Stuart Pearce says he hopes winger Tom Ince can be even better than dad Paul

England 4-0 Sweden
An Under-21 International
Banks’s Stadium, Walsall FC
7.30pm, Tuesday 5 February 2013

Stuart Pearce hopes Under-21s winger Tom Ince can become an England star and achieve even more than his dad.

Ince, who turned 21 last week, has been a major force in the Young Lions attack since making his debut in September and helping them qualify for Euro 2013.

At club level Ince has scored 16 goals in 31 appearances for Blackpool, and he finally netted his first two for England earlier this week.

The former Liverpool youngster netted a brace in the Under-21s 4-0 victory over Sweden in Walsall - their seventh win on the bounce.

And in the crowd watching was his mum with dad Paul, the former England midfielder who won 52 senior caps for his country.

Pearce, who lined up alongside Ince snr for the Three Lions, has similar wishes for Tom.

"We hope he's going to be better, we hope," he said. "If he emulates Paul then he's certainly had some career.

"He's an exciting talent, he's a different type of player, he's got clever movement, he's difficult to nail down for a full-back.

"He's your typical modern-day winger - happy to run at you out wide but also happy to come off the line and find little areas of space to really hurt the opposition.

"The important thing is he's very level-headed. And he's a pleasure to work with."