Players’ action not ‘childish’, says Sven

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON has denied that the decision of the England players to boycott the media after Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Poland in a World Cup qualifier was “childish”.

Skipper David Beckham, the squad’s unofficial ‘shop steward’ Gary Neville and the remainder of the players ignored the written press, radio broadcasters and TV crews because of criticism leading up to the game.

It was understood that the personal nature of the attacks levelled at axed keeper David James, who was compared to a donkey in one tabloid newspaper after his poor performance against Austria, particularly angered the players.