Several England players resorted to taking sleeping pills the night before their disappointing 1-1 draw against Poland, after caffeine pills they took in the build-up to the original fixture were keeping them awake. Captain Steven Gerrard refused to blame a lack of sleep for England’s poor performance (Picture: Getty Images) A number of squad members had taken caffeine tablets before getting changed and preparing for the warm-up ahead of the match which was originally scheduled for Tuesday night.However, torrential rain saw the fixture delayed by 24 hours and several England players were forced to take sleeping pills because their adrenalin levels were affecting their rest.Manager Roy Hodgson said he was aware that his players looked off the pace on Wednesday.‘I had the impression earlier in the week that the players were looking sharp and lively,’ said Hodgson after the match.’I didn’t have that impression today.’I don’t know if that’s due to the extra night, the sodden pitch or that we didn’t play well on the day.’However, Steven Gerrard, who captained the side, refused to blame the poor preparation for England’s performance.‘When you’re fired up, pumped up and you’ve had your massages and you’re ready to go and then don’t play, that’s not ideal,’ he said. ‘But we’re professionals. We’re playing at the top level and we had to get ourselves up for this but I didn’t think we were totally at the races.’I slept fine. I won’t use the delay and conditions as an excuse.’The reason we didn’t win was because we didn’t pass it when we went in front.’

A news article on 2012-10-18 09:33:00 from: The Metro

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