Pearce wants Lions to roar

07 June 2013 14:46

Stuart Pearce has called for his Under-21 side to produce a performance "befitting of England" to put their European Championship campaign back on track.

Having arrived in Israel on a run of nine successive wins without conceding, things quickly went awry in their opening match against Italy and few could have argued with the Azzurrini's 1-0 win - a result that leaves England bottom of Group A heading into the vital clash against Norway.

"We have got a strong squad of players that want to put things right," manager Pearce said. "Talk is cheap. We have spoken a bit about what has come out of the game. The important thing now for me is that the players to deliver a performance befitting of England."

He added: "I think if our performance is good we'll win the game. I think we need to see a touch more energy and drive and a bit more confidence on the ball.

"We've played some good football over the last few months, irrespective of our results.

"We've had some good movement and interaction in the team - that didn't show itself against Italy.

"I certainly think it will [against Norway]. I think we just needed to show a bit more devilment and we had the ball we needed to show a bit more composure with our movement and our flair.

"We've got some good players in our team and too many of them didn't show that character. But I'm confident they will [against Norway]."

Source: PA