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Eriksson says blame him

16/10/2005

England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has said he is to blame for England's stuttering finish to the World Cup qualification campaign which saw unconvincing wins against Wales and Austria and defeat to Northern Ireland.

Eriksson, who also saw his England side beaten 4-1 by Denmark in a friendly before winning group six, said that he was at fault for playing people that were not in form but he wanted to play what he believed was his best eleven.

"It's my fault because I insisted on playing important players even if they don't look 100 per cent," Eriksson said.

"It was not only one player, it was three or four but I did it because I believe in this squad and I believe they will play the World Cup."

The Swede has come under enormous criticism from some sections of the media over England's recent performances but admitted that sometimes things don't always go right.

"Even if you have an extremely good squad, things still sometimes go badly for you," Eriksson added.

"I knew they could play much, much better so I never lost my faith in these players."

England now have four friendlies before the World Cup starts in Germany next summer, beginning in Geneva against Argentina on November 12th.

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