Thursday, October 06, 2005

Gerrard expects England to get back on course


Steve Gerrard can't wait to put in a decent performance for England to banish the memories of the horrendous performance against Northern Ireland:
"I've been speaking to all the boys over the last couple of days and we are still hurting from that result," said Gerrard.
"I can't wait for Saturday to come along to get it out of our system.
"It is very important to bounce back and to bounce back in style hopefully. We need to put in a good performance.
"Three points is the most important thing but I think the England fans deserve a good performance from the team.
"It wasn't a good changing room to be in and the manager wasn't happy, nor was the coaching staff or the players.
"We were embarrassed by the defeat. There was too much quality in that changing room to be getting beat by Northern Ireland, with all due respect.
"We need to take six points against Austria and Poland."
Gerrard is now fully fit after playing for England without training last time having just recovered from an injury.
He added: "I had a calf injury just before we met up last time. There were no excuses but the games came at the wrong time last time.
"I feel a lot sharper, fresher and fitter and I'm happy with my form going into these two internationals."
In the absence of Ashley Cole, Stevie has stated Carra will be the ideal man to fill in.
"Ashley Cole has made that position his own and has been performing really well," continued Gerrard. "He's a great player and it is always a blow to miss a player like him.
"But there are other players in the squad who will maybe get a chance and I'm sure someone will come in and do well for us.
"Jamie can perform anywhere he's asked - right back, centre back or left back. He's the type of player, as a manager, you can call on any time and you always get nothing less than 100 percent."

WithWolves Publications 2005©