Crouch praises Redknapp

Filed in archive England on October 8, 2008

Striker Peter Crouch has put the credit for his return to the England squad down to his manager at Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp.

Crouch was not named in Fabio Capello's last two squads but regular football and two goals in his last two games have earned him a recall for the World Cup qualifiers over the coming week.

Crouch told the BBC;

"He builds up players' confidence. He tells you every day you can be a world beater and, eventually, you start to believe it. Harry Redknapp has been a big help to me. I've played for Harry before and I felt he had got the best out of me so that was one of the reasons I joined Portsmouth. I believe for the rest of the season he will get the best out of me and a lot in terms of my England recall is down to him."

Crouch has a fine record of fourteen goals in his twenty-eight international appearances but limited chances at Liverpool cost him his place in the international set-up.

"I was in the first two squads the manager picked so it was obvious that he rated me otherwise I wouldn't have been in those squads. When I was left out I looked to myself - 'What am I doing wrong?' - and just tried to work hard. I always felt, given a run of games, I was confident enough. I could have stayed at Liverpool, maybe played in the odd game here and there, but I wanted to move on. I had faith in my ability and if I played every week, I could show I was worthy to be in the England set-up."