Pearce hopeful of winning start
Monday, 11 Jun 2007 12:36
Stuart Pearce is concentrating on the under-21s after his Man City exit
England under-21 manager Stuart Pearce says England must win their first European Championship game to get the "momentum" to push on and win the tournament.
Pearce's team face the Czech Republic in their first fixture of the Uefa tournament at the Gelredome in Arnhem tonight and Pearce has insisted a winning start is key to progress in the Netherlands.
"It's very important you don't get beaten in that first game," he told FA.com. "If we can get off to a winning start, momentum is also a great thing in tournament football, once you get in that momentum so much the better.
"We feel as though we've got a realistic chance but we're wary of the opposition. We have studied them intensively and know there is a lot of ability out there, so we've got to be on our toes from the first minute of the first game."
The former
Manchester City boss did not mention the recent pullout of David Bentley but did note that Anton Ferdinand is England's only doubt ahead of the first game.
"Everyone has a clean bill of health all apart from Anton Ferdinand who is struggling with a touch of stiffness in his groin but we’re monitoring that and we hope he'll be ok," Pearce said.
The England manager insisted a great deal of preparation has been done in the build-up to the tournament, including him and his coaching staff watching hours of videos to present a short piece of information that will be useful to the players.
Pearce thinks the Czechs will pose a significant test and that they "mirror" the country's senior side in many respects.