Salut!

International football took centre stage this week, and England fans must be delighted with the two victories their team gained.

Sven Goran Eriksson's winning start continued as England beat Finland 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday and followed that up with a 3-1 win in Albania on Wednesday.

Those six points elevated England into second place in the group nine table and keep them on the heels of leaders Germany.

There is still a long way to go in the qualification race and England will fancy their chances of making it to the 2002 finals, even if they end up finishing second in the group and have to go into the play-offs.

Eriksson has restored confidence in the national team, and it is good for the English game when England do well.

The internationals are over now and we at Villa must turn our attention to Saturday's game against Manchester City.

City are fighting for survival, so this will be another very tough game for us - but then aren't they all at this level. We must stay focused and look to climb as high up the table as we possibly can in the remaining weeks of the season.

I see that the managerial situation at my old club Spurs is finally resolved, with former idol Glenn Hoddle taking over from George Graham.

Hoddle was a massive favourite of the fans, and I am sure they are delighted to have him back at the club. They will see him as the man to restore former glories, and the nice thing is that he is the type of person who will try and do it with a flourish, as he knows only too well the traditions of the club. Hoddle's first game in charge will be the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal, so what a baptism of fire!

I want to finish this week's column by thanking the Villa fans for their support in recent weeks, it really does make a difference, so get behind the team again this weekend - we need you!

A bientôt

David Ginola.

Please note that this news section is updated every Friday afternoon

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