Glenn Hoddle's teenage daughter leapt to her father's defence yesterday in a letter to the BBC. The sacked England coach's middle child said she was writing to the BBC Ceefax service because she wanted people to realise what he meant when he was talking about the disabled.

In her neatly hand-written letter, Zara Hoddle (13) said: "I am very supportive of disabled people and so is my dad.

"I think this situation is the most pathetic reason for someone to maybe lose their job and to have so much hassle over.

"If you would take time to listen to what his explanation is then maybe you would understand it a bit more.

"Please consider it from my dad's point of view and hopefully everything will be back to normal soon."