Kieran Trippier flying the flag for his England super-fan father as he battles for his World Cup 2018 place

The right-back is eight months away from representing England at a World Cup

Trippier is fighting it out with Kyle Walker to be an England starter (Getty)

All parents are proud when their sons or daughters play for England, but are any as proud as Chris Trippier? Kieran’s father is an obsessive England fan, so much so that he has a huge England flag which he hangs outside the Trippier family home in Bury.

The flag first went up during the 2010 World Cup, when England were knocked out by Germany in the last-16 in Bloemfontein. Back then Trippier was 19, in between loan spells from Manchester City to Barnsley.

Now he is 27, starring against Real Madrid in the Champions League, and eight months away from representing England at a World Cup. That flag is going back up next June.

“It’s huge, the pole is massive, with a massive flag as well,” Trippier described at St George’s Park this week.

The pole is at least 10 feet high and the flags are as big as those fluttering outside the St George’s Park. “The garden isn’t even that big. He brought the telly out into the garden when it was nice weather. I can never forget it.”

But not all of the Trippiers’ neighbours felt the same way, and soon enough the council got involved. “The council made him take it down, but he didn’t,” Trippier said.

“They wrote letters and everything, but he said he wasn’t taking it down, it was brilliant. The neighbours love it, so I don’t know who complained about it, but it’s hilarious. My dad is mad for England and Man United, it was hilarious. We have a bit of banter about it to this day. He’s already said he will put it up next summer.”

It is no surprise, then, that Trippier’s recently elevation into the England set up means the world to his parents. He was first called up in June this year, a fair reward for seasons of improvement since leaving Burnley for Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.

After two solid seasons – he overtook Kyle Walker as Spurs’ first choice at the end of 2016-17 – he made his England debut against France in Paris on 13 June.

“He is over the moon for me,” Trippier said. “I’ll never forget when we were in France, my parents were both crying their eyes out, it was one of my proudest moments. Obviously when I was playing in the Championship I always dreamed about playing for England, putting on the jersey. I can remember the France game now, it still gives me a bit of shivers, when I first put the jersey on, knowing I was going to play for England in my debut.”

Trippier in England training this week (Getty)

Of course when Trippier was playing for England under-18s, u-19s, u-20s and u-21s, his father was always there to watch him too. “Even when I was playing in the youth set-up, they were always proud and I was always proud to play for England youth,” he said.

“He’s always been a mad England fan and travelled a lot with me when I was in the youth set-up with England. It’s always been like that, win, lose or draw for England.”

Trippier has played some big games for Spurs in the Champions League and has chased for the Premier League title. But the biggest experience of his career is around the corner and he could not be more excited by it.

“It’s just a dream for me personally to be involved, to get a feel of it,” he said. “And it’s the World Cup next year, I want to play as many games as I can in club football, to hopefully prove that I can be on that plane to Russia.”