'Still in our own hands'
Saturday, 19 June, 2010
Gareth Barry and Jamie Carragher say things can only improve from Friday.
Gareth Barry admits the England players were disappointed with their performance in the 0-0 draw against Algeria but is keen to point out their World Cup dream is still alive.
The Manchester City midfielder returned to the side in Cape Town after six weeks out with an injured ankle and knows a goalless draw was not what the thousands of England fans who packed the Green Point Stadium were hoping for.
"I think everyone knows we're a bit disappointed," he said. "We wanted to win the game and come away with three points. But the positives are that it's still in our own hands.
"We know we need to improve to beat Slovenia in the final group game and we'll be working hard over the next few days to do that. We'll be looking at this performance to see what we've done wrong and see where we can put it right."
Barry believes England, currently two points behind group leaders Slovenia on two points, can improve dramatically for Wednesday's game in Port Elizabeth. And he knows that victory would not only ensure a place in the last 16 but possibly top place in the group as well.
However he has stressed they will need to step up a gear.
"The disappointing thing is the lack of chances we created against Algeria, we didn't attack with enough purpose or enough belief going forward," he added. "We know we have to score to win the next game so that's what we'll be working on.
"But it's important we keep the word pressure away from us. It's almost like a knockout game starting early on Wednesday and we have to be right for it. We know we need to win the game and we're capable of doing that. Everyone in the dressing room believes it."
Experienced defender Jamie Carragher added: "We're disappointed, but we've got to play again on Wednesday and put it right. We have to get ourselves up and get back. We've put ourselves under a bit of pressure for the last game, which we didn't want to do, but Slovenia is a massive game now."
England will have to play that match without the Liverpool defender too, as he picked up his second booking of the tournament on Friday. And with Rio Ferdinand already returned home and Ledley King recovering from a groin injury, that means Manager Fabio Capello will have further choices to make. However Carragher is confident the team can progress.
"I thought my booking was very harsh. But we'll deal with it. In the next couple of days we have to forget this match and move on," he concluded.