Gary Cahill insists England should not be afraid to play backs-against-the-wall football if it gives them a better chance of winning the European Championship.
Cahill was at the heart of Chelsea's rearguard effort that took them past defending European champions Barcelona and then Bayern Munich to Champions League glory. The defender stressed he is excited by England's attacking options, even with Wayne Rooney suspended for two matches. But the ability to win the hard way if necessary is a vital one.
"In this sort of tournament, knock-out football, sometimes you win playing good football and sometimes you win playing backs-to-the-wall football," Cahill told Press Association Sport.
"It truly is all about the results. It is nice to win games playing well but what I have learned in the last six months, it is also about getting the right results. If we did that with England this summer it would be fantastic. There is some great quality in this squad. There are some great players here and we should be going into the games confident."
England have been drawn in a tough group at Euro 2012 and open their campaign against France.
The recent change in manager, with Roy Hodgson taking over from Fabio Capello, seems to have dampened expectations among the public. But Cahill sees no reason why that should be the case.
"I don't see why it should," he said. "It is the same players who have come in. The manager who has come in is vastly experienced in football around the world.
"I only met the gaffer twice before meeting up with England and he came across well.
"I am looking forward to working with him and his staff. We have some fantastic players and a great squad. And we are going in with a vastly experienced manager."
Asked whether his own expectations were for England to go all the way and win the tournament, Cahill, who was speaking at event for Umbro, official kit suppliers to the England team, said: "I don't see why not, especially when you have the players here who have experienced winning things and experienced going through the stages to reach semi-finals and finals."
Source: PA
