WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
We must be a knockout Hendo: We can be brave
GARETH SOUTHGATE must win England’s first knockout game in 12 years to show progress at this summer’s World Cup.
England haven’t got past the last-16 stage since 2006 and did not even get out of their group at Brazil 2014.
FA chief Martin Glenn is reluctant to set targets but said: “Getting out of the group and winning a knockout would be a real sign of progress.
“We’ve got a youngish squad and have a worldclass support team. We embedded psychological work into the core.
“Could we be better prepared? Probably not.”
FRASER WILSON
JORDAN HENDERSON is ready to rumble again after the pain of losing the Champion League Final.
The Liverpool midfielder captained England on Thursday against Costa Rica and was outstanding in the 2-0 win.
He now wants to take the belief that saw the Reds make the final against Real Madrid into the World Cup.
Henderson said: “I don’t think I shall ever forget that. It hurts so much.
“But you can learn from that experience and it can help you to keep striving.
“You have to take that into the World Cup – be brave and be confident.” JAMES MARKS has never been so gutted to have been proved right in all his footballing life.
The veteran striker told Irvine Meadow boss Brian McGinty last year the Ayrshiremen would win promotion back to the top flight this season. But that was when he was a Medda player.
Fast forward seven months and Marks last night found himself as the very man trying to stop the Medda juggernaut as he lined up for Arthurlie against his former side in the Premier League Play-Off Final. Sadly for the 35-year-old frontman, known as Slick, his early-season prediction was spot on as Arthurlie came unstuck and slipped to a 2-0 defeat last night which consigns them to a first Premier League relegation.
Marks said: “We didn’t want to be the Arthurlie squad that made history for the wrong reasons but that’s football. It’s a sore one.
“Medda deserve to be in the Premier League but in my view so do Arthurlie.
“Earlier in the season I told Brian McGinty the squad he had would be good enough to go up through the play-offs if not get outright promotion.
“It’s strange I then end up in a position of trying to prove myself wrong. But that’s football. We have to regroup now and focus on getting straight back up.”