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ISRAEL v ENGLAND - McCLAREN DEMANDS PROUD PERFORMANCE
England coach Steve McClaren has called on his players to make the fans proud of them again.
McClaren's men look to get their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign back on track against Israel on Saturday accepting there are serious misgivings among a 3,500-strong travelling support, and millions more at home, about their capacity to deliver.
A morale-sapping defeat in Croatia on their last competitive outing in October was the low point of a four-match winless streak which culminated at Old Trafford last month when England were booed off the field after losing to Spain.
The unhappy sequence of results has eroded belief in a supposedly talented squad whose failure to reach anything close to the standards most feel they are capable of.
With England currently lying third in Group E, outside the two qualifying spots for next summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland, influential agent Pini Zahavi has suggested defeat will signal the end of McClaren's time in charge.
While Zahavi's comments may be nothing more than mischief-making from the proud Israeli, there is no doubt McClaren will come under severe pressure if the result goes against his team.
Yet Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor was relaxed enough, both in his surroundings and his mind, to take an early-morning stroll along the beach. And he is convinced the message constantly reinforced to his players about the need to perform has finally got through.
"I have spoken to the players a lot recently but now the talking has to stop. It is time to deliver," he said.
"We have 3,500 fans with us here and millions more back home who have great pride in England. They are the most important people. We know their expectations and we know we have not always delivered.
"We owe them and we need to inspire them.
"It isn't as if we don't know what is expected.
"Everybody has pointed it out and we have talked about it a lot. But you can talk until the cows come home. Now the talking has to stop. It is time we delivered an England performance.
"I am not contemplating defeat and I am not giving a judgement on myself.
"You can look at the bigger picture at other times. At the present moment it is about tomorrow - and we are here to win."
Although Israel's proud record of not losing at home for seven years was brought to an end in high-scoring fashion by Croatia in November, the hosts will not easily be overcome.
McClaren can take heart from the return of Owen Hargreaves, who featured in the first three games of the coach's reign - when England won - but not the past four - when they did not.
Hargreaves' presence as a midfield anchor will allow Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard to get forward without worrying too much about defensive responsibilities, while, on his first international start, Aaron Lennon will provide extreme pace on the left.
Everton's Andrew Johnson will do the same alongside Wayne Rooney in attack so even though Micah Richards remains a major doubt, McClaren feels he has good reason to be bullish.
"I have been looking forward to this game since we played Croatia," he said.
"When you are playing for points, that is when the atmosphere is at its most intense.
"This is a big game for Israel too and the emotion surrounding it could raise their performance by 25%.
"But when I look around at my squad, with their character and experience and I see them playing big games every week, it fills me with confidence.
"The players are there. That is why I am very relaxed."
In dismissing Zahavi's other main allegation, namely that team spirit at the World Cup was undermined by the preferential treatment former captain David Beckham received from Eriksson, McClaren confirmed the bond in the current camp remains strong.
"Headlines don't bother me," he said.
"You expect things to come out before a game. You just have to cope with it. They should inspire and motivate us as much as Israel.
"I certainly do not feel under pressure. We always back ourselves into a tricky situation but we always qualify.
"We still have eight games to go. It is where we end up that counts not where we are now."
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