Don't drop Paul Robinson

David Seaman today told Steve McClaren he must restore under-fire England goalkeeper Paul Robinson for the crucial European Championship clash with Croatia.

The Tottenham player watched from the bench in Vienna as debutant Scott Carson kept a clean sheet in the victory over Austria on Friday night.

Robinson, along with the far from match-fit David Beckham, now only have one more day to persuade McClaren that they should start at Wembley.

The Spurs No1 looked shorn of confidence in training yesterday but former Arsenal legend Seaman, who won 75 international caps, insists McClaren should keep faith with Robinson who has played in all 11 qualifying matches and kept nine clean sheets.

He said: "Robinson has to play. He has made some great saves and is the man to do the job. Scott Carson shouldn't get the nod. It just wouldn't be the right move."

Robinson also received the backing from Seaman's former club manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, who also insisted that the Spurs star should play.

He said: "Nobody has found an obvious solution [to the goalkeeper question] apart from Paul Robinson.

"I still think he [McClaren] will go for continuity on that front and the whole country has to be behind that because Robinson has delivered good games for his country as well."

Wenger also believes that McClaren should stick with Beckham even though the former England captain looked well short of fitness during his 60-minute appearance in the 1-0 win in Austria.

Wenger said: "I believe in these kind of games when you are a manager you are tempted to play with a little bit of security and take players who know what it means not to make a mistake.

"Therefore, experience has an advantage. I personally believe he will go with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and David Beckham."

Peter Crouch is another who is hoping that Beckham plays as his ability to cross a ball on to the big striker's head remains undiminished despite his lack of match practice.

"David Beckham is a fantastic player," said Crouch. "I know I just need to get in the box because if he can find half a yard, he is going to whip a cross in.

"He is still one of the best at delivering set-pieces or out wide and for someone like myself, who scores the majority of goals from crosses, he is certainly a player to have." But former Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin claims playing Beckham could be a huge mistake and that McClaren should utilise the pace of Shaun Wright-Phillips.

"It is a time for a manager to make the right decisions, not the populist ones, or more particularly, the sentimental ones," Nevin said. "For that reason it is surely right to prefer Wright-Phillips before Beckham, if it is indeed a straight choice between the two.

"I fully accept that Becks still has a quality of delivery that the Chelsea man may never match, but he is now almost totally a one-trick pony as far as international football is concerned."

Beckham and Seaman were in the England side that needed just a point against Greece to qualify for the World Cup in 2002. They squeezed through thanks to the midfielder's last-gasp strike. And Seaman warned that trying to play for a draw can be a dangerous game.

"We probably got a little carried away with ourselves," he said.

"We looked like we were out before the win over Germany and by the time we got to Old Trafford, maybe we were a little affected by the pressure.

"I'm sure this game will be very similar. The pressure will be there, so it's important the fans get behind the team. It's a one-off game and being in the finals is what this country is about."

Seaman also dismissed suggestions that McClaren should pay with his job should England fail to qualify. "That would be ridiculous," he said. "The stick he has been getting isn't right. Being the national coach is the biggest job in football, but some of the criticism is not called for. Once the players cross the white line, there is little he can do. It's up to the players. They are the ones who have to perform."