Red alert for Al’s record

NATHAN REDMOND has set his sights on Alan Shearer’s all-time goalscoring record with England Under-21s.

Southampton winger Redmond struck his 10th goal for the Young Lions as they came from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 on Monday.

He is now just three behind former England captain Shearer’s record of 13.

And Redmond will be bidding to beat that total with the semi-finals now in sight.

A win against hosts Poland tomorrow night will guarantee Aidy Boothroyd’s boys a place in the last four of what will be Redmond’s last finals.

Redmond, 23, said: “I’m aware. I’m just going to keep plugging away for the team and if the chances come, take them.

“I’ve seen about the record. It’s not something which has been on my mind.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Under-21s and England youth team career as a whole. ® from PAUL BROWN in Kielce The whole development stage has got me to this point.”

While Redmond’s goalscoring feat is impressive, it’s not a patch on Shearer’s – who scored his 13 goals in just 11 games.

Redmond has taken 36 games to hit double figures.

But he will have a shot at beating former Newcastle star Shearer’s total if England capitalise on their win over the Slovaks, who take on Sweden in Group A’s other game at the same time tomorrow night.

Calmed

England are now favourites to qualify but defender Alfie Mawson revealed that a half-time row helped turn things around after Boothroyd’s boys went in trailing at the break. Redmond added: “A few players were frustrated but the gaffer calmed us down and said, ‘Relax, enjoy playing and we will get an opportunity’, and we got two. “I think that was key. We have a lot of players who have been here before and some who haven’t. People are on different wavelengths. “Some want to do too well to impress and some want to do too well because it’s their last one. “There’s a lot of challenges to overcome but we did that with a win and the lads were outstanding. “I wouldn’t say it’s a feeling of relief. We stuck to the plan, we knew what we wanted to do and we knew it was going to be a tough game. We believe in our ability.”