Upson wants Prem approach

Upson: Wants Premier approach

Matthew Upson wants his England colleagues to approach their must-win game against Slovenia like a Premier League match.

The Three Lions have looked far from their best so far in South Africa with their two displays to date a pale imitation of their impressive qualifying campaign.

England's insipid goalless draw with Algeria was one of their worst performances in recent finals history, although they still have an excellent chance to progress to the knock-out stage.

Upson, who has been drafted in to replace the suspended Jamie Carragher, insists having the right mentality will be key to securing the win they need against Slovenia.

The West Ham defender has seen his colleagues perform week-in, week-out for their clubs in the Premier League and sees no reason why they cannot recapture that form in Port Elizabeth.

Frame of mind

"It's down to us as individuals to make sure we are in the right frame of mind," explained Upson. "We have to let it flow, let it happen, hold nothing back.

"To focus on the result isn't the answer for us at the moment. We need to focus on what we do, relaxing and playing football like it's a Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, adopting the same kind of body language and temperament.

"If we do that we're capable of getting a great result.

"You can't go into it and freeze, you need to go in there with the attitude: 'I've got nothing to lose, I'll give it my best shot, let's give it a rip'.

"Everyone has been committed from the start, but the problem has possibly been our approach to games and our mentality."