Another Terr-ific victory but England still have work to do

Published on Thursday 2 April 2009 09:52

GOAL hero John Terry insisted there is "still an awful long way to go" before England can start celebrating qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Skipper Terry grabbed a late winner for Fabio Capello's side in the 2-1 success over Ukraine at Wembley to maintain their 100 per cent record in the qualifying group.

But the Chelsea star is erring on the side of caution even though victories over Kazhakstan and Andorra in June would virtually ensure England have sufficient points.

Terry said: "We are in a great position in the group. To make it five wins out of five is massive. Ukraine have still got a game in hand but it puts us in a really good position.

"We have got Kazhakstan away and Andorra at home next, two tough games, but hopefully we can pick up six points and, at the moment, things are going well. We are in a great position.

"We have now beaten everyone in the group but there is still an awful long way to go and we are certainly not getting carried away. Yes, we are pushing in the right direction in terms of where we want to be and things are improving slowly and surely. If we can continue with that, it will stand us in good stead."

Terry believes the new Wembley is starting to become a fortress for England given the way the fans drove the team on after Andriy Shevchenko's goal had cancelled out Peter Crouch's opener in his first start under Capello.

He said: "Wembley is starting to feel a bit more like a home for England because, when it went 1-1, the fans all got behind us and showed the support we know they can do.

"They are like an extra man and they pushed us to go on and get the winning goal and eventually it came. The desire of the English players to dig deep and get a result was massive."

David Beckham, whose cross created the opening for Terry's winner, echoed the sentiments of the central defender. He said:

"Our fans have always supported us and against Ukraine it was the same again."