15 August 2007
VIDEO: Steve McClaren press conference

Steve McClaren speak to the press ahead of his naming of the England squad to face Germany.

England

v

Germany

 

 

 

International Friendly
8pm, Wednesday 22 August 2007
Wembley Stadium
England Squad named on Friday 17 August 2007 on TheFA.com

England Head Coach Steve McClaren wants his players to reproduce the team ethic that inspired them to victory over Estonia when they take on Germany next week.

McClaren will name his squad for next Wednesday’s friendly fixture on Friday - and 'team' will be the keyword in every talk he gives.

He will use the build-up to the game to remind his players what a big year this is going to be for the Three Lions - and do everything possible to get them prepared.

The squad are on a high after beating Estonia in June, just days after holding Brazil to a draw at Wembley. But now the real work begins.

England play both Israel and Russia at home in September as the race to reach the Euro 2008 Finals hots up.

And although several established squad players, such as John Terry and Michael Owen, are currently recovering from injuries, McClaren is hoping they will all join the camp next week in a team-building exercise ahead of those huge games.

McClaren, speaking at the sponsoredbyyou event hosted by England sponsors Nationwide at Soho Square, said: "The positives coming out of the summer were that we played as a team, that’s the thing to stress.

"Ideally I would like to name everybody in the squad and get them together even if they don’t play on Wednesday because it’s important we get together before the double header against Israel and Russia.

"I want to talk about the three performances we had in the summer, especially in Estonia. We want to talk about where we are going and what we need to do.

"The get-together is to say we’ve put ourselves in a very, very good position and now it’s up to us. We have four out of five of the games at Wembley, we have to make it count.

"The next fixture against Israel is so important. We want to stress it now to get England back on the agenda rather than in two weeks before the games."

McClaren, who admits ‘no game against Germany can be described as a friendly’ was left disappointed in midweek when Wayne Rooney broke a bone in his foot and was ruled out of the fixture.

But he has been encouraged by news of captain Terry’s return to fitness.

He said: "The most encouraging thing was reading he has a little chance of playing on Sunday against Liverpool.

"Believe you me if he plays for Chelsea on Sunday I want to include JT in the squad. JT is the captain, the leader, the epitome of what we want to be as a team. That for me is great news that he’s on the way back."

The England Head Coach is also hoping to include David Beckham as he returns from an ankle injury in America and went to see the midfielder last week.

He said: "David has got a game on Saturday and I don’t know how long he’ll play. There’s a lot of things that might happen between now and the decision to fly over for Monday.

"But everybody saw this summer that when David Beckham is motivated and fit he’s a big asset to this team.

"I went to see him and he was very, very bright. I was reassured by his determination that he wants to play for England, wants to get as fit as possible and wants to help us qualify."

Six England fans who are also Nationwide customers will be the first ever individuals to have their names appear on pitchside sponsor advertising boards at Wembley Stadium during next week's game against Germany.

Nationwide's Chris Hull said: "It's a ground-breaking initiative. This is the first time anywhere in the worled at a sporting even that fans have had the chance to appear on pitchside perimeter boards."

Log on to TheFA.com on Friday 17 August for first news of Steve’s squad to face Germany.