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Neville defends Eriksson's record with England
England defender Gary Neville made an impassioned defence of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson on Wednesday, warning it would be a big mistake to sack the embattled Swede. Eriksson has been under fire in the British media and reportedly from some members of the Football Association (FA) for England's failure to get past the Euro 2004 quarter-finals, despite earning an estimated 4 million pounds a year. "It's unrealistic to think 'Let's sack him and bring in someone else,'" Neville told a news conference as England prepared for 2006 World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Poland. "We've got to keep this manager because he is one of the best in the world and we have to remain stable. Sacking him is not an option, this manager is someone we should be delighted to have." Looking back to England's rainswept 1-0 defeat by Germany in 2000, which led to Kevin Keegan's resignation as manager, Neville pointed to progress in terms of results and squad atmosphere. "That day at Wembley when we walked off the pitch with Kevin Keegan was a dark day, and not just for the weather," he said. "We can't go back to that, when we swap our manager every one or two years. "We've got to keep a manager for five, six or seven years, come what may. "For anyone who takes a manager's job, whether it's in Sunday league football or with England, it's unrealistic to think there aren't going to be losses or disappointing performances. "I think we've got as good a manager as England could possibly have. I genuinely believe he's created a sense of calm around the team and that both the players and the fans believe in him. England's progress "We've only lost two competitive matches under him within 90 minutes - against Brazil and France," he said, referring to England's campaigns at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. "In terms of results, we have progressed a lot in the last three years under this manager. "I had three or four England managers in my first five years and you don't know if you're coming or going. You're changing tactics, changing systems and changing squads. Let's just stick to what we've got, because it's worked quite well." England's Euro 2004 exit on penalties to the host nation had been a bitter disappointment, Neville said, particularly as expectations had been so high. "Before European Championship and even during, I woke up every morning thinking we were going to win it. "I genuinely believed it and I didn't think I was stupid in believing that. And I think a lot of people here and in Europe thought we had a chance... ultimately we just didn't do enough to beat Portugal. "Now we have to start again and that's the biggest disappointment of it all. You feel as though you're closing in on the top of the mountain and then you fall all the way down to the bottom and... you've got to wait two years to try and put it right." England start their Group Six qualifying campaign for Germany 2006 with games in Austria on Saturday and Chorzow, Poland next Wednesday. |
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