Joleon Lescott is confident he can cope with the expectations of being an England player.
Man City defender confident of England future
Joleon Lescott is confident he can cope with the expectations of being an England player after dealing with pressure at club level.
Lescott lined up for his country against Montenegro on Tuesday night in the absence of John Terry and Phil Jagielka and produced an assured performance as the game ended goalless.
It was the first time England had failed to win at Wembley in 12 internationals but still led to boos from fans at the final whistle.
Lescott was not happy with the result but paid tribute to the unheralded Montenegrins for their resilience.
He said: "It was a hard game, they are a well organised team and top of the group. It was a good performance by them and unfortunately we couldn't break them down.
"We are disappointed at not winning the game but we felt we had a couple of opportunities to score in the second half and a clear penalty for handball but it wasn't to be.
"The fans want to win just as much as us. Everyone went home disappointed but you can see why they are top of the group."
Help
Lescott has had to wait patiently for international opportunities but is used to competition for places at Manchester City.
Roberto Mancini has a wealth of options at his disposal in defence but Lescott believes being part of a Manchester City side expected to be successful after their spending spree will stand him in good stead with England
He added: "There is a pressure with club and country to win. Every player in the squad is under pressure at club and international level. We have to find a way to deal with that.
"But the more pressure I am under at club level can only help me regards playing for the international team."
England still trail Montenegro by three points, although they have a game in hand, and have to visit them for their final qualifier next season.
But Lescott remains convinced Fabio Capello's side will go through to the finals in Ukraine and Poland.
Confident
He said: "We are still confident we can win the remaining games and, if we do that, we will go through. We are still unbeaten and if we win the remaining games, we will top the group.
"We know we have got to get something in Montenegro now. We would have tried to do that anyway so nothing has changed from our side. We are going to go there confident."
Lescott believes how the qualifying group develops will determine whether Montenegro are more ambitious on home soil than at Wembley.
He said: "It depends on the state of the group when we go there. If they are top of the group, they will probably play the same way. Then we will have to find the creativity to break them down."
