Alex boss says England struggled to play under severe pressure.

Steve Davis believes that England’s shock exit to Iceland at Euro 2016 demonstrates the mental fragility of young players. The Alex boss believes that England continues to produce good players but they struggle to cope when placed under severe pressure.

England exited the European Championships with a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Nice last night and Davis says that the psychological side of sport is vitally important when it comes to achieving results.

The Crewe Alexandra boss told the club’s official web-site: “The mental side of the game is vitally important. The psychological side of the game is crucial because players have to have the right mind-set and confidence to produce what they do out on the training pitch in matches.

“You have to have that great belief in yourself and courage to produce on a regular basis. England had the elite players of the Premier League but Iceland were organised, worked incredibly hard for each other and were hard to break down.

“When you have the structure in place and you stick to it then you can get results. Iceland have done that and England found it difficult because they were under pressure to turn it around.

The Alex boss added: “We are trying to work on the mind-set of our own young players coming through. They could be mentally stronger to cope with set-backs and it is something we are looking to develop going forward.”