Steve McClaren has hailed Owen Hargreaves as the 'glue' that holds his England team together, and the man to get him out of a sticky situation
After starring at the World Cup finals, the Bayern Munich midfielder has installed himself as a key figure for a country that had previously treated his inclusion in the squad with a great deal of suspicion.
It may be no coincidence that in the four games he has missed due to a broken leg, England have failed to win once in a poor run of form that has seen McClaren become the victim of sustained criticism.
In contrast, England's first three games under their new coach witnessed three victories, with Hargreaves playing a selfless holding role in allowing Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard to focus on attacking responsibilities.
Thankfully for McClaren, the Bayern Munich star is expected to return to the team when England play a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel in March, and the under-fire boss has underlined the importance of the player who gives cohesion to his midfield.
"The majority of big teams have someone in the middle of the park who gel it all together," said McClaren.
"Claude Makelele does it at Chelsea, Roy Keane did it when I was at Manchester United.
"They are the ones who do all the unseen work and provide the glue that allows other players to go out and express themselves in a more effective way than if that person wasn't there and they had more responsibility.
"We have seen them [Gerrard, Lampard and Hargreaves] all play together so few times.
"Hopefully, we will see it more in the future because certainly, in the games he did play, Owen gave Frank and Steven more freedom to play."
Hargreaves was the subject of national ridicule at times during Sven Goran Eriksson's reign, and whatever the legacy of the erstwhile national boss he was at least proved correct over the midfielder's ability to shine at international level.
Indeed, McClaren has revealed that during his time as a key member of Eriksson's backroom staff, he immediately became aware of Hargreaves' value to the squad following his first cap in 2001.
"He was only young but it was obvious he was a different breed, with a different mentality," McClaren added.
"That is one of the big reasons Sven stuck with him when he was being criticised.
"He had that great belief, determination and mental strength to want to improve and since that day I have seen him grow and grow."
as good as he is, there are others who can fill his boots. like barton, huddlestone or parker
if thats the case then y last time use lampard gerrard. should have told old sven..