevitable that people will claim that this blog entry means I am bitter. Not so – I’m just really fascinated. If Scotland put half as much energy into producing some world class talent as they did gloating over every English slip-up then I think they would be a force to be reckoned with.

Harking back to the 1998 World Cup, I remember a wave of excitement rippling around when John Collins hit the back of the net in the opening game against Brazil. Scotland went on to lose but we sat around talking about how they put up a good fight and how nice it would have been to see Scotland beat Brazil – David beating Goliath. The fact that there were Scots in Brazil shirts when England had the same fixture shows that the feeling isn’t reciprocated.

I have no doubt that there are many English fans who certainly don’t share my views. The violence we have seen at fixtures in the past proves this, but I can’t really imagine a huge contingent turning up at the airport to greet any particular player who has helped orchestrate a win against Scotland in the past.

Scotland have certainly improved as a football team over the last few years, save for the little blip that has seen the team slide down the world rankings, and I hope that the success of the team continues. When England next play Scotland I will be shouting as loudly as every other Englishman, hoping that we completely thrash the Scots and I would expect them to be desperate to give us a good beating too. However, the extreme that some Scots have taken the rivalry to is quite unique.

I had a browse through the Tartan Army message board and it was quite refreshing to read some of the comments. This one in particular caught my eye: “All this hero-worshipping of Maradona by Scotland fans is an embarrassment. The guy is a fat, little druggie cheat...hardly an inspirational role model. I was asked by a few non Scottish or English friends about it and I struggled to defend our reaction. Does it say a lot about us as a nation that we are more concerned about others than how we can better ourselves? We need to overcome this chip on our shoulder in order to become successful”.

It’s great to read something which proves that it isn’t the whole population who are so anti-England and I think that to a certain extent it has all been rather whipped up by the press. Maradona should sit back and take pride in the fact that he is one of the finest footballers ever. He doesn’t need to be so antagonistic and goading.

Not content with winning last night’s game, Diego felt the need to come out with the line: “Who is Terry Butcher”? The guy is just a wind-up merchant who now needs to recognise that he is the manager of a national team and a figure of authority. Simply put, he needs to concentrate on making sure that Argentina continue to be one of the finest teams in the world rather than trying to wind up anyone and everyone in sight.

As for the Scotland team, I am just looking forward to a great game with loads of goals (for England) when the Auld Enemy meet again.