IF you are one of sports nearly men or women than do not despair – you have a friend in the British.

There is nothing we do better in these isles than herald those plucky losers who failed but did their best.

That may be a reason why our best is rarely good enough to be at the top. Our propensity to accept the so-near-yet-so-far brigade is our downfall.

There is nothing wrong with championing the underdog - we all love a sporting upset and David overcoming Goliath.

But we should just sit and accept it or strive to be the best at everything we do?

Are we in denial that our best may never be good enough in some sports?

We were at it again on Tuesday night when Arsenal came agonisingly close to overcoming the odds to cash-in in Monaco.

Gallant losers were hailed after a 2-0 win saw them level on aggregate but exit the Champions League on away goals.

There is no denying it was a great effort but it still ended in defeat over the two legs.

Arsene Wenger stated the best team went out but was he trying to defend his team or was he in denial, considering his captain Per Mertesacker contradicted that.

Unlike almost every other nation on the planet we accept this and commend those brave nearly-men.

Tim Henman was a hero to many despite his failings on home grass at Wimbledon when it came to the crunch and Andy Murray was not universally adored nationwide until he shed a few tears in defeat.

Frank Bruno was a darling of the boxing fans when he lost more than when he was victorious.

In fact, we go as far in this country to take pride in knocking those who do succeed.

Chris Eubank was not well-liked when he made it to the top of his profession, while in football Liverpool, then Manchester United and now Chelsea are there to be taken down a peg or two for daring to stay at the top and rule their sport.

I often wonder if it is just a British thing. Across the Atlantic in America they put their sporting heroes on a pedestal more often than not.

The likes of basketball superstar Michael Jordan or NFL greats like Joe Montana and Dan Marino in the eighties were every youngster’s idols.

A nation that has the psyche of being the best at everything applauds those who reach a pinnacle.

What do we do? Make Eddie the Eagle a national treasure.

There are exceptions in recent times and maybe the current generation of youngsters has learned a thing or two from the American dream.

Our athletes were rightly lauded after London 2012 as they made a home nation proud; the cyclists have been there as well and experienced similar adulation in recent times.

And we have also started to decry failure as well – just take a look at the barracking England’s cricketers have had after a dismal World Cup.

I say let’s keep this attitude. Let’s not applaud failure, however plucky.

Let’s drive to be number one and help make more sporting Britons great.