Source: Daily_Mail
Heskey has done his job - now it's time for Defoe to start, says Hoddle
Former Three Lions manager Glenn Hoddle insists Jermain Defoe must start ahead of Emile Heskey at next summer's World Cup finals because England need the Tottenham striker's killer instinct.
Defoe was forced to settle for a substitute's role as Fabio Capello's kept faith with Heskey for last night's 5-1 thrashing of Croatia, which booked England's place in South Africa.
But Hoddle believes the time has come for Heskey to make way for the in-form Spurs forward, who has fired seven goals in as many matches for club and country this season.
'Qualifying is one thing. Fabio [Capello] is experienced enough to say, "Right, we're in a competition now." We know we're there and you have to be clinical in a World Cup if you're going to go all the way and win it. You have to take your chances.
'I don't want to sound too harsh and Emile is doing a great job for the team, but if Defoe had been in those one-on-one positions [last night]then he would have taken probably two of them and at a World Cup they are the crucial moments in football matches.
'Don't be surprised if [Capello] changes the situation. Qualifying football is one thing, tournament football another because eventually you're going to come up against the best teams in the world and they play differently and you have to be clinical. Whether Defoe comes on from the bench or starts, he will score goals.'
Hoddle has also tipped Aaron Lennon to emerge as a major force at the World Cup following his man-of-the-match display at Wembley, which highlighted the improvement the Spurs winger has made to his crossing.
'That's the only part of his game that he needed to work on and it looks like he's getting the confidence,' Hoddle said. 'He's playing well for Tottenham and now he's playing well for England. He's always got the pace and I think he's attacking defenders now at a different angle thatgives him more of an opportunity to go on the outside.
'His end product is always something he needed to improve on and he's starting to show those improvements. If you have someone with that kind of pace it's a fantastic "get-out."
'It gets the team up the pitch quickly and allows [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard and [Wayne] Rooney to hit the box. If he keeps playing like that he'll be a major threat.'
