Why our England Under 21 side looked so tired and jaded in the European Championships by Dale Tempest

SO it went from very bad to even worse for the England Under 21s in the European Championships and they finished up losing every match.

None of us wanted to see that and it was particularly disappointing for them to be beaten by Israel in their final game.

They have come in for some criticism, and rightly so, because a lot was expected of them, but I think it’s fair to point out why a lot of the players may well have been jaded.

Playing football is a fantastic career to have and, yes, those who get the chance are very lucky indeed to be able to do something they love for a job.

When you are working at that level on intensity in any walk of life, however, you mentally become tired and drained.

This is the same for people who go into offices and switch on a computer at the start of their working day – if they do that consistently for a long period without taking a break, they mentally become tired and jaded.

It shouldn’t be forgotten, therefore, that some of those kids in Stuart Pearce’s squad will have been in training since July 2012.

While as I pointed out in last week’s column that not many of them have much experience of playing games at top level, the intensity in training every day is just the same because they want to make sure they are ready to take a first-team chance when it comes.

From my own experience, players in that situation tend to train even harder than the ones who are in possession of the coveted shirt already.

So most of the squad had been in that situation for 11 months before Pearce came along and told them he wanted everything from them in the Championships.

That's why I think some of them looked like they needed a break – because they do.

Summer tournaments for younger age groups are fine in theory, but they are particularly hard on players.

The counter argument, of course, is that Spain, Holland and Germany look fine.

That’s because the emphasis in our game starts with energy, athleticism, enthusiasm, speed and then technique.

Turning it round to the Spanish, the Dutch, the Germans and the Italians, No1 in that list would be technique, so they aren’t as mentally and physically drained when it comes to these tournaments.

It makes a massive difference, and the more teams who focus in that way in our own game – like Swansea – the more things will start to improve in years to come.