Scott no longer Believes in Nev as England boss
haven’t won we might have conceded only one chance but it can make a difference.
“We know what’s happening around us in the table but the focus has to be ourselves and to pick up the most points possible.”
Pereira netted for the fourth time in an increasingly successful personal campaign in front of goal during the midweek FA Cup victory over Birmingham.
That at least stopped the rot and gave the Foxes a boost ahead of their final meeting this season against Villa who dumped them out of the Carabao Cup just four weeks ago.
Pereira said: “Payback is too harsh a word but we want to bounce back against them and show a different image.
“It was very painful for us, very difficult. The fans and players were shattered because we were so close to getting to the final.
“We were disappointed we didn’t get there and we let them down – and we let ourselves down of course.”
Leicester face the prospect of a promising season collapsing if they cannot arrest their blip in form. They face Villa and Watford over the next week with both opponents in the relegation dogfight.
With their closest challengers all gaining ground on them, there is a danger they could slip from second in the table to outside the Champions League spots – unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
Chelsea will present a tough task in the last eight of the FA Cup, even though the Foxes will be on their own familiar territory.
Pereira, 26, added: “I think it’s good to play more games because it’s a sign we are going far in every competition.
“That’s what we want and we have to be prepared for that.
“We know it’s difficult but that’s a price we are willing to pay – it’s the price of success. But we must focus on small margins or we won’t achieve anything this
season.” of the back of his net. “He’s been a bundle of energy for us.” Samatta was brought in from
Belgian side Genk for £10m and Smith added: “Ally is a player who will run in behind and that’s what scares defenders. “The others respect him, they can see the qualities he brings. “All in all those two could be big for us.”
FORMER England defender Alex Scott believes Phil Neville’s management is no longer working for the national team.
The Lionesses suffered their latest defeat against the USA in the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday night and will play Japan in their second game tonight.
Having pushed the US all the way in the World Cup semi-finals last summer, England were well beaten with a 2-0 scoreline flattering the defending champions.
Neville insisted afterwards that England are not going backwards but Scott disagrees.
The full-back turned pundit (above) said: “When Hope Powell was England manager she worked miracles to get the women’s game to where it was.
“We didn’t qualify for major tournaments but she took us to the World Cup quarterfinal, a Euro semi-final.
“Mark Sampson came in and he moved the team forward again.
“We closed the gap, we were competing against teams like America and my worry with the team now is, we had a honeymoon period where Phil’s coming in and he’s saying,
‘We have to change the style of play, we want to play out from the back’ but now it’s not working.
“We’ve dropped down the FIFA world rankings, our loss percentage against the highest-rated teams has increased.
“So the stats back up that actually at the moment it’s worrying because we are on a decline and now that gap that we closed – we’re going away from it.
“We’re holding a home Euros next summer with lots of investment and lots of eyes on the women’s game so I think the game and Phil, it’s at a crucial point.
“We really need to assess where the women’s team is going and how we can now compete again with the likes of America.”
After a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, England gained revenge with a group stage win last summer and the game at the Red Bull Arena will be another good indicator of where Neville’s side stand 12 months on.