Wolverhampton Wanderers defender impresses for England

Nov 20 2008

not in his locker.

"He has turned up and been arguably as good as anyone on the pitch in a white shirt and has done himself a lot of credit with what he has shown he can do.

"The fact he can play right-back as well is useful to me in terms of the future so he should be very pleased with what he is doing at the moment both for club and country."

Pearce also said an overall integration of a 'Team England' mentality, where players seamlessly move between squads, is starting to reap dividends.

He added: "I think we have the staff and the nice consistent feel to them as well and they help players blend in. Obviously, my travels having watched the Under-19s, and I've met the likes of Fabian Delph and Jack Cork.

"They have seen me on their training camps and on match days and that will help the progression of players coming into this camp and not bumping into Stuart Pearce and thinking 'who is this fella? I don't know him,' because they have met me before.

"I have taken training sessions with them as well when I've been on the road and that helps the progression of players coming into this squad.

"That is applicable for players who move up to the senior squad as well and as I have always said that players should not consider moving down to the Under-21s as a bad thing."