Sunday 23 December 2012 15:15, UK
England boss Roy Hodgson says the team should fight the doom-mongers and believe they can lift the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
England currently sit second in World Cup qualifying Group H, two points behind Montenegro after four games. Hodgson said: "We are aiming to finish on top of the group and not have to go through a play-off situation where you can quite easily lose as well. "If we can't win the group let's hope to God we can come second and give ourselves a chance at least in the play-offs because the goal is to reach Brazil in 2014. "In an ideal world we would do it by winning the group and sailing through and be ready when it comes around, but there's no guarantee of course that winning the group and sailing through your group stages helps you when you get to the final competition. We've seen that with England." England went out of Euro 2012 following yet another penalty shoot-out defeat and Hodgson said he liked the idea of taking spot-kicks after friendlies next year to prepare players for the real thing in front of a packed crowd. When asked if the England job would be his last, he said: "It would be nice to think it could be. "It would be nice to think I could be in the job for a sufficient period of time when the time comes to an end to say, 'that's been a great career, I've enjoyed it, I'm quite old, now it's time to pass over to younger people'. But it's a dangerous thing to say as well. Football's in your blood." Hodgson also urged people not to trust everything they read about him. He added: "I was told by my sister that on Wikipedia I have two sons and I don't know where the other one's come from. And that I'm a great Rolling Stones fan and, with great respect to the Rolling Stones, I was brought up with soul music and rhythm and blues. "There are a lot of things that can the written about you. Another thing I heard strangely enough was that I'm a harmonica player. Someone less musical than me would be hard to find."
