Sven: No favours for Beckham
23 Jun 2006 - 09:02:16
Sven-Goran Eriksson has hit out at accusations that David Beckham's place in the England team is protected by the close personal relationship the pair have.
The skipper is again facing calls for him to be dropped after his disappointing performance in the 2-2 draw against Sweden, but Eriksson confirmed the Real Madrid midfielder will start the World Cup round of 16 tie against Ecuador on Sunday.
However, the Swede insisted he would not hesitate to drop or substitute Beckham if he thought it was in the best interests of the team.
"I have taken David Beckham off before. Of course I will do it again. If I think he's not doing the job, yes," said Eriksson.
"I am not married to David Beckham, even if you think I am. I'm not even engaged to him.
"I'm prepared to do whatever I need to do if I see things are going wrong. I will do whatever is required.
"It's the same with him as all the other players.
"He's the captain but he is treated the same as all the other players in every way - at the dinner table, on the bus, tactically, in training, in a match.
"Exactly the same as all the others. He doesn't have any favours just because he's the captain."