The future remains bright for England, says Steven Gerrard

Thursday 14 Jul 2016
Steven Gerrard applauds the fans after his final game for England, in 2014

Former captain Steven Gerrard has backed the current Three Lions crop to recover from their Euro 2016 disappointment.

England crashed out of the tournament at the last-16 stage, with manager Roy Hodgson resigning shortly afterwards.

But Gerrard, currently playing in America with LA Galaxy, is confident that the future remains bright.

“Everyone's healing from the disappointment of the tournament,” admitted the former Liverpool man, who won 114 caps for his country before retiring from international duty after the 2014 World Cup.

 

“The FA, the staff and the players will get it right”

Steven Gerrard 
Former England captain

“What I can say is that The FA, the players and the staff will get it right. It will improve and it won't be too long until the fans are smiling again – that's what I believe.

“I believe in looking forward and trying to improve things, and I've got every confidence that everyone involved in trying to make it improve will make it happen.”

Gerrard added that he expects the England squad, which was the second-youngest at this summer’s finals, to use this year’s disappointment to aid their growth.

“I think there's a huge fear in amongst the group at the moment,” he admitted. “Expectations are very, very high – it's a very pressured  situation to be an England player.

“There's a very young set of players there who are not used to that pressure, but they will be used to it in years to come.

“This experience and this hurt, I think, will help all of those players moving forward because they won't want to experience it again. They'll want to improve and get better.

“With the right manager and the right coaching staff around this group, I think they can take it to the next level.”

Watch Gerrard's speak to FATV about his England career

 

By FA Staff