I don't need to prove myself to Fabio - Owen

Mar 28 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

MICHAEL Owen returned to Newcastle United unperturbed by his inability to make any impact on England’s game against France on Wednesday night.

Owen came on as a second-half substitute during the 1-0 defeat in Paris but, in stark contrast to his recent displays for his club, was virtually anonymous in a lacklustre contest.

But the striker, who will look to make it three goals in as many games for United against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, is unfazed by the result or his own performance. And he insisted new England coach Fabio Capello would not be judging his or anyone else’s ability on one 45-minute appearance in a largely meaningless friendly.

“It’s early days with this manager,” said Owen, who was left on the bench in the Italian’s first game in charge against Switzerland last month. “We’ve only played two games and they’ve been friendly matches – who knows what might happen when it comes to a qualifying game?

“The sad thing is that we’re not going to be in the major tournament this summer, so it’s only going to be friendlies for quite a while. Every player wants to play, obviously. But for now, I’m not. I’m sure he (Capello) knows what I’m about. I don’t feel like I have to prove myself because I’ve been there and done it. He’s obviously seen me play and he’s watched videos of me in qualifying.

“I missed a lot of qualifying because of my cruciate, but when I came back I thought I played pretty well. I scored against Israel and Estonia and I only played one more game after that – the away game in Russia that we lost. I did all right in the last round of matches, and the manager has obviously seen me play lots of times before. He knows exactly what I’m capable of and I’m not worried about that in the slightest.”

And although England have been defeated in only Capello’s second game in charge, Owen argued there were reasons to be positive after the loss.

He explained: “I suppose there was an element of trying to impress a new manager, but there are enough reasons to want to do well for your country whenever you play. You want to win for your country, new manager or not, but his arrival is certainly another ingredient in why everyone wants to do well.

“I thought we did play well against France, it’s just that when they got their goal it was very tough to get back into the game. They seemed to have an extra player when we were chasing the game and they passed around us. Having said that, though, I thought we played well.

“We made a few changes and that never helps the pattern of the game, but I thought, in general, we played quite well. They only got into our box once or

twice in the first half. They scored one of them, but we had a few more chances than them. Once they scored, they showed what a class team they are and it was difficult for us to get back into the game.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle have been linked in Spain with a move for Athletico Madrid’s former Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes (pictured right). The move would appear to be a strange one as Reyes only left the Gunners two years ago because he failed to settle in London and constantly complained about the food and the climate in England. Nevertheless, United could be on the look out for a left-footed attacking player as Charles N’Zogbia appears to want to leave at the end of the season and Damien Duff has failed to even make the bench in United’s last two games as he continues to struggle to rediscover the form which once made him one of the best wingers in English football at Chelsea.