Gardner not ready to leave
Ian Donabie
Friday, 26 June, 2009
Craig Gardner signals intent for Final berth in Sweden.
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England's Craig Gardner has been impressed with the quality of his Under-21 team-mates as they continue their hunt for silverware in Sweden.
The Aston Villa man captained the side in their last group game, against Germany, and now the midfielder hopes to retain his place for the semi-final against the hosts in Gothenburg.
“It would be massive [to reach the Final]. I’m one of those people who are English through and through, and to see your country get to a Final would be massive and especially to win it,” said Gardener.
“The lads deserve it, to be honest. Most of them have had a long tough season so it would be nice to get something good out of it.”
Many of Stuart Pearce’s squad have established themselves in the first-teams of their respective clubs and that quality has transferred itself to the England set-up. And Gardner picked out a few specific team-mates for praise.
“I think Catts (Lee Cattermole) has been unbelievable in both games [against Finland and Spain]. I think he’s been the best player in both games. He’s had a brilliant season, to be fair to him, he’s done really well.
“Fabrice [Muamba] did really well against Spain and I think Frazier [Campbell] has been unlucky not to be starting. In training he’s been doing really well. I think the whole squad has been tremendous the whole tournament,” he said.
All eyes now, however, are on tonight’s clash with Sweden and a path to the Final on 29 June.
“It’s been a good experience," said Gardner. "We’re on a high at the minute, we just need to go into the semi-final win that and then win the Final.”
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