'England weren't good enough,' says Neville

Gary Neville has admitted that England fell short of the players’ own expectations in Euro 2004.

The campaign, which began with such high hopes, ended at the quarter-final stage when eventual finalists Portugal went through on penalties.

Manchester United defender Neville said: “Supporters and people back home may well have thought a semi-final place would be par for us and acceptable.

“But that wouldn’t have been acceptable for the players because we were looking to go all the way.

“You hear all the excuses about why we went out but, the fact is, we didn’t have that extra edge.

“People turned on the referee, injuries and other excuses but, at the end of the day, we were not quite good enough. “

Neville, currently running a soccer camp in Malta, says there were positives for England.

“I do believe the nucleus of the team will be kept on, with some new players, such as Jermaine Defoe and Shaun Wright-Phillips of City, showing what exciting talents they have, “ he told the Manchester Evening News.

On his good friend David Beckham’s poor form, Neville said: “He is strong enough and a great player, and his football will always do the talking for him.”

Greece went on to win the tournament against the odds and Neville was full of praise for the way they went about their business.

“The final was the first game I watched since England were knocked out, and anyone who criticises Greece is just ignorant, just extremely ignorant, “ he said.

“They deserve all the credit they’re getting. They beat Portugal twice and France and then the Czechs.

“The big nations are starting to say that Greece are not worthy winners, but that is just wrong.

“The performance of the Greek right back, Georgios Seitaridis, and the two centre backs in the final was just first class.

“They deserve credit for holding on to the lead to win the tournament, beating the host nation, as well as the first and second favourites.”