Repeat dose
Wednesday, 12 September, 2007
Steve McClaren wants England to be a model of consistency as the clock ticks towards Russia.
England v Russia
UEFA European Championship Qualifier
8pm, Wednesday 12 September 2007
Wembley Stadium
Live on BBC1
Steve McClaren will send his Three Lions side into action against Russia today urging them to prove they have learned the art of consistency.
England were impressive in last Saturday’s 3-0 win against Israel and McClaren believes his team have been on the up ever since an emotional half-time inquest against Andorra in March.
McClaren’s side went on to win that match 3-0, inspired by two goals from Steven Gerrard, and have since beaten Estonia and Israel in Euro 2008 qualifying games.
Now the England Head Coach believes his players are good enough to take the next step by beating Russia and moving up to second in Group E.
"We were very pleased with the display against Israel and what we are looking for is for everybody to perform again and follow it up," he said.
"That is the message I tried to get out on Saturday night. If we are to qualify you need that kind of consistency.
"In training they have been fantastic this week, tremendous. Now they have just got to transfer what they do in training onto the pitch at Wembley and we will be OK.
"The team have confidence and belief and we have to take that into the game as individuals and a team. That is what we expect."
There has certainly been a massive improvement in England’s play since the first half of that Andorra game, which ended goalless and with the boos of the fans ringing around the Estadi Olympic in Barcelona.
It’s a day no England player will ever forget but one which McClaren believes played a part in his team’s development.
He said: "I think there was a huge disappointment after the World Cup from everybody and sometimes it takes a bad run or bad results to reach the bottom before you start climbing out of it.
"I think against Andorra we just bottomed out. We'd all had enough. There was a great determination amongst everybody. We said 'right, what do we have to do to win? This is what we have to do'.
"We talked to the players and got down to some of the problems. We are trying to solve them but we are still not there yet, there is a long way to go."
That warning from McClaren should keep his players on their toes for today’s huge match, which could play a major part in getting England to the Euro 2008 finals. But the boss has also told his players not to expect another 3-0 drubbing.
"It’s a different challenge this game," he said. "That’s what I’ve said to the players – don’t expect it to be like Israel. Russia will be a different challenge. Them and us we have the best defensive record in the whole Euro campaign.
"So they are very organised, very hard to break down, very difficult to score against. And I expect them to be no different today. I expect a very close game with very few chances. But I expect us to take one at least and just to win the game."