Ferdinand desperate to help England reach Euro 2008 football

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LONDON, Sept 7 (AFP): Rio Ferdinand is desperate to help England reach Euro 2008 to avoid the shameful prospect of having his club boss, Scotsman Sir Alex Ferguson laughing at his misfortune.
Steve McClaren's side go into Saturday's qualifier against Israel at Wembley knowing they must win to keep alive their hopes of making it to next year's finals.
England last failed to qualify for a major tournament 13 years ago when they missed out on the 1994 World Cup and Ferdinand can't bring himself to consider the possibility of a repeat.
The Manchester United defender admits his season would be ruined if England miss out. Almost as bad, it would leave him at the mercy of his club boss.
Ferguson is a proud Scot, who wouldn't miss the opportunity to remind Ferdinand about England's downfall.
"God forbid we don't qualify for this tournament," Ferdinand said. "It would be a catastrophe really. It would be a massive disappointment for the players, the country and the fans.
"It would be devastating. Even walking into the training ground and seeing the manager would kill me. It's his smirk.
"And I'd have to see the other players who would be going to the tournament. It wouldn't be a good place to be."
England have claimed just two wins in their last nine matches, and those came against Andorra and Estonia, hardly the most daunting of opposition.
They are no closer to living up to the hype of a so-called golden generation. Successive exits at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2004 and last year's World Cup suggest England are a decent rather than great team.
While Ferdinand is adamant the squad is talented enough to go the distance at a major event, he conceded England's underachievement is a real source of concern.