& IT STARTS NOW, SAYS DIER

time to push on.” Dier took over as England captain from Spurs teammate Harry Kane when the striker was rested for the 1-0 friendly victory over Switzerland in Leicester on Tuesday.

Now, Mauricio Pochettino’s men face a tough Champions League opener against Inter Milan in the San Siro on Tuesday evening. And that will pit Dier, Kane, Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier against Ivan Perisic (right), the Croatian midfielder who denied England with an equaliser in Moscow in July when they were just 22 minutes away from reaching the World Cup Final.

Dier said: “Football moves on so fast that I haven’t really had the chance to sit down and think about how close were actually were. It just wasn’t to be. We know that there are still areas where we need to improve if we want to make that final step.

“Inter is a different game and a different competition.

“It’s a club game and I’ll be purely thinking about beating Inter Milan – and not Ivan Perisic.

“He’s a fantastic player. Croatia had a lot of really quality players in the World Cup and England are going to face them again next month, so that will be another chance to test ourselves.

“I feel, at Tottenham, that we’re further along than with England.

“But, in both situations, we can still improve in so many ways.

“From a mental standpoint, we must be stronger and constantly want more.”