"The english national team is not as good as it should be due to the premiership" Estonia goalkeeper Mart Poom has suggested England's difficulties at international level could be caused by the Premier League's competitiveness. Estonia face England in a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier on 6 June, with Steve McClaren's side desperate to win to boost their qualification hopes. "It's very hard to have the best and the biggest league and also the best national team," Poom told BBC Sport. "The Premier League is so competitive - that doesn't do England any favours." Poom, who joined relegated Watford last month, played for Derby County, Sunderland and Arsenal in the Premiership between 1997 and 2007. "The England team is mainly comprised of players from Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool," said the 35-year-old Poom, who has won 113 caps for Estonia. "All those players will be involved in the Champions League as well as the two domestic English cups. "That type of schedule is very demanding and by the time an international game comes around players often seem drained - they aren't robots. Wednesday's international - the first time England have played Estonia - will be an emotional affair for Poom, who in May left Arsenal to join Watford. The Estonian keeper enjoyed his most successful period in the Premiership working under England coach McClaren and his assistant Bill Beswick when they worked under then Derby manager Jim Smith in the late 1990s. "We finished 12th, ninth and eighth in the Premiership," said Poom. "I'm sure I had my best time when I was playing for Derby; that was a good team with good management. "Bill was a very good psychologist and one of the first people to bring over American ideas of the importance of the game's mental side. "Bill raised my confidence and helped focus my skills. "McClaren was responsible for bringing the computerised performance analysis system Pro-Zone to Derby. "You could see he was very modern, very open-minded, always wanting to improve himself and be the best. "It was a big loss for Derby when he moved to Manchester United. He was very driven, very organised and big on planning." As well as McClaren and Beswick, Poom is looking forward to meeting up with Arsenal physiotherapist Gary Lewin, who also works for the England team. Poom credits Lewin for resurrecting his career after he arrived at Arsenal from Sunderland having undergone three knee operations in the preceding nine months. POOM TIME Born: February 3, 1972 1994-1997: Portsmouth 1997-2003: Derby 2003-2005: Sunderland 2005-2007: Arsenal 1992-present: 113 caps for Estonia "I was quite disillusioned in the summer of 2005," said Poom, who joined the Gunners from Sunderland in August 2005, initially on loan but on a permanent basis from January 2006. "Sunderland had lost faith in me due to my age and my injuries. They didn't believe I could get fit again and told me I was free to leave. "I'm so grateful to the Arsenal medical department and to Arsene Wenger and Gary Lewin in particular. "They took a risk and didn't give up on me. "I'm hoping maybe those two seasons at Arsenal might add a few years to my career." One of Poom's reasons for joining Watford is to play first-team football more regularly in a bid to safeguard his international future. Poom made just two first-team appearances for Arsenal, his Premiership debut for the club coming in the last game of the season against Portsmouth. "At Arsenal I was working with really top players and coaches, but that's not enough if you're going to play international football. "If you're not playing regularly it's hard to read the game and your decision-making skills suffer. "I felt my confidence was also suffering and I wasn't happy with the way I played in a couple of games for Estonia, particularly the 4-0 qualifying defeat by Israel." With Andorra, Estonia are joint bottom of Euro 2008 qualifying Group E having lost all six of their matches and Poom admits the Baltic state will be underdogs when they meet England. "My dream is to qualify for a major tournament," said Poom. "Our neighbours Latvia managed that when they reached Euro 2004, which was an incredible achievement. "But there's a big gap between nations like Estonia and the established international teams. "If you look at Estonia's campaign, we could've done better and should've done better. "But I'm so proud to have played for the Estonia national team. And to play against England will be a special game for me because I've played against all the other home nations." Poom does not know how many goals he has conceded in winning his 113 caps - "It's probably best not to find that statistic out," he jokes. Instead Poom is hoping to replicate the form he showed when he came face-to-face with David Beckham when the England midfielder was playing for Manchester United. Poom made his debut for Derby when they beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford, while he was also in goal when the Rams beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side in 2001. For that game Derby had gone to Old Trafford needing a point to stay up. "I'm really pleased Beckham's back in the squad," said Poom. "He's a great example in the importance of never giving up as a player. "As a goalkeeper you need a bit of luck when he's taking free-kicks. He can bend the ball both ways and it's difficult to read the curve and flight of his delivery. "We mustn't give away silly free-kicks." [[BBC sport]]
