MX23RW : Thursday, January 16 17:00:43| >> :600:887071:887071:

James Milner: 'England hard to beat'

James Milner says that Roy Hodgson has made England difficult opposition for anyone to beat.

Manchester City midfielder James Milner has insisted that new England manager Roy Hodgson's tactics have made the side difficult to beat.

The Three Lions are unbeaten at Euro 2012 having advanced as winners of Group D against the odds, and now prepare to face Italy in the quarter-finals. Milner says there is more to come from the national side under the management of Hodgson and is confident ahead of their meeting with the Azzurri.

"The gaffer hasn't been in the job long and he plays a different style to the previous manager. He wants us tucked in, compact and tight and to be difficult to beat and it has worked so far," said Milner.

"I think Ukraine were on top first half against us and we didn't get into our stride, but it showed the spirit and determination and the organisation of the team to restrict them to long shots.

"There is still more to come from the team. The manager only came in just before the tournament and we had injuries during the build-up.

"The lads have done a great job and, the longer we are together and with the manager, we will get better."

England face Italy in Kiev on Sunday in the last eight of the European Championships.

ID:31666: cacheID:31666:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2146:
Written by
Matt Cotton
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Roy Hodgson
Read Next:
Hodgson: 'England a work in progress'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool20145148202847
2Arsenal21127241192243
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle21115537221538
5Chelsea21107441261537
6Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
7Aston Villa2110563132-135
8Bournemouth219753225734
9Fulham217953230230
10Brentford218494037328
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham217592741-1426
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs21731143321124
14Crystal Palace215972328-524
15Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
16Everton203891526-1117
17Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2144133148-1716
19Leicester CityLeicester2135132346-2314
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!