da esoccer bet： Glen Johnson believes that appointing Steven Gerrard as England captain has proved a masterstroke and the full back feels his Liverpool teammate is flourishing as a result.
da realbet： Steven Gerrard has arguably been England’s player of the tournament so far with four assists to his name and Johnson thinks Roy Hodgson decision to give him the armband has paid immediate dividends as the responsibility has seen his game elevate to the next level on the international front:
“Stevie has been a fantastic player for many, many years but with the armband I think he feels like he needs to step up just that tiny bit more and I think he’s done that more than anyone so far.”
Johnson also feels that there is also a change of atmosphere around the England camp than there was in South Africa two years ago and believes there appears to be a new found positivity around the squad and added belief:
“Obviously it’s a different environment, with different members of staff. We tried our very best to do well in South Africa but for whatever reasons it didn’t turn out too great. We’re positive at the moment and we’re hopeful.”