Theo Walcott and Michael Dawson are keen to put England frustrations behind them and seize their latest international chances.
Both Walcott and Dawson, speaking ahead of England’s friendly match with Denmark at Parken on Wednesday, have revealed that recent disappointments with the national team have motivated them to come back even stronger than ever.
Walcott was left out of England’s World Cup squad last year but manager Fabio Capello has since admitted that he made a mistake in omitting the Arsenal winger.
Now Walcott says such an admission has boosted his self-confidence.
“It’s a nice quote and that’s helped me out so much this season, it’s shown that the manager’s taken responsibility for what he did,” Walcott said.
“I had a good pre-season and started the season brightly. it’s always nice when the manager’s got faith in you – even though I didn’t go to the World Cup.”
“I’ve had ups and downs in my career so far and I felt I needed that mental break from it all so it might have done me a favour.”
“It was his decision to make and I respected it. It’s helped me out so much this season, having that break and those quotes from the manager as well.”
“I wanted to know why I didn’t go and I had a conversation with him. He’s a manager you can approach,” added Walcott.
“It’s got my mind at ease, I can build on the manager’s belief in me and I think I need to start believing in myself – which I have, my performances have been better this season.”
“It’s going to put a smile on your face if the manager’s thinking (it’s) a mistake he made, it’s great for a player. I want to help him and prove he was wrong, I want to play well for England and hopefully make his job easier.”
Walcott feels he needs to score for the national side again soon, having failed to find the net since his famous hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Croatia in September 2008.
“My shooting boots have been on for Arsenal and hopefully on Wednesday night I can grab a goal or an assist or something and get some more confidence.”
Meanwhile, Dawson admitted that his frustrations stem from an injury in the European Championships qualifier against Bulgaria in September.
The Tottenham Hotspur centre-back was involved in the wins over Hungary and Bulgaria in Capello’s new-look England side following the disappointments at the World Cup.
“I come back and had the chance to play against Hungary and get my full cap which was fantastic and then we had Bulgaria in the qualifier and it was a bad time to get my injury,” he said.
“It’s great to be back part of the England squad and hopefully I’ll get my chance on Wednesday.”
Dawson was unsure as to whether he would start the match in Copenhagen: “You’ll have to ask the manager that, there’s obviously JT (John Terry), Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott so whoever the manager picks will want to do well.”
“JT’s been around this for years and years and his experience makes him a top-class player.”
Mon 7 February, 2011
