Time for 'Bruno' Heskey to punch his weight

There is always one player in an England team whose inclusion is constantly questioned. Usually it is the flair player: a Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle or John Barnes. Under Sven Goran Eriksson, however, it has been a toiler: Emile Heskey. The majority opinion of both press and public is that he does not deserve a place in the team. But it is Eriksson who picks it and he loves Heskey.

Of Eriksson's 21 internationals Heskey has missed just two, both friendlies, for one of which he was injured. He has started in the last nine competitive matches. There was never any doubt that Heskey would be in today's team to play Slovakia, the only question was where?

The betting money is that Heskey will partner Michael Owen in attack, which will please Owen and disappoint Ashley Cole. This is the first clue as to Heskey's value. His team-mates love playing with him. For Owen he takes the bruises, his physical presence an ideal foil for more nimble talents. For Cole, when Heskey plays wide on the left, Heskey provides a hard-working first line of defence.

That is the second clue. Heskey runs himself into the ground. He prefers playing in attack but wherever he plays he provides unstinting support to team-mates.

So why the doubts? A record of four goals in 30 internationals, 19 of them starts, is one reason. The other is Heskey never seems to punch his weight. There is so much potential in that imposing frame but too often "Bruno" seems, like the boxer he was nicknamed after, to be stilted. As a result he has had to endure brutal criticism.

Which probably does not help. Heskey is a confidence player who lacks confidence as a person. This week though, lifted by a return to the Liverpool front-line, and to goalscoring form, he was relaxed as he explained how Liverpool's support helps him deal with the bad times.

"When I have a lean period my family help me, my manager, my team-mates. Everyone helps and tries to get me back on form. I don't read [newspaper criticism] so I don't know what is being said. Sammy Lee [the Liverpool and England coach], he comes up to me, he sits me down and talks to me. He says what's been said and so on but he says to me 'as long as your boss is happy with you that is the main thing'. The manager sits me down in his office and talks to me and tells me I'm doing OK, or I'm doing well and he tells me when I'm doing bad. It's his opinion which matters."

Unusually, it was Owen's lack of goals which prompted more questions this season, but Heskey said Owen never doubted his own ability. "Michael's really strong in that situation. He's been in [the public eye] since he was about 16. He's also really close to his family. They are a major part of getting him back on form.

"Not that he was off form even if he was missing chances. His performances were faultless except for his finishing. Now he's scoring again he's probably the best striker in the world."

Turning to today's match Heskey said: "Given the experience and age of the squad, 2004 should be good for us so it is vital not to slip up. Coming off the World Cup we want a winning start."

He added: "Looking back on the summer we are a bit disappointed. Having gone 1-0 up against Brazil we thought we could hold on that or even get another."

A personal view is that England were beaten as soon as they opened the curtains of their Shizuoka hotel rooms and saw the sun beating down. Heskey admitted it was not a welcome sight. "The night before it had rained so hard. We was happy with that. We thought 'keep this up and we'll be fine'. Then when it was hot again we were like: 'Oh, all right, we'll still be good, we'll still be OK'. But the sun does take a lot out of you."

This particularly applies to a player of Heskey's physique and work-rate, but there is no danger of a heatwave today. Which means he might at last convince a few of the doubters. In response to being asked which has been his best performance for England, he nominates the match against Argentina at Wembley. That was his first start for England and it was 32 months ago so even Heskey seems to accept that he needs a good game now. That night Nestor Sensini, the Argentinian veteran, was substituted early, destroyed by Heskey's pace and power. It is time Heskey forced another defender to seek the sanctuary of the dressing-room.