David Beckham says that England want to put it right after Wednesday's defeat.
By Chris Hatherall. Thursday, 08 September 2005.
David Beckham has called on England not to panic following the shock defeat against Northern Ireland in Belfast.
England’s captain says he was devastated by the performance at Windsor Park as the Three Lions lost 1-0 to a team ranked 116 in the world.
The result means England need maximum points for World Cup qualification and Beckham says he and the players are deeply wounded by the experience.
But with two home games to come against Austria and Poland there is still a chance to top Group 6 and that must be the focus now.
Beckham said: "We’re all frustrated. Trust me, the players are hurt by this and we want to put it right.
"I’m sure there will be people pushing the panic button in the next few weeks but in the end we’re a young team, we have good players and we have to stick together, that’s all we need to do. If we don’t do that then we have no chance of beating teams like Brazil and reaching the World Cup.
"There will be a full scale investigation into the defeat, we know that. And there will be a lot of criticism coming our way. But we have to stick together because if we don’t we’re not a team. It was just a bad game, we’re disappointed and we have to move on."
Beckham says all the squad are bracing themselves for severe criticism, not least Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. But he is adamant there is no need for change.
He said:"We have confidence in the manager. We’ve had it in him for a long time now and we believe he’s the right man for the job.
"The players take the blame for the result in Northern Ireland, we’re the ones out there on the pitch - it’s down to us. But we will stick together, nobody will blame any individuals because that’s not what teams are about.
We will take the criticism and come back stronger."