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England players totally committed to the national team - Gareth Barry
Midfielder incensed by suggestions of a lack of drive...
2 Sep 2010 01:20:00
By Adithya Ananth
Gareth Barry has vehemently denied suggestions that England players may not be totally committed to the country's cause, as the Three Lions prepare to take on Bulgaria in the opening game of the European Championship qualifying campaign.
This comes in light of the underwhelming performances at the World Cup 2010, which culminated in an exit through a bitter 4-1 loss to Germany.
The disaster has been dissected time and time again, with speculation surrounding manager Fabio Capello's future. It is also thought that the FA have asked the Italian to curb his strict nature to give the players a little leeway.
In the meantime, there were also suggestions that the failure in South Africa may have been due to a lack of drive on the part of the players themselves.
However, the Manchester City midfielder has hit back at this line of thought, as he told reporters: "It is annoying when people say we don't care. It is nonsense.
"Everyone knows we want to win as much as anyone. We are here to win.
"Defeat is hard to take for anyone. But when it is you being spoken about, it is tough to deal with.
"You just have to try to not listen to those who speak negatively."
Now the former Aston Villa skipper believes that any mistakes made during the first World Cup on the African continent should be addressed and rectified prior to the start of the European Championship qualification campaign - which begins with a clash against Bulgaria on Friday.
Barry has also suggested that a winter break be incorporated in the Premier League to allow the players to get some rest in an otherwise rigorous schedule.
"England as a whole, and the FA, we all need to learn from this in the future," he said.
"It is important we take any mistakes on board.
"If a winter break can help, that certainly needs to be looked at. In my opinion, that is a massive thing.
"It is an issue which keeps coming up. Ask any player who plays on a Sunday, midweek and then the week after. By the end, you don't feel as good. It is just natural."
Irrespective of how well the Three Lions perform during the qualifying stages for the European Championship in 2012, it is likely that their performances - should they be encouraging - could be seen with a degree of scepticism signifying the psychological aftermath of the World Cup disaster.
Capello's charges endured a stellar qualifying campaign en route to qualifying in style to pursue the dream in South Africa, but the actual tournament saw the side crash out of the competition at a much earlier stage than expected.
"It was hard to take after we qualified with such flying colours," Barry continued. "Going forward and defensively, we looked very good.
"Maybe that did affect us a bit. We were on a high and the country felt we had a proper chance.
"But on the big stage it didn't happen. Everyone realises now that it's not about how we qualify.
"The main objective is just to qualify and then have a good tournament."
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This comes in light of the underwhelming performances at the World Cup 2010, which culminated in an exit through a bitter 4-1 loss to Germany.
The disaster has been dissected time and time again, with speculation surrounding manager Fabio Capello's future. It is also thought that the FA have asked the Italian to curb his strict nature to give the players a little leeway.
In the meantime, there were also suggestions that the failure in South Africa may have been due to a lack of drive on the part of the players themselves.
However, the Manchester City midfielder has hit back at this line of thought, as he told reporters: "It is annoying when people say we don't care. It is nonsense.
"Everyone knows we want to win as much as anyone. We are here to win.
"Defeat is hard to take for anyone. But when it is you being spoken about, it is tough to deal with.
"You just have to try to not listen to those who speak negatively."
Now the former Aston Villa skipper believes that any mistakes made during the first World Cup on the African continent should be addressed and rectified prior to the start of the European Championship qualification campaign - which begins with a clash against Bulgaria on Friday.
Barry has also suggested that a winter break be incorporated in the Premier League to allow the players to get some rest in an otherwise rigorous schedule.
"England as a whole, and the FA, we all need to learn from this in the future," he said.
"It is important we take any mistakes on board.
"If a winter break can help, that certainly needs to be looked at. In my opinion, that is a massive thing.
"It is an issue which keeps coming up. Ask any player who plays on a Sunday, midweek and then the week after. By the end, you don't feel as good. It is just natural."
Irrespective of how well the Three Lions perform during the qualifying stages for the European Championship in 2012, it is likely that their performances - should they be encouraging - could be seen with a degree of scepticism signifying the psychological aftermath of the World Cup disaster.
Capello's charges endured a stellar qualifying campaign en route to qualifying in style to pursue the dream in South Africa, but the actual tournament saw the side crash out of the competition at a much earlier stage than expected.
"It was hard to take after we qualified with such flying colours," Barry continued. "Going forward and defensively, we looked very good.
"Maybe that did affect us a bit. We were on a high and the country felt we had a proper chance.
"But on the big stage it didn't happen. Everyone realises now that it's not about how we qualify.
"The main objective is just to qualify and then have a good tournament."
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21:38 BST -
And it's now 3-1 to Turkey! An own goal from Pepe and we're into time added on. Do people think Portugal will qualify from their group?
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