After earning himself a reputation as England and Arsenal's smoking midfielder Jack Wilshere is looking for inspiration to make him the holding midfielder England need in Roy Hodgson's new diamond formation.
Wilshere and his team mates have been setting themselves homework between international breaks with the England coaches handing them video to perfect the 'Roy Hodgson diamond'.
The diamond is seen as the way forward for England according to 22-year-old Wilshere.
"That formation is going to be the way forward and we’ll only get better at it.”
In the wake of the World Cup disappointment in Brazil, the entire England side is now a part of a culture of player responsibility under Roy Hodgson. They are all attempting to learn their roles in the new England system and Wilshere knows that despite England's 2-0 win against Switzerland in their opening European Championships 2016 qualifier, the players need to do a bit more work during the club season to give England success.
Wilshere played as a holding midfielder for the first time in the England set up on Monday and he says he'll only get better in the new role.
“It’s a new role for me,” The 22-year-old said. “Against Switzerland was the first time I’ve ever played back there on my own. At Arsenal, we play two in there. With England before we played two in there. It was different, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes I just want to get forward and you have to use your discipline. I’ll get better in that role. When the manager told me I was going to play there, I watched videos of [Andrea] Pirlo and [Javier] Mascherano, the best players who play there. I’m learning the role.
“It was Pirlo’s use of the ball they wanted me to look at and the way Mascherano breaks up play and gets around. I watched Argentina’s game against Germany in the World Cup final and he was fantastic. He didn’t do much, but he was fantastic. And we’ve seen what Pirlo can do because he’s done it to us a few times. They are the best players in the role and I can only learn from them.
“One thing we’re going to take from the Switzerland game is that between meet-ups, we’ve got to do a little bit more work. We’ve got to do our homework. We’ve got to go through videos and analyse the games, because we don’t get long together. I’ll speak with Gary Neville as well. We’re in contact.”
Wilshere was first seen as a holding midfielder by previous manager Fabio Capello who compared him to Claude Makelele yet the choice of formation on Monday was a surprise for the England players.
“It was a little bit of a surprise when we were told we’re going to play with a diamond, but that’s probably the system that’s best for the team,” Wilshere said. “We’ve got [Jordan] Henderson and [Fabian] Delph who’ve got massive legs and can get forward and get back, and me who can pick up the ball and start attacks. It probably wouldn’t suit me in a 4-3-3, but in a diamond it does suit me.
“I remember Capello’s Makelele comment. It was before the Denmark game, wasn’t it? It was a bit of a shock because I hadn’t played there at all. Naturally, I want to go forward, so sometimes it’s hard. Against Switzerland, I went through once in the second half and took a shot and then next time I went through I lost it and it’s a long way back, but you have to do it. That formation is going to be the way forward and we’ll only get better at it.”
Optimism is surrounding the England camp not just because of the new take England home with you work ethic but also due to the constant team meetings where the players can voice their own thoughts.
“We have worked hard and, to be fair, the players have taken a lot of responsibility,” Wayne Rooney, the new England captain, said. “We have had meetings among ourselves, just players in the rooms, watching videos and discussing how we can do better as a team.
“The manager gives us our game plan, but because we don’t spend that much time together as a team we need to know and feel confident in what we’re doing as a team together. In the meetings, you’re having players speak up who wouldn’t normally speak up when coaches are there. They’ve been good.”
Leighton Baines added: “It just makes sense if someone has an opinion, there is not just one or two people from the group speaking. Everyone gets to voice their opinion and they can be taken into consideration and then collectively make more of a point. Obviously, the final call will always be the manager’s, but I think he is really open to listening to what the players have to say and taking that into consideration.
“It’s not easy for the manager and his staff to implement the ideas in such a short period of time. You can do a certain amount of work on the pitch but you’re never too far away from a game so you have to be careful. The meetings are important, the videos and in this last trip the staff really put a lot more emphasis on us to speak up and give our own opinions and I think that has been really helpful.”