Skipper Reo-Coker ready for action

The Gelredome Stadium yesterday played host to 30,000 pious youngsters for the annual EO Jongerendag, the largest Christian youth event in Europe. Speaking at the same venue 24 hours later, England captain Nigel Reo-Coker intoned a similar conviction, warning: "There's no point coming if you're not coming to win".

Long wait
Eight months have elapsed since England saw off Germany in the play-offs to book their place at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and Reo-Coker is counting down the hours before they finally get their campaign under way against the Czech Republic in Arnhem. "We want to get on with it," he said. "We're ready now and just looking forward to getting out there and getting started." The Czechs will provide a stern early test of Stuart Pearce's side's Group B credentials ahead of further fixtures against five-time winners Italy and the perennially dangerous Serbia.

Talisman
The importance of laying down an early marker is not lost on Reo-Coker. "We need a good start and then the more games you play the more you get used to it - and the better you get," he continued. Any England success is likely to feature the 23-year-old in a starring role. The dynamic engine room of a lively, attack-minded midfield, Reo-Coker is something of a talisman for Stuart Pearce's charges. Since making his debut at this level against Turkey nearly four years ago he has won 19 caps and was one of five players who played every minute of qualifying to book a place in the Netherlands, culminating in the play-off victory against Germany.

'Coming to win'
Indeed England have not lost in over 18 months, since their 2-1 play-off defeat by France in November 2005, a fact Reo-Coker revisited several times during the 15-minute press conference. It is a run that has given lie to a powerful air of confidence. "There's no point coming if you're not coming to win," continued the Croydon-born youngster, who was made captain at first club Wimbledon FC aged only 19. He moved to West Ham and subsequently became the youngest skipper in their history, though his future at Upton Park is in doubt - not that it is affecting Reo-Coker, who stressed: "I'm being professional, putting it to the back of my mind and concentrating on this tournament." That devotion to the cause could be ominous for the Czechs.