Joe Cole last night admitted the pressure of expectation has overcome England too many times - and it's time to restore the country's faith.
The build-up to England's opening friendly of the season against the Czech Republic tomorrow has been overshadowed by Britain's Olympic success in Beijing.
Such an array of medals has only served to reinforce the feeling of failure that led the FA to beat a path to Fabio Capello's door last December.
But while Chelsea midfielder Cole is convinced the Fabio factor will start to rub off ahead of next month's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia, he admitted that optimism in the national team had rarely been so low. "I'm still embarrassed about the European Championships," said Cole.
"We let ourselves down and we have to start winning on a regular basis.
"For the last week or so I've loved watching the Brits do well at the Olympics.
"We are like everyone else - we want them to win and get golds. Of course you get the comparisons with us. It is all relative.
"But when you step out onto that football pitch it isn't about money - it's about pride and performance, like any other sport. It shouldn't be about how much money you get paid but how much desire you show.
"Now we have to achieve and win - and then it won't matter what other sports do.
"The main thing for England is that you need players who can play under pressure, who can do it under the spotlight, because you know there's a lot of criticism waiting from the public.
"You've got to deal with that.
That's the hardest obstacle we've got to get over as a team - to learn to play under that intense pressure.
England have to get over that psychological barrier. It doesn't mean you'll play well every time.
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