Milner - England are united

Midfielder insists players can handle the pressure

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 6th September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Milner - England are united

Milner: Determined

Some people might turn round and say, 'I have had enough, I don't need that'.

James Milner
Quotes of the week

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James Milner insists the England camp is determined to right the wrongs of their recent past.

The Three Lions and national coach Fabio Capello came in for heavy criticism following a shambolic showing at the 2010 World Cup.

They have responded positively since then, with a friendly success against Hungary backed up by a 4-0 drubbing of Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier.

However, headlines continue to be made for all the wrong reasons, with allegations regarding Wayne Rooney's private life plastered all over all the Sunday newspapers.

Such reports could not have come at a worse time, as the squad are currently preparing for an away date with Switzerland on Tuesday and could do without any distractions.

Tighter

Milner, though, is adamant that the national side have grown accustomed to handling outside interference and is confident they are now a stronger unit after all they have been through.

"It is all about the team pulling together," said the Manchester City midfielder.

"You need to be united and get on with the business at hand which is winning football matches.

"The tighter we are as a group, the stronger we will come out of these experiences.

"When you are up against the wall in big matches, when you are losing or have a man sent off, you are mentally strong enough to succeed."

Pressure

Milner accepts that the side will always be under close scrutiny, but admits that some players could walk away from the international stage should the spotlight become too bright.

"I would rather be under pressure because it means that things are going in the right direction on the football field," he reflected.

"But some people might turn round and say, 'I have had enough, I don't need that'.

"Thousands of people come every week and there are kids with your name on the back of their shirt.

"We are very privileged to be representing this country and whatever job you do there will be things you like and things you don't."

Comments (6)

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Neil Conlon (Manchester United fan) says...

Just shows how good England are with no issue on the lampard / gerrard saga. Just play Gerrard and leave Lampard on the bench simple as. Gerrad is a fair better player than lampard. Lampard looks good because Drogba infront of him and Essien behind him. If England play just Gerrard no Lampard they will win every game. FACT

Posted 12:28 6th September 2010

Andy Jay (Sunderland fan) says...

"some players could walk away from the international stage should the spotlight become too bright" ...well they can go and take a running jump man... love football, hate footballers... these overplayed, over-hyped clowns are ruining the game...

Posted 12:14 6th September 2010

John Salter (Aston Villa fan) says...

England players will have achieved nothing until they get to the finals. That is when Capello and Co will be judged until then it''s going through the motions (or should be). Rooney should be dropped. No wonder he had such a bad World Cup!

Posted 11:55 6th September 2010

Wade Smith (Arsenal fan) says...

i fail to see how the team is united when rooney and gerard continue to exclude walcott. For some reason they will always look at another option before passing to him. Then when they do pass to him, its the kind of pass he can do nothing with (like rooney hitting a long diagnol ball for him to control thinking walcott is 6''5). Saying this im not sure if walcott should be a definate starter for England but when he is on the pitch atleast give him the kind of pass he likes. Good luck to england against Switzerland!

Posted 10:17 6th September 2010

Steve Graham (Sunderland fan) says...

Why do these overpaid footballers bother to get married. One after the other they continue to let the young people of our country down when they should be setting an example. As a footballing nation we are all getting fed up of the same thing when all we should be discussing is the football.

Posted 07:59 6th September 2010

Mike Bond (Chesterfield fan) says...

Very pleased for Adam Johnson''s performance and first goal for England. He should have been in the team some while ago and a regular by now. He has a determination and urgency lacking with some of the ''bigger stars''. Let''s hope Fabio Capello has taken the same notice !

Posted 07:57 6th September 2010
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