Finals chance spurs on Milner

Having scored the late goal which won England a place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs, winger James Milner is determined not to fall at the final hurdle for the second season running as they prepare to tackle Germany for a place in next summer's finals in the Netherlands.

Inspirational Ribéry
Peter Taylor's team were pipped to first place in their qualifying group by Germany 12 months ago which meant Dieter Eilts' side were paired with the Czech Republic in the play-offs and England with France. Germany had little trouble vanquishing their opponents, running out 3-0 aggregate winners, but England lost an epic tussle 3-2 to a Franck Ribéry-inspired France, Jimmy Briand scoring the decisive penalty with four minutes to go in the second leg in Nancy.

'Tremendous character'
England have regrouped and "showed tremendous character", in the words of their coach, to finish atop of Group 8 after recovering from an opening draw with Moldova by beating Switzerland 3-2. Newcastle United FC midfielder Milner, who scored an 88th-minute winner in Lucerne, told thefa.com: "A lot of the boys who played against France are still involved in the squad and that defeat was not so long ago, so it is still fresh in our minds. We got so close last time but I am sure we won't be thinking about that France game in this play-off situation.

Last chance
"It's important that we get into the finals and that's where we feel we should be playing. A lot of the lads know they won't be playing at this level again if we lose, so they don't want to bow out with that disappointment. In our last game against Switzerland we showed what type of team spirit we have by digging deep after we had let a two-goal lead slip. Hopefully that will also stand us in good stead for the play-offs. We know how important it is now because we missed out at the same stage last time."

'Very exciting'
Even though Taylor has lost key striker Darren Bent to the senior squad following an injury to Andy Johnson, he will be delighted with the form of the likes of Ashley Young, who scored twice for Watford FC in a 3-3 draw with Fulham FC last night, and Gabriel Agbonlahor, fresh from earning Aston Villa FC a point at Chelsea FC on Saturday. "Agbonlahor looks very exciting," Taylor said. "I watched him at the end of last season playing up front, this season he's playing wide right, and he looks a good player."

'Lovely pitch'
Expectation is high in Coventry, with 27,000 tickets for Friday's first leg at the Ricoh Arena having been sold by yesterday. Taylor said of the 32,000-seat home of Coventry City FC: "It's a lovely stadium with a fantastic pitch and a good atmosphere. The most important thing is that it generates a lot of noise which I think will be important on the night." The return takes place next Tuesday in Leverkusen.