I’D LIKE to believe the only suspicious substance that Sir Mo Farah has taken in his long and illustrious career is Quorn but his reaction to the latest questions over alleged doping leaves a lot to be desired.

The quadruple Olympic champion marked the start of UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week by hitting out at journalists who had the temerity to ask him questions in a press conference.

Shortly after winning the 3,000m at the Anniversary Games in London, Farah was understandably asked for his reaction to a leaked email that showed athletics’ governing body IAAF had suspected him of taking banned drugs over unusual results in his biological passport in 2015.

His first public reaction to the allegations went like this: “I am sick of repeating myself. You guys just make something of nothing.

“As I said, I will never fail a drugs test and that is who I am to people who know me.

“I can only control my legs and what I do and I know there are a lot of people who support me, behind me, the whole nation.

“It is just a small majority (sic) who think to become a success you must be doing something.

“I said I will never fail a drugs test. That is who I am. I believe in clean sport and I just have to enjoy what I do, keep smiling. And let you guys do what you do.”

I accept that if you are a clean athlete it must be extremely frustrating, even soul-destroying, to have to constantly justify yourself.

But journalists should not be the target of Farah’s anger. That should be reserved for the cheaters who have eroded the public’s trust in what they are watching.

According to UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) chief executive Nicole Sapstead, sport in the UK is “at a critical point in the fight against doping.”

She added: “Unless action is stepped up to help us fight the cheats, we may find that both sports audiences and participation decrease in the future.”

Ukad reports that 48 per cent of Britons think doping is widespread.

And a survey of 2,000 people carried out by Ukad also found 66 per cent of respondents think that stories about an elite athlete or athletes doping in sport have had a negative impact on their trust in the integrity of sport, the organisation said.

Sapstead said: “This isn't the true picture in Britain. The public don't know about the reality.

“It's worrying that so many people are losing their trust in the integrity of sport because of stories they see in the media, which are making them believe doping is more widespread than it actually is.”

Another case of blaming the media then.

Surely the work of journalists like David Walsh of the Sunday Times, who devoted years of his life to reveal the truth about Lance Armstrong, should be lauded?

Ukad cannot be advocating that doping allegations should be ignored by the media.

It’s not the newspaper and TV reports that are making people lose their trust in the integrity of sport, it’s the fact that some stars have cheated, are cheating and will continue to cheat.

Before the pre-season friendlies begin for Newport County AFC this week, I spent the weekend covering two cycling events.

On Friday I was in Abergavenny to witness a stunning performance from Chris Lawless in the Wales Open Criterium.

And on Sunday I was at the finishing line in Cardiff as 9,000 professional and amateur cyclists completed the gruelling Velothon Wales course.

In between I was following the dramatic events at the Tour de France, an event that has suffered more than any other from its association with performance-enhancing drugs and prohibited practices.

Sir Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 winner, was famously abrasive when questioned about drugs in his prime but he’s had very little to say on the matter in recent months.

The retired racer threatened to call the police when a TV crew attempted to question him about the controversial therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for the use of triamcinolone before the Tour de France in 2011 and 2012, and the Giro d’Italia in 2013.

But he cannot blame the media or sport fans in general for being suspicious when a Team Sky doctor’s explanation for failing to keep Wiggins’ medical records is that they were lost when his laptop was stolen.

It’s a sad state of affairs when we cannot believe in the integrity of what we’re watching as sport fans.

But, the average punter is not stupid and he or she doesn’t need the media to tell them when something doesn’t feel right.

And, hard as it may be, clean athletes will have to put up with uncomfortable questions for as long as their peers continue to try to bend and break the rules.