English newspaper yesterday as a double-page spread on Clyde Best was seen by millions of readers.

London's Evening Standard , the biggest-selling newspaper in the city where Best made himself a hero in his playing days with West Ham, ran the story under the headline "Best man for the job sacked for winning''. The lengthy feature, which will appear in full in tomorrow's Royal Gazette , was written by the paper's chief sports correspondent Ian Chadband, who spent a few days in Bermuda this month and witnessed the 9-0 World Cup win against the British Virgin Islands.

The story centres on Best's contractural situation and what it calls his "shabby treatment'' at the hands of the BFA.

What has happened since December 23 last year, when Best was told his contract would be terminated at the end of this month, is described as "a tale of jealousy, intrigue and back-stabbing''.

Best is credited with getting Bermuda football back on its feet, after returning to the Island when the sport was "still reeling'' from the `Miami seven' drug scandal.

Chadband also documents how Best became "the first black footballer to imprint himself upon the national consciousness in Britain's TV era'' and how the young Best dealt with appalling racial abuse from the terraces with remarkable dignity.

In the story, Best claimed he was better treated in England than by "football people'' in Bermuda, and Chadband concluded: "A hero deserved better.''