A former drummer with one of English music's most famous bands, who now lives in Kansas City will be cheering on the Three Lions when they check into their World Cup hotel.

Steve Di Franco, 61, was a drummer with legendary ska group Bad Manners, touring with the infamous bad boys of pop for ten years before he quit the group in 1996 to move to America.

Chelsea fan Steve, who is originally from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, now lives in Kansas City, and is just five minutes from the England team hotel, The Inn at Meadowbrook where they checked in on Saturday.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail the father of three said: 'This is going to be a massive couple of weeks for England fans, and I can't believe the team are just down the road from me.

'It's really now or never for us, I was a year old when England last won the World Cup and I don't think I've got many more tournaments left in me - maybe three if I'm lucky so we have to win it.

'I actually think we will do very well, I've watched both warm-up games and the team look incredible, Harry Kane is on fire - I'm planning on going up to the hotel to see if I can see any of the players.

'They probably won't recognise me, but the fans may do, some of the older ones will remember Bad Manners and the ska music scene from the old days in the 80s - we were popular with England supporters back then.'

The iconic English 2-tone ska band fronted by the unforgettable Buster Bloodvessel, covered several classic football anthems - most notably the tunes used in the Three Lions fan favourite England Football medley from 2007.

Steve, who quit the group in 1996 when he moved to the United States, but still plays in a band called The Dead Bettys, added: 'The team have chosen a great place to stay, everyone is so friendly around here and they will get a warm welcome.

'I know the hotel where they are staying well, I've been there lots of times with my wife to the restaurant and it's great, really peaceful, secluded and quiet, it's like staying in a country club.

'The views are spectacular out onto the lake and the park, and they will be able to walk around if they like with no one bothering them, although I should say Kansas is a really passionate place for football, not soccer, I never call it that.'

Steve, who has a man cave full of memorabilia from his time with Bad Manners, added: 'I watch the Premier League all the time and I've seen the quality of the players we have, that's why I really think we can do it.

'As a Chelsea fan of course, I'm delighted that Reece James is in the squad but it's a shame Cole Palmer couldn't get in, although I will say I do like how Thomas Tuchel has pulled things together, unbeaten in qualifiers is a great record.

'I really don't want the usual suspects to win and especially Argentina, it has to be England and no one else.'

Recalling his time with Bad Manners Steve added:' I regularly played more than 200 shows in a year across 40 different countries and I was doing that for a decade - it was fantastic and to be honest with you I don't know how I'm still alive!'

Steve, who has been happily married to Grace for 30 years and whose surname he took when they married, joked: 'Some of the things that used to go off on tour would make your hair fall out, I mean, just look at Buster!'

Bad Manners iconic front man Buster Bloodvessel, or Douglas Trendle to give him his real name, was hard to miss with his bald head, large frame and trademark sticking out his tongue routine while dancing madly on stage.

At the height of their success in the early 1980s the band spent 111 weeks in the charts between 1980 and 1983 and some of their classic hits included Lip Up Fatty, Can Can, Special Brew and Lorraine.

Elsewhere in Kansas City, a shop that made 200 'Welcome England' signs for local residents has had to rush out a new order after they sold out within minutes of going on sale close to the Three Lions Hotel.

The $10 signs were snapped up by residents and could be seen dotting gardens and verges on roads leading up to the hotel in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, which will be the England base for the tournament.

Locals are doing their best to make England feel at home and the double-sided signs were on sale in the Made in KC store a few minutes' drive from the hotel and were the brainchild of local resident Anita Newton.

Anita told local media: 'What's great about buying local is they were able to go from concept to actual sign literally within a matter of weeks.'

She added she hoped the signs make a lasting impression on the players as they make their way to the Inn at Meadowbrook Village, where the team will be staying during the tournament.

'They've travelled across the ocean to come here, they're on a bus, they're exhausted, they look out their window and they see this sign, and it melts their heart, and they realise that they are in a really special place.'

Laura Stacy, who had just taken delivery of a fresh batch of the signs, told the Daily Mail: 'We had a rush on them, and they sold out ever so quickly. We've ordered these 100 which I'm sure will go just as quick.

'People have been coming in and asking for them, and I think we'll have to order some more. We are all cheering on England unless of course they come up against Team America but for now it's Go England for me.'

White marquees have also been erected in the grounds of the hotel which will give Tuchel and the rest of his squad privacy and where they will be able to hold bonding sessions and talk tactics.

Crates of water and energy drinks have been delivered to the hotel and could be seen stockpiled outside as armed police patrolled the area and kept locals and media from coming too close, setting up a ring of steel with metal crush barriers.

The suburban HQ was chosen for its central location, and it will be where the squad return to after group matches in Dallas against Croatia, Boston where they face Ghana and New Jersey, where they play Panama in the final game.

All are within two hours flying time and should cut down on exhaustion, although rivals Argentina, the current holders of the World Cup and Netherlands were given better facilities because of their higher FIFA rankings.

The Inn at Meadowbrook boasts 54 rooms, a 24-hour gym, an outdoor pool and a hot tub for Tuchel's squad to use.

Harry Kane and the others will also have access to a series of trails and Cruiser bikes at the luxury hotel described as being in the style of an English cottage.

While the boss Tuchel is likely to bag the sensational Grand Suite which is described as being 'modern, peaceful and luxurious…the finest edition of relaxed elegance' and comes with a dining area for eight, fireplace and banquet room overlooking the lake.

The hotel itself is described as 'thoughtful and intimate in design, purposefully tucked away from the hustle. A stay in any of The Inn's 54 distinctive rooms comes with the promise of luxurious amenities, just the right amount of privacy, 5-star service, and abundant hospitality.'

Prairie Village police chief captain Josh Puttoff said: 'We're ready. It's a lot of work. It's a big task. We want everyone to enjoy the experience of having something like this come to Prairie Village, but we're more concerned about safety.'