Here's what he had to say:-

How close was Jermain Defoe to the squad?

I don't think we're short of strikers. Maybe not this time for Defoe but I'm quite sure that if he goes on like this, then he will have a chance before the Euro 2004 Finals.

Given his form for Madrid, would you consider playing David Beckham in the centre?

He's always been in the centre for England! We will probably start with a diamond and that means David is central and to the right.

I think he's doing very well and is very important for Real in that position, working extremely hard. I've seen him in one game and he did very well. I've also seen him on television.

Is Beckham now a better player?

I don't know if he's a better player today than he was before the move, but he's not worse, that's for sure. Of course, experience of playing in a different league with a lot of good players certainly helps.

Would you recommend moving abroad to others?

If you play for Manchester United or Real Madrid, it's more or less the same. The same with Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle. At Arsenal, there aren't too many English players - maybe two or three - so it doesn't really matter.

But it has surprised me there are so few English players playing outside England.

If everyone is fit, do you know your squad for EURO 2004?

Yes, I think so - if everyone is fit. Of course, that can change and what I have in mind was the last game and that was a long time ago. If I should pick the team and the squad today for EURO 2004, with everyone fit, it wouldn't be that difficult.

What are your thoughts on the centre of defence at the moment?

On Wednesday, it will be John Terry and Sol Campbell. Then we have to see further on about Woodgate as well. It's a pity that he's injured. He's very unlucky. He's doing very well but every time we play, he is injured.

I'm sure that any club or national team would miss Rio Ferdinand. I think he was the best or at least one of the best central defenders at the World Cup. He played in all the games and was fantastic. So of course if you don't have players like that, you miss them on the pitch.

I think it's a nice race between Terry and Woodgate to show me who's going to play there. There will be others as well but from what I see today, it's going to be one of those two. Southgate is playing well, he's another one. As for young players, there is Gardner - who's injured now I think - Zak Knight and Wes Brown.

Looking ahead to England's first game in the tournament, how are you going to stop Henry?

I need a lot of help there! He's absolutely fantastic, the way he plays football and his pace.

Will you play your strongest side against Portugal?

As always we will start with the best team and then see how many substitutes we make. I know FIFA are talking about making rules on this in the future to have only five, but I have so far not found one manager from any country who agrees with that. I've spoken to at least 12 of them in Europe. They all want the two managers in any friendly game to come to an agreement over substitutes.

I have asked Scolari and agreed with them that we can make up to 11 substitutions. That doesn't mean we have to make 11.

I believe strongly in that. When do you give me the chance to see new, young players? We can't do it in qualification games. I've always been very happy to have the best team for 45 minutes and then do some experiments.

Are your plans affected by the fact that the late kick-off means that the players will only get home in the early hours of Thursday?

I've always been aware of that and that's one of the reasons I always like to make a lot of changes at half-time. I understand the club managers and if you play late on Wednesday night in Portugal and then you have to play the next game at Saturday lunchtime in England, it's very easy to understand that the risk of the players to be injured increases.

What's happening with the winter break?

They are working now to try and fix that up. The aim is for it to happen from next season for at least two years to see if it's a good idea or not. Two weeks off would have been a lot better but you can't even dream about that!

It should be very good for England but also for the clubs, especially those clubs playing in Europe. I shall be very popular with the players, and I guess the managers as well! As a club coach, you need a break from the pressure of playing twice a week.

They are working on various solutions. One is maybe to take away FA Cup replays for the quarter-finals, another is talking about the League Cup or making the season longer.

What's happening with your own contract?

I am amazed and surprised every time this comes up. I have a contract. People seem to have forgotten that I have a contract until 2006 and nothing has been changed from that.

I think that you think about it much more than I do!