Chris Smalling has admitted Manchester United's charge towards the Premier League title has been motivated by last season's final day heartbreak.
Good experience
Smalling impressed against Montenegro danger duo Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic but admits England were disappointed not to secure a win after leading at half-time through Wayne Rooney's goal.
He said: "It was good to play two games, especially this one against Montenegro which was an important one.
"It was good experience against two top players in an atmosphere that can be daunting but it was one I really relished.
"But the dressing room was pretty flat afterwards. Everyone came in and it was more like a loss than anything after we played so well in the first half.
"We really dominated and if we had got the second goal, it probably would have been a different game."
Smalling added: "I'm not too sure why the game changed so much. In the first half we passed it really well, we pressed them high, maybe we dropped off a little bit.
"But a lot of us are not sure why that really happened because after dominating for 45 minutes, we really should have kept it going."
Questions have now been asked about England's capacity to qualify, but former Fulham man Smalling sees grounds for optimism.
He believes the fact England have three of their final four games at home could be a crucial factor.
He said: "The manager (Roy Hodgson) emphasised that three of the last four games are at home and at Wembley we feel very strong.
"Do we probably need 10 points? I think so. That's the points (total) we were talking about.
"But, with the three games at home, we are very confident and, even though the second half was disappointing, we can take a lot from that first half."
