Q I know you’re not going to give us your team list but when it comes to selection how do you weigh up club form on the one hand and years of service for England on the other?
A "I’m not going to discuss the formation, you are completely right on that And I suppose you are referring to the three centre-halves. I spoke to them Wednesday, all three of them together, and told them that one of you will not be happy at the end of the week. But I’m not prepared to change the system, we could play three centre-halves but I don’t think we are prepared for that. We are not used to play that system and I think you need more than one week of practising to do that. And then you have to take a decision. The decision you take is on what you see on the pitch, what you see on the last game, in the club and whatever. You take all the information you can get to take a decision."
Q Regarding the defence has this been the hardest decision you have had to take since being England manager?
A "Many times as a manager you have to make difficult decisions and this is one of them. Of course whoever is left out will be surprised because they think they should be on the pitch, all three of them. Maybe not together, they understand that, but no-one can expect he is going to sit on the bench.
I understand that because we are talking about maybe the three best in the world."
Q You have never shied away from making big decisions, is that correct?
A "If you are prepared to take decisions and difficult decisions then you shouldn’t be in the job. Especially you have to take difficult decisions when the team is not performing, and we haven’t performed as we should do in the three last games, even if we won one of them. Any how we can play better football."
Q Do you remember any other times in your career when you left out a big player in a big game?
A "Well, I suppose so. I put Baggio on the bench sometimes, not very popular among the fans in Florence, Fiorentina. Of course I did things like that. I had Seedorf on the bench in Sampdoria because we didn’t have the same opinion about how we should play football. So that happens sometimes."
Q What frame is David Beckham in after what has been a traumatic week for him?
A "As we all know, he has had a private problem in the family and I hope that will be resolved as quick as possible. It’s always worries when your children have something. So of course he’s worried about that and it’s understandable, you understand that. But in the session yesterday he was very focused. And he will be in today and especially tomorrow he will go out as captain and do the job and he will be focused on getting England to the World Cup."
Q Four years ago David Beckham played in the game against Greece, can he still inspire the team in that way?
A "The best answer is the 90 minutes tomorrow. I think so, I’m quite convinced about that. And I’m convinced we will go out there tomorrow do the job and take three points."
Q On Rio, a lot of people have said he hasn’t been concentrating enough this season Do you feel he needs to work on his game and can you help him do that?
A "I shouldn’t like to answer questions about the three centre-halves today.
I tried to explain it. Talking individually about them I don’t think it’s right to do it today. So please wait until tomorrow when we know who is playing and who is sitting on the bench."
Q You don’t need to explain to the players how important this match is, do you?
A "No, of course not. Even if I talked quite a lot this week to them because I think it was necessary, of course I expect a big performance tomorrow and I’m sure we will do it. The players want revenge on themselves as I want it on myself."
Q What was the first thing you said when you met up with the players?
A "Well, hello how are you I suppose. No, many times as a manager you don’t need to talk that much to the group especially when you are playing good football and everything is fine. But of course when we have three performances as we have I felt it was necessary to take a long discussion with them. It was not a discussion, it was a monologue."
Q And what did you say? What did you start with? Did you try and shock them?
A "I didn’t show them any video, no. I told them that I saw the video and it’s not better on the video than it was in reality. So it’s better to look forward. "
Q Have you felt the need to shake the players out of complacency because they looked to us as if they went into the game expecting to win rather than having to go and win the game?
A "You’re talking about the last game?
Q The last three games.
A "I admitted it to you already the three performances we had are not good enough for an England team with the players we have. That’s a fact and we have to get it right tomorrow."
Q You said after Denmark it would definitely be better, then after Wales. How can we believe it will be better than Northern Ireland?
A "I believe it, that’s for sure. Whether you believe it or not.
Q We want to believe it.
A "Believe it then."
Q Do you believe these players are in the comfort zone and that you have put them in the comfort zone by not taking any tough decisions?
A "No. I don’t think so.
Q You don’t think they are in the comfort zone?
A "No, I think they are angry.
Q With who?
A "With ourselves of course."
Q Steven Gerrard yesterday said some of the players were in the comfort zone and was an element that it would shake them up if one of two of them got dropped. And he actually said he was quite worried about his own place. Do you think that what we think you are about to do will send out a message that you have to for your shirt every time?
A "Of course you have to play for your shirt every time. They know they have to play for the team, they have to play for themselves, they have to play for the fans, they have to play for everything because they are serious people, very serious people. If we don’t perform as we can perform the risk is enormous. But we will perform and we will qualify during the next four or five days."
Q When you leave out a player what sort of reaction do you expect from them?
A "Two reactions. Surprise and angry, of course."
Q Once you get that reaction, what do you expect them to do on the pitch? Do you expect them to prove you wrong?
A "Yes, of course. That’s up to the players to show me that I’m wrong. As a manager you are always happy when people try and train and in matches to prove that I’m wrong."
Q And in your experience have well-known players always done that?
A "If you are on the bench for one game, two games, if you are very professional, if you don’t accept it, you go out next time and say ‘here I am and I am better than those others."
Q Other what?
A "Centre-halves. I think that’s the big discussion!"
Q You’ve had a good relationship with the England fans, have you noticed any change since the Northern Ireland defeat? There was a story that someone put a brick through your window at home? Is that correct?
A "It’s correct that I have some damage to my house, but that’s the third time I think. And it was not after Northern Ireland three times, it was once after Northern Ireland. The others were months before, unfortunately. And I don’t think it has anything to do with the England fans, absolutely not. The reaction of the England fans when I’m going around the country to look at football is ‘come on’. I don’t know if I should say it not but they say ‘don’t listen to the press’.
Q There was some bad reaction from fans on the night, when you were on the bus?
A " I didn’t notice that. Because you don’t notice what’s on the stands when you playing the 90 minutes. But I was told it was like that.
Q I meant afterwards on the team bus, there was a lot of people around and shouting?
A "Ah, maybe. I’m a good listener but I listen to what I want to listen to."
Q Do you have a ruthless side to your character?
A "If you talk to my friends they would say sometimes, not very often by sometimes. But why should I show you that side?
Q You don’t have to show us but is there that side to you?
A "I have said it before, I have the same feelings as any other manager in the world. I’m happy, I’m sad, I’m calm, I’m angry. If you are angry for example you can get that message out to one player by talking to them. It’s not necessary to shout at them, you can tell them. And every player always know if I’m happy, know if I am angry. There’s no problem with that."
Q David Beckham is playing some of the best football of his career in Spain. Do you think there is a connection between that and the fact it’s World Cup year. After 2006 his World Cup career will probably be over because he will be 35 in 2010. Will that work to your advantage in that he has to deliver at this World Cup?
A "I shouldn’t be surprised if that is in his minds It’s in the mind of a lot of players. The move of Michael Owen, one of the reasons for that was because it’s World Cup year and he wants to play more football than he played in Real Madrid. I’m quite sure Beckham feels that way and Michael Owen thinks like that. All the players know this is a golden opportunity for them because, even if we haven’t showed it this season, the squad, the team is a very strong team."
Q If we do qualify do you look on the next few months as a time that will be tense for you?
A "I hope that in November that we are going to play a friendly game against Argentina in Switzerland, on the 12th. That’s my hope. We don’t want to play in a play-off, so normal preparations. We need to decide about hotels and things like that and going around looking at players at all. From November until February we don’t have any time together because there is no time to do it."
Q Do you know what actually went wrong in the last three games?
A " I think I know it yes, but I will not discuss that publicly with anyone else.
Q Why is that?
A "Because I think it’s something I and the players should talk about. I don’t think that should come out.
Q Have you discussed that already?
A "Yes."
Q After the Belfast game, especially at the airport the next game, the hardcore fans were saying something has to change, don’t be soft on them. What would you say to those fans who spend a lot of money watching England and were really questioning you that night?
A "I’m very sorry about the performances and I know we have a lot of fantastic fans. They have been helping us fantastically since I came to this country and I suppose before, it’s always been like that. But of course when you can’t perform you don’t have the right to win, I’m sorry for the team I’m sorry for them, extremely sorry. But hopefully they will be more happy tomorrow evening and Wednesday evening."
Q Do you feel you let them down?
A "I feel we let them down. But you’re talking about a sport, you’re talking about football, it happens sometimes. It shouldn’t happen but sport is like that and it’s important that it’s not going to happen again in the next two games."
Q Incredibly Austria and in an even worse state that we are. We should give them a thrashing tomorrow would you say?
A "You’re saying it. I think when England goes out the expectation is always that they will win, home or away. That’s what I would say, and that’s very good. If you talk about Austria, and it’s taken a long time before anyone takes up Austria, I saw the game they played against Poland and I would say they were very unlucky. They didn’t play well first half but second half they played extremely good football and they should have won, I think. They dominated everything in the last 30 minutes. So, if we think it’s going to be easy it will not be easy. They have nothing to lose. Whoever these days is playing England they want to win because it makes front pages, back pages all over the world."
Q Given what’s riding on this game how important will your team talk be and what will you say?
A "I said a lot of things and they have been practising very well so I don’t think there is much left to say. Of course I will give a team talk as usual but the atmosphere is very good, they want to go out and perform tomorrow and they are disappointed with what happened one month ago."
Q You said fans told you not to listen to the press. But do you read newspapers more now than you used to? The cameras here now show you’re upset at what’s been in the papers, so do you read more now?
A "I haven’t ready any papers this morning and the week, nothing. But I have a good friend here telling me if there’s something very special.
Q You don’t read them every day? Does Adrian give you a synopsis?
A "He doesn’t give me that every day, only if something very special."
Q After what happened last time you talked about going 4-4-2 again, even playing a big man up front, is it a question of going back to basics to go forward?
A "Back to basics?
Q What England do best?
A "To be fair again, the system we do playing 4-4-2 or 4-4-2 as a diamond, we’ve shown in the past we can do that extremely well, when we performed it the best I don’t know, Turkey diamond excellent performance; Germany 4-4-2 normal, excellent performance. It’s very much about the players you have available."
Q You’ve had a change of penalty takers can you tell us how that came about?
A "I don’t know if David and Frank talked about it, I know that there was something in several papers. It’s something we have discussed so far. It’s something Beckham took up with me two or three months ago when he came to me and said ‘do you think I should take the penalties or better let Frank take them’ The reason for that of course was he hadn’t taken a penalty since Euro 2004."
Q Who will take penalties?
A "I will tell you tomorrow."
Q If Frank does take them does it prove he can take them in a red-hot situation?
A "Yes, but I think it’s very sensible of David to come to me and say maybe I give it to Frank."
Q What did you say to him ‘Carry on’ or what?
A "No, no, no. He was convinced that Frank should take them, so if we had had a penalty then Frank would have taken it. I’m quite sure about that.
Q Does that show Frank’s maturity, that he was keen to take penalties?
A "Yes, he takes them for Chelsea on a regular basis and when you do that it breeds confidence and that’s good."
Q Does it surely show Beckham’s maturity more?
A "Yes, I think he’s very clever and very honest. So that’s very good."
Q Can we go back to when you said you know what’s wrong but it’s personal between you and the players. That’s very intriguing, it suggests something was very wrong?
A "No. When things are going wrong, as they did the last time, it’s not one thing, it’s a combination of things going wrong. But I talked to the players about one special thing more than others."
Q Was that apathy?
A "I said I will not tell you."
Q Are you convinced that you have now put it right?
A "I believe so, very much yes. But I the answer to that is coming up very quickly now."
Q To make it clear, did David Beckham speak to you before he spoke to Frank Lampard? He checked everything first?
A "I don’t when he talked to Frank Lampard, I have no idea. I didn’t know about it at all until I sat in the car today. I know that he came to me and spoke to me months ago about this issue."
Q There’s so much negativity surrounding the team at the moment would you settle for a 1-0 last-minute win to get the points or would you like to dispel all that negativity by putting on a show for the fans?
A "Well, I think the biggest show you can do is to take the six points and that is what we plan to do, to qualify, to win the group to be sure we don’t play a play-off game. That’s our first target. Of course I want to see the team playing good football and scoring a lot of goals but if we are talking about two extremely important qualification games then the aim is to go out and do the job, and that’s it."
Q Back to the penalties, is it a good thing to take a little responsibility away from David Beckham? He’s really enjoying his football at Real Madrid and he seems liberated there because he just plays his game, do you agree?
A "Yes, he’s playing very well for Real Madrid in this moment. I think he’s played reasonable for England as well in the last game in a slightly different position. Responsibility for David Beckham, I think he likes to have that. I think he’s that kind of person who wants the challenge, he wants that. I was a little surprised when he came to me and talked about the penalties but I think that shows how he wants things for England, he wants the best solution in every way."
Q So if get a penalty and Beckham takes it that would be Ok with you if he makes that decision himself?
A "No, I want to discuss with the players before we’re going out there, of course I’m going to do that."