Pearce wants England U-21s to forget past

Published on Monday 29 June 2009 09:59

STUART PEARCE has urged his England Under-21s to create a new chapter of history when they face Germany in the European Championship final in Malmo tonight.

Germany will be wearing red at Swedbank Stadion despite being the "home" team, so there will be no flashbacks to England's finest hour when they wore their away strip for the 1966 World Cup final against their traditional rivals.

In any case, Pearce wants his youngsters – with Hearts ace Andy Driver in the ranks – to forget about past encounters against Germany.

"Any matches in the past are in the past," he said. "My only concern is the match.

"The only history we want to create is a victory for us. As for games gone by, they have no relevance."

Pearce has also told his players that heroic failure counts for nothing.

Pearce has been part of several near-misses – losing as a player in semi-finals against Germany on penalties at Italia 90 and Euro 96 – and he is not satisfied by qualifying for this tournament, travelling to Sweden and reaching the final.

The fact the final is against old rivals Germany adds to the pressure, with Pearce willing to settle for nothing less than victory.

"Success is not coming away as a gallant loser," he said. "We feel we have had no success yet. The only way we will deem to have success is if we win."