Barry confident ahead of Euro qualifiers
Barry says he is playing with more confidence
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Wednesday, 10, Oct 2007 09:21
Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry says he is playing with more confidence following his performances in England's last two Euro 2008 qualifiers and will carry that into the games against Estonia and Russia.
Barry says that his recall to the squad and being an integral part of England's last two victories has given him a boost after being overlooked for four years during Sven Goran Eriksson's reign.
He said: "On the back of my club form and my last two games for England, there's no reason why I'm not going down there with confidence.
"It's the first time in a good few years I've expected to be in the squad rather than be waiting for the call. It's a nice feeling and I feel a bit more relaxed about the situation. The last get-together went very well."
Barry is expected to partner Steven Gerrard in the centre of midfield against Estonia on Saturday, despite the return from injury of Frank Lampard.
The 26-year-old insists that he does not take his place in the side for granted and knows that there is a great deal of competition for places in England's midfield.
He explained: "There is no way you can take your place for granted - not even the world class players who have been around the scene for five or ten years do that so it would be silly for me to do that."
Barry claims the expectation of captaining Villa has helped him deal with similar pressures on the international scene and that he hopes to draw on that experience to help England in the upcoming qualifiers.