England No.1 Joe Hart has accepted that fans of the national side have the right stop following the team after what was the nation’s worst showing at a World Cup.
Following the post-mortem, England’s first game back at Wembely couldn’t even fill half the ground and Hart feels the fans are obliged to stay away and it is up to the players to turn around opinions.
The expectation heading into Brazil wasn’t high, but many would’ve expected Roy Hodgson to guide his side to at least the last-16 round; to exit the tournament with 1 point and no wins was a massive let-down.
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“I think all of us fully understood the crowds after the World Cup. We didn’t do well. There was a lot of promise but we didn’t live up to it. You can’t hide from that fact,” Hart said bluntly (via the Mirror).
“But we’re are the kind of nation that’s going to dig in and we’ll fight, we want to win every game that we play. We’re in a massive stadium and we appreciate it’s difficult to sell out Wembley.
“Sometimes, with games in the week, it’s difficult for the kids to come – we understand they’ve got to be in bed early – but it’s great to play in front of a full house at Wembley.”
England host Lithuania in a Euro 2016 qualifier before travelling to face Italy in a friendly and it is the latter game in which the three lions will come under more scrutiny.
The record against the big sides at international level is woeful, especially in competitive fixtures and it is time for Hodgson to start showing progression as England manager.
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