Team spirit lifts buoyant Keegan; FOOTBALL.
KEVIN KEEGAN believes the spirit in his England squad will be a key factor in Wednesday's Euro 2000 qualifier clash with Poland, claiming: ''It couldn't be better if we were about to play in a World Cup final.''Keegan is confident the 'all for one, one for all' attitude can help England triumph if the going gets tough in Warsaw in a game where anything less than victory will amount to little less than a footballing disaster.
Acknowledged braveheart-type figures such as David Batty, Stuart Pearce and fit-again Tony Adams will have a massive role to play if England are to clinch a spot in the November play-offs for a place in Euro 2000.
And Keegan has also been buoyed by the news of David Beckham, Kieron Dyer and Adams being available to face the Poles after suffering injury scares in Saturday's six-goal romp against Luxembourg at Wembley.
Keegan said: ''My overall impression is that the training has gone fantastic and the spirit within the group is as good you could ever get it.
''Even if we go on to play in a World Cup final, which is my aim in the three years I've got with England, I don't think I will ever get it any better than it is now.
''I just think we've got a super set of lads. There are three or four players who aren't here who certainly would have been but sometimes that just binds everything stronger together.''
Beckham's availability is a massive boost after he was substituted with a hamstring problem on Saturday which gave Keegan cause to worry.
He said: ''We knew Tony Adams was not a major concern with his dead leg but the nature of a hamstring injury makes it a bit different.
''We fetched David Beckham off as soon as he said it was tightening up and all the players we were concerned about have declared themselves fit to train.''
Keegan is confident that England have the ability at their disposal to see off the Poles despite the claims of coach Janusz Wojcik that they are running scared.
Keegan said: ''When I look at the players at my disposal, that's what gives me the confidence to think we can get the right result on Wednesday.''
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Coventry Evening Telegraph (England) |
| Date: | Sep 7, 1999 |
| Words: | 376 |
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