No Churchill but Eriksson ready to lift England

GELSENKIRCHEN, June 30 (Reuters) Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said today he will not be making any Churchillian speeches but he is convinced England will lift their game in their World Cup quarter-final with Portugal.

The management style of the understated Swede, who is leaving the job after the finals, was firmly in the spotlight as England prepare for tomorrow's game after an uninspiring run.

Asked whether he would be more animated for a game which could lead to England's first World Cup semi-final since 1990, Eriksson told a news conference: ''I will be as I've always been.

''I will not read Winston Churchill tonight and try to be him, though I have read some of his memoires, a long time ago.'' Eriksson will be pitting his wits against Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was behind England's 2002 World Cup exit by Brazil and their Euro 2004 defeat by Portugal, both in the last eight.

''It's not a match between Scolari and myself, it's a match between England and Portugal,'' he said.

'ARE BETTER' ''We are better, we have a better squad, a better team. I'm very confident -- and the players are much more confident than they were two or four years ago.'' ''We were not as good or as experienced as we are today.

''I'm extremely confident that this team can go all the way ... we have the quality to do it. Absolutely.'' That confidence has not been reflected in sparkling performances by his side in Germany, with England grinding out three dour wins and a draw to reach the quarter-finals.

''I'm not completely happy with how we played,'' Eriksson said. ''I'm completely happy with the results. But I know we can play better and we will play better tomorrow.

''I never say to my players go out and play bad football ...

if you play bad football for a long time you don't normally win football games.'' Despite his own reservations, he brushed off the media criticism which has been levelled at his side.

Asked if he was concerned about the brickbats, he said: ''Not at all. The team is like I am -- they couldn't care less about what people say about us.

''We don't read any newspapers. I haven't read one paper since I came to Germany -- and not even before that.'' REUTERS HS RAI2250