SIGNING UP FOR THE SPIRIT OF LIONS

Autographed shirts and friends for life

LUNCHTIME at England C’s Jersey hotel on Wednesday and the 18-man squad are putting eating on hold to sign some autographs.

Representing the country is a big honour for any footballer and it’s no different for NonLeague’s Three Lions.

As a memento they all get a replica match shirt to take home and the latest call-ups decide they want theirs signed by each other.

Their bond is unique. Having only met as a group Friday afternoon, they’ve had four training sessions and two matches in six days. And seemingly made friends for life.

It’s always impressive to see how quickly boss Paul Fairclough and his staff unite a squad. Every morning at the 8am weigh-in they all shake hands and away from the training ground they work on the mental side of the game too.

Fairclough’s very first session sees the players stand up and introduce themselves, the clubs they’ve been at and any other detail that fills out the minimum of 30 seconds talking time.

Some are comfortable speaking in front of their peers and others less so. But by the time they get to another regular Fairclough meeting a day later, they are talking intimately. In pairs, they ask each other five questions – including best and worst moments of their life – and then relay the answers back to the whole group.

For 17 of this squad, only goalkeeper James Montgomery has been involved before, it’s been a new, eyeopening, experience.

Preparations

It’s also been an opportunity for Fairclough to look at some untested faces as part of preparations for the C team’s International Challenge Trophy Final clash against Slovakia in November. As England C, the new charges beat Panjab FA 2-1 at Solihull Moors on Sunday – a celebratory occasion both the FA and Panjab FA were delighted with – thanks to two goals from Darren McQueen.

The Ebbsfleet attacker’s first was a fantastic finish, racing in behind to lift the ball over the onrushing keeper and, slowly, into the net.

The talented Rajpal Virk hammered Panjab level in the second half before McQueen tucked in the winner.

He could have had a hat-trick when he nipped onto a loose backpass but his tame shot was saved by Ash Malhotra.

On Monday, the squad travelled to Jersey to play as an FA Representative XI.

Fejiri Okenabirhie scored less than 30 seconds after coming off the bench in a game the visitors dominated – and they felt they should have been two goals to the good, only for Joe Ironside to see his tap-in ruled out for offside.

But James Queree’s late strike levelled and, with a small trophy on the line, Jersey won on penalties when Karl Hinds fired in the decisive kick. Everyone got at least one start with Darlington’s David Ferguson, Maidstone United defender Kevin Lokko and Kidderminster Harriers’ impressive midfielder Ryan Croasdale playing the full 180 minutes. Leaning on sports science – the players’ hydration levels are monitored constantly and they wore heart rate monitors for training and games – the management were able to shuffle the side depending on fatigue to minimise injury risk. Although they drew the second game 1-1, and ultimately lost on penalties as a low-pressure shoot-out was agreed to decide who would pick up a trophy, Fairclough now has plenty to ponder ahead of his next selection.

“It’s been good,” Fairclough said. “We all like to wins game of football, no matter who you play. We had a great result against Panjab but, over the 90 minutes, it was a better performance against Jersey.

Opportunity

“I’ve learnt a lot about the squad that we picked. With what’s gone on in the last few days, some of them have really pushed themselves forward with what I’ve seen.”

The ultimate goal is silverware and Fairclough has the task of replacing the Football League-bound players that helped get them to the final. Lincoln City’s Alex Woodyard, Sean Raggett and Sam Habergham and Forest Green duo Ethan Pinnock and Dan Wishart can no longer be selected.

“There’s some big players to replace,” Fairclough said. “But I’ve seen players over these days who I believe can replace them. There’s so much quality in Non-League football and some of them have really taken this opportunity.

“People like Ryan Croasdale. It was like watching an Iniesta-type performance against Jersey. He got forward, made tackles I didn’t think he had in him – it was an outstanding performance.

“I believe we have players here who will get even better. They go away now, have their break, and the final message they get from me is: You’ve done really well, but you don’t get in the England C team unless you maintain it at club level. That’s where your bread and butter is.

“If you’re not playing well and getting in your club team, there’s no way you’re getting in the England C team.”