England hope to usher in an era of success

With semi-final and runner-up finishes at the last two European Championships, England's Nathan Delfouneso believes there is only one logical next step at the current tournament in Denmark.

Nathan Delfouneso has urged his England teammates to prove they can be the real "golden generation" by winning this month's European Under-21 Championship.

That tag may have something of a hollow ring to it after the country's repeated failures at senior level and Delfouneso, a striker for Aston Villa, knows it will not have real meaning until a squad returns home with a championship.

But with semi-final and runner-up finishes at the last two European Championships, there is only one logical next step at the current tournament in Denmark, according to Delfouneso.

"We're here to win it," he said. "Over the past couple of years, we've gone from bronze to silver and now we believe it's time to go and get the gold and bring back the trophy.

"It is about progression but we also really want to win it as well, and that's the aim for everyone here."

England's hopes of taking that final step to a championship have been hit by the withdrawal of key players such as Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Micah Richards and Kieran Gibbs, all of whom have senior experience.

"Jack's not here and it's been well documented about the players that are not here," Delfouneso said.

"But we're all very comfortable with everyone that's here, we're all quality players, and we all believe that we can push together and go and bring back the trophy."

Delfouneso may not have even made the squad had Carroll been fully fit and he looks like he will beplaying only a bit-part in Denmark, with Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Scott Sinclair ahead of him in the pecking order.

"We've got to some quality strikers here but I'm trying to push myself to be the one that's playing up there," said Delfouneso, a 20 year old who has eight caps.

"It's tough competition but I'll keep trying to impress and keep trying to get myself into that team."

A substitute role beckons in tomorrow's Group B opener against Spain, who boast World Cup and Champions League winners in their ranks and who look England's biggest rivals for the title.

"I really like Spanish football and I do watch it a lot," Delfouneso said. "I do know some of the players they've got there and they do have a lot of quality.

"But we've got to believe in ourselves that we've got quality players as well and we can go and put in a great performance and we can go and beat them.

"It doesn't matter who they've got or who they've brought. It's down to us to go and concentrate on what we want to do."

That might prove difficult for Delfouneso, who is eagerly waiting to hear who Villa will appoint as their new manager following the departure of Gerard Houllier.

"I'm sure they've got a few managers in mind. I'll probably leave that down to the chairman and chief exec to go and deal with," he said.

"I'm sure they're doing all they can to sort it out."

Whoever gets the job will inherit a host of current and prospective senior England internationals, including Darren Bent, Stewart Downing and Marc Albrighton. Ashley Young has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United.

"We've got a lot of internationals who have done the club proud," Delfouneso said.

"Hopefully, with me and Sharky [Albrighton] here, we can push on and make the club proud as well."

Sir Trevor Brooking thinks Stuart Pearce, the head coach of the U21 squad, should be appointed as the head coach of the British football team at next year's London Olympics.

His record in turning under-21 players like Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll and James Milner into full internationals has led some to tip him to take over as England manager next year, but Brooking believes he has his eyes on the Olympic position.

The refusal of the associations of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland to commit to the British team means that the squad is likely to comprise solely of English players, although Tottenham's Welsh winger Gareth Bale for one has indicated his desire to be involved.

With Olympic rules stating that only three over-23 players are allowed in each squad, Pearce has the advantage of having nurtured the development of most of the probable team and Brooking thinks that should mean he gets the role.

"I would like to support Stuart for the Olympics job because he knows all the players well," Brooking told Press Association Sport.

"Having been there over the last four years he would be ideally placed to get the best out of that group.

"He is respected by all the lads in the squad.