Give us time and we'll get it right

England's players pleaded for patience today while Fabio Capello declared he was pleased with his team despite their 1-0 defeat by France.

French goalkeeper Gregory Coupet had no need to make a save but England's captain for the night, Rio Ferdinand, summed up the mood of the squad when he said: "There are some positives we can take out of the game.

"I thought we passed the ball very well, although we didn't create as many chances as we would have liked. We did get in dangerous positions, though, and kept the ball quite well for long periods, especially in the first half.

"In the second half, we had some half-chances and with a bit of luck we could have scored. It was a steady improvement on the game against the Swiss, even if we did lose.

"The new manager has come in and not had long to put across all his ideas, although he is very thorough about what he wants from us and assertive in what he demands of us as individuals and as a team. To implement all that, we are going to need time."

Aston Villa midfield star Gareth Barry also called for patience when he said: "Defeat is always hard to take but overall, especially in the first half, I thought there was a lot to take from the game.