We must rediscover our pride, says Hamren

18 June 2012 21:51

Sweden must seize the opportunity of getting a good result against France in their final Group D match on Tuesday and depart Euro 2012 with their heads held high, coach Erik Hamren said on Monday.

The 54-year-old, who hopes he will be retained in the post which he has been in since 2009, said his players were fully focused on the match and getting a result despite the fact they are heading home afterwards having lost their first two games.

France by contrast need just a point to confirm their place in the last eight, although they could still lose and go through if England beat Ukraine.

Sweden's 2-1 loss to co-hosts Ukraine and 3-2 defeat to England both came after they were ahead but Hamren said that he was pleased with the way they had performed even if the results had not gone their way.

"We want above all to rediscover our pride," said Hamren.

"We feel really good, we are really motivated.

"The players want to play at the same level of intensity and will do everything to win, as usual.

"We are frustrated not to have achieved the results that we wished for."

However, Hamren, who nevertheless called some of his players cowards for the way they played in the opening game against Ukraine, said that he was pleased with the manner in which the players had showed a desire to keep on progressing.

"I am motivated and I feel the players are too to work harder and to become better," he said.

"The objective is to be happy after a match. We can be content with the way we have played, that is good, but we also want to be happy because we won.

"For that reason I am not going to just select someone for the sake of it agaisnt France.

"There will be changes, perhaps several," added Hamren, who will definitely be without injured first choice duo, striker Johan Elmander and midfielder Rasmus Elm.

Hamren, a successful club coach in Norway and Denmark before taking the job, said that victory over the French would be the ideal morale booster going into the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

"Its still the Euro but it is a good way of seeing where we can improve things, so it's a mix of the two.

"But if we win, it will not put three points beside our name in our World Cup qualifying group.

"However, it will boost our confidence for the qualifiers."

Source: AFP