Beckham praise for Eriksson

David Beckham has voiced his support for England head coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

England captain David Beckham has voiced his support for head coach Sven Goran Eriksson ahead of the World Cup qualifying match with Wales on Saturday.

Speaking at a Cardiff press conference, Beckham backed Eriksson's policy of holding regular team meetings and dismissed suggestions that player power is undermining the Swede. 

"We had a meeting with the manager but that happens all the time - if the manager decides he wants a meeting with players to discuss formations or ways of playing then we'll have a meeting," Beckham said.

"It has nothing to do with player power, I think a little bit more respect needs to be shown to the manager because he is the one who picks the team.

"If you're asked to play different roles by the manager then that is what you have to do.

"He discusses things with the players and they appreciate that but the final decision is down to him.

"There is a strong relationship between the players and manager."

The 30-year-old midfielder believes the nation will witness an England backlash after the humiliation of last month's 4-1 friendly defeat to Denmark.

He added: "A lot was made of our last performance and rightly so because it wasn't up to the level that we can play at.

"The team has to play better because Wales will make it hard for us - it will be a tough match.

"We just want to go out and prove how good we are, win the game and do our best.

"I believe the atmosphere in Cardiff will push the players on."

Beckham also admitted that England have underachieved in recent international tournaments and feels that it is time the team fulfilled its potential.

"In the last two competitions we haven't done as well as we could.

"The manager says that we have one of the best set of players around and we need to play better than we have been doing."