Three Lions keeper James admits it will be a difficult month for the squad as they head off on holiday and try to forget about the disappointment of losing on penalties to Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.

He knows it could have been England beginning preparation today for a glamorous semi-final against Holland in Lisbon on Wednesday. And it's difficult to get away from the tournament on television wherever you are in Europe. But he is adamant the experience should not hold England back.

He said: "We mustn't get het up about it all and dwell on it because that's not good for you. But I admit it feels frustrating. We played a decent game of football and to come away with nothing and go home was terrible.

"I think the most frustrating thing was the Sol Campbell incident because as far as everyone who's seen the incident it wasn't a foul, and we would have been 2-1 up with two minutes to go.

"But again, we've been 1-0 up, and in the second half we were just defending, defending. You can't do that. You can't do that against decent sides. I wouldn't say it's out fault, it's just how the game panned out. They just pressed on and pressed on and eventually they got their chance.

"But let's not go on about it because we have to look forward. And there were so many positives from Euro 2004. As much as it's obvious Wayne Rooney is a great player, no-one knew how good he was going to be, how well he was going to do - but we do now.

"He's a special player, and as I say, there are a lot of positives to come out of the tournament.

"As much as we've lost two of the four games, the circumstances of losing them I don't think go against the performances themselves. Overall we performed well and there was a great team spirit.

"And how about Ashley Cole? What a game he had against Portugal! The guy Ronaldo is supposed to be one of the key players but Ashley seriously made him look average.

"In the end, luck wasn't on our side. It hasn't gone our way, through no fault of anyone. I don't think there's any player on the field who you can point the finger at and say that he hasn't done his bit. That's what we should take with us and try and focus on the future."