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Lee explains England approach

Sammy Lee, part of England's senior coaching team, discusses his nation's professional attitude to these finals.

By Paul Saffer in Tirrenia

It is hardly surprising that a nation like England leave nothing to chance in any major tournament, be it the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Support staff
Coach John Peacock and his players are able to call upon the largest support staff in England, from masseur to video technician, and among those watching the games in Tuscany has been Sammy Lee, the 46-year-old former Liverpool FC player, now part of Sven-Göran Eriksson's senior coaching team and the link man between that side and the other national squads.

'Really pleased'
Lee, who saw England's first two matches in the finals, told uefa.com: "We approach these tournaments as professionally as possible, and I think it is important that we do - for the players as much as anybody and their clubs. We try to prepare the same for every tournament, be it U16, U17 or our seniors, we try to do it as professionally as possible."

Link role
Explaining his own position, the ex-England midfielder said: "I have a link role between the younger teams, the first team and also the clubs and the associations. A lot of my days are spent going around clubs trying to create some sort of link and build trust between the clubs and ourselves. But I certainly love to come whenever I can to watch the young lads playing, it's not always possible during international weeks with the seniors playing but whenever I can I go along there."

Turkish praise
England beat Belarus 4-0 on Tuesday, then lost 3-2 to Turkey yesterday. Lee said of their second opponents: "Turkey are a good side, they have been for some time at all levels. Technically very good and strong. Guile, craft and ingenuity."

'Good start'
As for the victory against Belarus, who subsequently beat hosts Italy: "It was a good start with the four goals. But it wasn't just the goals, it was the chances we created. The play I thought was excellent - they had a game plan, they stuck to the game plan. And they are all very cohesive and comfortable in what they are doing.

Room for expression
"Everybody knows their function in the team shape and stuck to it. Of course, within that there is always a bit room to express themselves, and they do that very well. It's obviously very good to keep a clean sheet, that's pleasing as well.

'Best environment'
"It augurs well for the future when you see the quality of the players we've got. You never take anything for granted in this game. All you want to do is help them along the way and encourage them and give them the facility to go on and improve, enjoy their football and develop their game. It doesn't always work out, sometimes they may not go through from U16 or U17 to U21, but we try to give them the best environment to develop their talent."

Different challenges
Playing different nations for the first time, as diverse as Belarus, Turkey and Italy, is also part of the experience. "That's what good about tournaments like this, each team presents a different problem," Lee said. "It's a good learning curve for the chaps playing these sort of tournaments, it's good for their development, being part of the whole atmosphere, being around the hotel and handling the highs and lows.

Enjoying football
"All games are tough. We are never arrogant about things but we always prepare to do the best we can. These lads want to enjoy themselves and play good football, and that's important to us."