sport

SHILTON HOPING FOR CHANGE OF GUARD

Beckham - closing in on Shilton's record.

Peter Shilton believes the possibility of David Beckham breaking his record for most England caps would reflect badly on the talent coming through for Fabio Capello.

Beckham has made 102 appearances for his country, 23 less than Shilton, and while another seven caps to beat Bobby Moore's mark for an outfield player is more realistic, there is still a slight chance he could reach the target set by the former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper.

Shilton, however, feels it is time for the likes of David Bentley and Shaun Wright-Phillips to force their way into the thoughts of coach Capello if England have ambitions of making an impression at the 2010 World Cup.

"If we haven't got anyone to force themselves through in the next couple of years then we are going to be struggling to do anything at the next World Cup," said Shilton.

"If we rely on David, we are going to play games in a short space of time if we qualify and it's very difficult to do that in your mid-30s.

"He will have a role to play because he is such a great ambassador and is technically great for passing and free-kicks. If people like Bentley can't come through and pressurise David then we have a problem."

Beckham was named England captain in their last game, the win in Trinidad and Tobago, but Shilton is in no doubt John Terry should be given the armband on a permanent basis.

He said: "I always like my captain to be a leader. There are different ways to do that but with John Terry it comes naturally.

"If you want the ball cleared off the line, a last-ditch tackle or someone to score at the other end, he's there. He leads by example as a born winner.

"There are other aspects away from the game as England captain, but at the end of the day they want to see him on the pitch first and foremost."

Terry's leadership was questioned when he sobbed after missing the penalty that could have won Chelsea the Champions League at the end of last season, but Shilton said: "He knew the importance of that moment, and he just slipped for the penalty.

"Obviously he is an emotional person - it wouldn't be my way of doing it but I wouldn't criticise him."

As for the goalkeeping position, Shilton is excited by the prospect of younger goalkeepers pushing David James - but he feels the Portsmouth stopper will be in goal if England reach the 2010 finals in South Africa.

"There are quite a few knocking on the door but none are coming in," he said. "We've got a few playing regularly in the Premier League, which is encouraging.

"David James is in the driving seat and I think he will start number one and he is quite capable of going through to the next World Cup, his agility and fitness is second to none.

"We'd like to see someone come through now whether it is Chris Kirkland, Robert Green, Scott Carson or Ben Foster or whoever. You want someone to come and say 'sorry David, I think you're getting on a bit and I want to take that position'.

"But there are only so many games before the World Cup and a lot are qualifiers so you can't do a Steve McClaren and throw a goalkeeper in a game after being third choice for most of the time."

Given there is little experience below James in the pecking order, Shilton insists Paul Robinson should not be written off after one dismal season at Tottenham.

"I still feel there is a lot of improvement in Robinson, he has a lot of ability and had a spell of games when he didn't concede a goal for England," he said.

"He's still our next most experienced goalkeeper - who is there for experienced goalkeepers after that?

"Only those two have played a lot of games so they are going to be the foundation of the England team but whether there is enough time for another one, I can't say."