Beckham on England battle: Fergie my inspiration
Provided by: Frank Henriksen
Created: Today - 08:12
Real Madrid ace David Beckham says he's using Sir Alex Ferguson as inspiration as he battles to win back his England place.
Beckham faces a massive week which could force the reluctant Steve McClaren's hand.
After this weekend's match against Getafe, Becks has mega clashes at Bayern Munich in the Champions League - which McClaren plans to watch - and Barcelona in La Liga.
If he stars in those, the clamour for his England recall for the crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers in Israel and against Andorra will reach a crescendo that McClaren might find impossible to ignore.
Becks, capped 94 times by his country, was controversially sold to Real Madrid by Ferguson.
But Becks says it is Fergie driving him on to an incredible finale to his top-flight career.
He told The Sun: "I am like Sir Alex. When people doubt him he always wants to prove them wrong."
"I was brought up at a club where they don't give in and they always fight back when they are being criticised."
"He's the reason I'm in the position I am today. I had help from my parents but without him I wouldn't have been given half the chances I've had in my football career."
"People were saying he wouldn't win the league again but that is spurring him on this season. And if people think my England career is over, I want to show it isn't."
"When Steve McClaren rang me up and said I wasn't in the squad for his first friendly match against Greece it was a horrible feeling, absolutely gut-wrenching."
"I felt the same when I was walking off the pitch after been sent off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup and when I heard I would supposedly never play for Real Madrid again."
"There's that helpless feeling because there is nothing you can do, it's out of your hands at that moment. But then you either accept it or you fight back. Whether I get the chance to play for England again is not my decision but I'm a fighter and if I get that chance again I'll take it."
Beckham admits he did not expect McClaren to ditch him even though he had resigned the captaincy after England's failed World Cup 2006 campaign.
"I admit I hadn't seen it coming," said Becks. "I had prepared in my mind to play against Greece. That didn't make it harder to take though because it couldn't have been any harder than it actually was."
"I haven't spoken to Steve McClaren since the day he rang with the news but I had a good relationship with him for England and when he was coach at United and I don't see that's changed."
Beckham bristles at suggestions he has not got the legs for big-time international football anymore.
He said: "I hear every day that the game's changed and that I couldn't play for England again because I haven't got the pace. But my game was never about pace."
"My game was more than that. I was never a quick player and one who went past people. But, if you give me two yards, then I'll put a ball into a box where people can score. That's always been my game."
"That's why I still believe I can perform at a high level and that I've got three or four years left."
Beckham says that even when he moves to the United States to take up his contract with the LA Galaxy he will continue to be up for England selection - despite the fact the seasons do not run concurrently.
"I will still be available for England when I'm playing over there," said a defiant Becks.
"Even though the seasons don't run alongside each other I'm a fit player who has always been able to perform even if I've had a month or two months off. I will never retire from England, never."
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David Beckham ფან-კლუბი, ინგლისის საუკეთესო ფეხბურთელი
