VIDEO: ‘The order of the day’
By Nicholas Veevers
Thursday, 24 March, 2011
Phil Jagielka wants nothing less than three points from the trip to Cardiff.
Click here for video of the press conference.
England’s Phil Jagielka believes anything less than three points from Saturday’s trip to Wales will be a massive disappointment to Fabio Capello’s squad.
The Three Lions head to Cardiff knowing that a win at the Millennium Stadium will be enough to take them top of their group in the quest for European Championship qualification.
With the pressure already on England to come away with nothing but a win from the principality and the prospect of a red-hot atmosphere waiting for them, Jagielka feels England have to simply concentrate on winning the match against Gary Speed’s men.
“We’re only going out for a win, regardless of whether it takes us to the top of the group or not, as we need to pick up three points from every game that we play in,” he said.
“This is a local derby, with Wales not being far away, so there is a bit more pressure on us but three points is the only order of the day and hopefully that will be the case.
“They’ve still got some fantastic players and a good squad. Their new manager is trying to put his stamp on things and they’ll be up for it, but we want to come out on top.
“There’s a bit of spice in the game and it’s one that we’re looking forward to playing. When the draw came out, we were delighted to be going to Wales because we knew it would be a good game, not just for the neutral but also for the England fans.
“Both teams will be wound up and the fans will want a fast start, so I think there will be a bit of needle from the first whistle.
“We’ve just got to go out there and do a professional job.
“We can’t afford to take a draw so we need to go there for the win and get back on top of the table and stay there.”
With speculation mounting on the possible absence of Wales winger and dangerman Gareth Bale from their team through injury, Jagielka is taking nothing for granted and knows that the presence of another proven striker in Craig Bellamy will need to be closely watched.
“He’s fantastic and a good player on his day,” added the Everton defender. “He’s one player that we will be looking out for, so will be looking to keep him quiet as he’s a major goal threat.
“He has pace, can use both feet and scores fantastic goals, so we need to try and stamp that out.
“We’ve tried to be as positive as possible in all of our games though. I think we’ve started off well and given ourselves a decent base in the group, so we’re looking to kick on now against Wales.”