Raimond Perplexed

Goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw admits that the squad are shocked about the position they find themselves in at the moment.

"I think it has been very hard for everybody and no one expected to have a start like this," he says. "It is time for us to get three points at home, that is important for the fans and the players.

"If you look at the players you can say we have a high quality squad, and I don't know why we have not being playing the way we should be in the first four games especially."

It is a quieter week for Raimond with no reserve team fixture but he has enjoyed looking after the youngsters in the second string and adds: "There are some good players in the reserve team and we are not doing that bad - we are somewhere in the middle of the table and of course when you have a lot of changes in the team it doesn't always help.

"But we have a lot of young players in there and they are doing very well."

Meanwhile, giving his comments on the Fabien Barthez penalty controversy and his recent antics to delay a spot kick against Fulham - for which he was booked before saving the kick - he says: "It is something Barthez worked out for himself. I am not Fabien so I don't try to copy him."

But he was happy with Paolo Di Canio's penalty last week against the same team and says: "If you chip a goalkeeper for a penalty you know other keepers will watch that - and Van der Sar is an extremely experienced goalkeeper.

"But Paolo did extremely well because he was looking at the goalkeeper but he didn't move so he hit it in the corner, and that is the sign of a player with class."

As for recent criticism of David Seaman following his performance for England against Macedonia, he comments: "They are talking too much about one person. It is always a team performance and you win together, lose together - I feel sorry for Seaman at the moment."

As for the battle for an England place with our very own David James, he concludes diplomatically: "David James is doing very well. He has different qualities that you don't see with a lot of goalkeepers."