Terry: Defeat could be good for us
ENGLAND captain John Terry believes Saturday’s shock defeat to Ukraine will prove a welcome reality check to their World Cup aspirations.
Fabio Capello’s men went into the match with their place at next summer’s finals already assured and buoyed by a 100 per cent record in qualifying.
But talk of mounting a genuine challenge for the trophy was put into perspective by a chastening result in Dnipropetrovsk.
Terry insists the squad had not allowed itself to believe the hype but says the loss may remind others that Capello’s team remain a work in progress.
“Will this result calm people down? Maybe a little bit. But we were never letting ourselves get complacent or thinking that we were world beaters,” said the Chelsea defender.
“We realise we have still got a lot of improving to do. We can use these games as a base for that and that’s not changed in the group of players. The fans are excited and it is a good thing we have qualified – but we have got to use these games such as the one in the Ukraine as learning curves.”
Flares were repeatedly thrown onto the pitch during Saturday’s defeat, but Terry played down the disruptive effect the ensuing stoppages had on him and his team-mates.
“We were disappointing in the first half and we can’t blame that on the flares or this, that or the other,” he added. In certain games throughout the campaign we have had difficult things thrown at us and we have had to get through it. We can’t look at the flares as an excuse.”
Goalkeeper David James, who came off the bench following Rob Green’s dismissal, and striker Wayne Rooney echoed Terry’s views.
James said: “They were big flares, granted, but you could argue that someone throwing a paper aeroplane on the pitch might take someone’s eye out.”
Rooney, who last night pulled out of Wednesday’s clash with Belarus added: “What happened with the flares did not break our concentration at all.”