Team GB Men's Head Coach speaks about Olympic squad selection.
Team GB Men's Football Head Coach
Stuart Pearce spoke to FATV today, outlining how his preparations for this summer's Olympics are going.
With London hosting the event in 2012, the attention centred on Pearce and his selection has attracted plenty of debate and column inches over the last few months, so the former Three Lions defender and current England Under-21 Head Coach explained exactly where he's up to with regards to squad selection and other matters surrounding the Olympics.
"We've received all of the feedback from the letters that we put out and the vast majority of players are in favour of it, as we fully expected," Pearce told FATV from Wembley Stadium.
"It will be exciting for them, and now it's down to me to see how many of those players, on form and fitness, perform over the next couple of months and to the end of the season.
"I have a list of 180-odd players and that will be whittled down in mid-March and then it's the draw on 24 March, which will be very exciting."
With the 18-man squad to be made up of players aged under 23 and only three overage players able to be selected in that number, most of the questions aimed at Pearce have been regarding his selection, with players from all of the home nations able to be picked.
Numerous names have been mentioned and suggested to Pearce, but he is refusing to be drawn into any speculation and believes the best way to choose his squad is to concentrate on its strong points first before re-inforcing with the older players.
"The best way forward, as I see it, is to concentrate on the ones who are young enough first and put them into a team and squad formation and then find out where you are weak outside that," he explained.
"The three players who are overaged will probably come and supplement those positions in the team where you might be a little bit weaker."
Watch the full interview with Pearce now, by clicking on the Media Gallery above.
