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RSSDriver delighted to get chance
Andrew Driver today revealed he's loving his UEFA Euro U21 Championship experience with England.
The Hearts wing-king produced a sparkling debut in Halmstad last night against Germany, playing 71 minutes for the semi-finalists.
Selected by coach Stuart Pearce, the 21-year-old has dramatically risen to prominence in this tournament after a super season at Tynecastle, culminating in yesterday's maiden appearance.
"I found out I was playing in the morning before the game," he told Hearts News from the team's base in Varberg, on the Swedish coast.
"I got a feeling that I might get a chance. It was a case of the manager deciding whether to stick with the same team or go with the other players. We had trained really hard and so he decided to show faith in us.
"I felt the game went well. It was a big pitch and there were lots of opportunities to get on the ball. You enjoy having quality around you, and everyone reads the game so well."
Stuart Pearce, an England veteran who amassed 78 caps for his country has also proved to be a big influence on Andrew.
"He has been brilliant," he said. "He's really good. The trip to Spain was a team bonding exercise although we've trained hard. There are fantastic players here and the quality is good.
"He thought I did well [against Germany]. I had not played for seven weeks so I was finding it hard to catch my breath so he decided to take me off but I think he was happy with my performance."
Andrew believes that England can go on to enjoy glory in Sweden, albeit he's taking each game as it comes - that old adage used by successful teams!
"I think we can do well in the tournament," he acknowledged. "We've got the quality to win it but we've got to take it a game at a time.
"Against Finland we won with ten men when we did not play well. We played Spain off the park and then arguably a weaker England team produced a great performance against Germany."
On the issue of FIFA's possible change in eligibility regulations which might allow Andrew to yet play for Scotland, he sidestepped the issue.
"I can't believe this issue has come up again," he said. "I just want to focus on this tournament."
