‘NO EXCUSES' INSISTS NEVILLE

Last updated : 30 June 2006 By Editor
"There is a time and moment for players to deliver and I think it's Saturday. There'll be no excuses. If we fail you as a country, we have to hold our hands up and say, 'We haven't delivered. The talk of us being potential world champions was rubbish.'

"Saturday is the measure of this team. In four years' time we're in South Africa and it could be 45 degrees. We might not qualify. We've had a pretty good track to this quarter-final. We've got to beat Portugal to get to a World Cup semi-final. Is this England team capable of doing it? I believe the answer is yes.

"We have to perform if we want to be recognised as a great England team. Otherwise we'll be recognised as a nearly team, a team that promised but didn't deliver. We won't be coming to you and saying 2008 could be our time. I still think that we'll have a great chance of winning the European championship but this is our best opportunity. We've got to take it.

"We've got to win because England should be in World Cup semi-finals.

"If Portugal seem to be doing better in one area of the game, we have to deal with that on the pitch and fix that problem. We can't allow it just to slowly eat away at us until we get to the end of the game and nothing's happened. We have to affect the match. We have to use our experience. I think we'll deliver.

"We have played against four teams so far who have been content with stifling our play. We have found it difficult at times. Portugal are a flair team who will allow us more space on the ball and I hope that our players, whom we know are players of European and world calibre, can produce their magic for us."