Carrick Confusion Cleared

Glenn Roeder insists Michael Carrick was always in David Platt's plans - despite apparently not being named in the England U21 squad for the Portugal game when it was announced.

Clearing up the mystery, Glenn says:

"In my mind there was no confusion; David Platt had warned me last Friday evening that Michael was on standby for the seniors and if Sven didn't call him up he would play for him in the U21s.

"Somewhere at the FA there has been a slight mix up or misunderstanding of the situation, and, suddenly, when the U21s were named and Michael wasn't required for the seniors they forgot to put Michael's name in.

"But he was always in the U21s with the chance of being in the seniors via a late call up.

"But he didn't and it is a great opportunity for him and Jermain to impress for the U21s; hopefully they will both play well and Jermain will pop in the winning goal.

"I am a believer that whatever England team you play for is a huge honour and I cannot understand players ever refusing to play for England because they are not in the England team they want to be in; that is complete and utter nonsense as far as I'm concerned, and very unprofessional.

"Michael and Jermain are very much aware of my feelings about playing for England and it is a great honour for both those boys to be playing for their country tonight.

"We wish them both well and hope they help England to a great victory before we see the boys back at the training ground on Monday."

Glenn says that he has to sometimes curb the natural enthusiasm of the pair, and others like Joe Cole, in training too hard and reveals:

"All the young players in particular like working for an extra 20 minutes or so after the main session finishes.

"They all enjoy some extra finishing practice, but we don't want them to overdo it and pick up any injuries on the training ground."

Talking of injuries, the claim in one national newspaper that Glenn Roeder has 'called in a team of doctors' is totally erroneous.

The story made the assertion supposedly based on the club's promotion of a campaign by the Blood Pressure Association warning of the dangers of high blood pressure in connection with heart disease and other illnesses.

There was no connection whatsoever with the playing side of things, as was implied.

Which the writer of the piece undoubtedly knew full well...