BRITAIN'S sporting summer seems to be a washout - but the way in which the different stars have handled defeat has been illuminating.

David Beckham decided to dress in full Arab garb this week in order to avoid the paparazzi - or perhaps it was England supporters.

In the aftermath of England's Euro 2004 demise, the captain tried to blame the media, the penalty spot and even the training regime at Real Madrid, for his poor performances.

Contrast that with Tim Henman, whose comment after being dispatched from Wimbledon was: "There's no question that the better player won on the day". Or the reaction of Michael Vaughan, the bitterly disappointed England cricket captain, who took full responsibility for his team's recent failings.

Forget about a crisis in sport, the fact is that Britain competes at the highest level in more sports than any other nation - who else so often reaches the world finals of soccer, cricket, rugby, athletics and other Olympic events? The British public love a trier. We accept and respect gallant losers - it's whingers that make the blood boil.

The first thing Beckham needs to do is accept he must take some responsibility for his drop in form. The higher you go in sport, the smaller the margin by which winning and losing is determined.

Alan Shearer gave up playing for England to preserve a club career. He explained it wasn't simply the extra games that drained his body, but the travelling and how, as you grow older, the recovery time increases.

Last summer, when many top footballers would have been re-charging their batteries, Beckham embarked on a promotional tour of the Far East and America, along with numerous product endorsements. Could that have contributed to the tiredness in his legs which caught up with him during the quarter final against Portugal?

Beckham must realise by now that the biggest spinners of news in this world are the media themselves. Every story has to have an intro that hooks readers. That's the real spin and some papers will spin in your favour, others will be against. Unless you play like Wayne Rooney - and Beckham used to.

The worst piece of gutter journalism I ever suffered was from the Observer two years ago. An appalling piece falsely accused me of all sorts and gave me no chance to comment. I felt very angry but decided the best way to gain revenge was simply to keep plugging away.

Well, recently a very different piece appeared in the Observer. A full page outlining the ambitious plans we have for Middlesbrough and, personally, very complimentary.

It's up to Beckham how he leads his life, but when you accept the honour of leading your country you also have to accept the responsibility.

I cannot teach Beckham anything about football, but I can tell him that the media is now so large it is impossible to rein it in. The best you can do is focus on your own game and hope that the media "pack" moves in the right direction.

The World Cup is just two years away and, if Beckham starts to play as he used to, then the media will see that as the best angle to sell papers. Everything else will become a side issue.