ANDY GRAY'S FOOTBALL: Nice start Darius - but you've got a bit to do

DARIUS VASSELL has been lauded as England's new boy wonder after his superb debut, but he has a bit to do before he starts packing his bags for Japan.

One good performance against a Dutch team that didn't really want to know does not make you an international star overnight.

I am not taking anything away from a fantastic performance and he has given himself a great chance of going to the World Cup but he must not get carried away by all the hysteria.

Even if Sven Goran Eriksson has already pencilled him in, the next four weeks are going to be vital. He has got to forget all the hype, show his feet are still firmly on the ground and get on with playing for Aston Villa.

One thing he has in his favour is tremendous pace. If Sven is thinking of cover for Michael Owen just in case that worrying hamstring plays up, he will need a like-for-like replacement.

At the moment there isn't one - but if he is looking for the sort of explosive speed which scares defenders to death, Vassell might just be that guy.

Eyebrows were raised when Sven decided to use the Holland game to experiment. Vassell proved he was right to do that.

There's nothing wrong with tinkering with your squad as long as you don't start messing about with the defence.

With the World Cup finals just around the corner England need a stable defence, with players who know what they are going to be doing and who they are going to be playing alongside.

The more you keep that back four intact, the better it is going to be. Ahead of that you can experiment as long as you are dealing with good players and not no-hopers. I know some thought it odd that Michael Ricketts went while Robbie Fowler and Teddy Sheringham were left behind, but Sven wasn't going to learn anything new from experienced players who are pretty much assured of going to the World Cup.

There is an argument for saying he could have taken Andy Cole and had a look at him because the Holland game really was his last chance to look at players who are on the fringes.

If you are one of those players and your name is not in the squad for the next warm-up games against Italy and Paraguay then I reckon your World Cup dream is over - and unfortunately, I think that goes for Andy Cole.

Ricketts had a bit of a nightmare last week but he should try to stay positive. It was obvious that he was a bit too nervous and he let it affect his game.

At international level that first touch is absolutely vital and unfortunately it deserted him on the biggest night of his career.

I wouldn't pick him for the next England squad but it's not the end of the world. He only needs to look back 12 months and see what he was doing. It has been a meteoric rise for him and the fact that he has finished off an almost unbelievable rise from obscurity with an England cap in World Cup year is stunning. But at the moment he hasn't got enough to his game to make this World Cup.

Bridge played well enough but. like Vassell, has to continue his good form and hope he can force his way into the squad for the game against Italy.

There were plenty of positives for England last Wednesday and if I had to name the team today which would start against Sweden in the World Cup opener I could do it with reasonable ease.

David Seaman is sweating over whether he is going to make the World Cup at all so Nigel Martyn would start in goal, just ahead of David James.

The back four takes care of itself: Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole.

In midfield I would have David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes - and AN Other.

Up front I would go for Owen and Heskey, although Emile has still to prove he can score regularly at international level.

The left side of midfield is a real problem. Its a pity Darren Anderton got injured at a time when he is having one of his best runs for ages in a Tottenham shirt. I would have loved to see him play against the Dutch.

Trevor Sinclair is another candidate and an outside bet would be Graeme Le Saux. Kieron Dyer would have been ideal but it looks like he is not going to be fit in time.

So Sven's England are still on course and I look forward to seeing the squad for the next friendly because that is when their World Cup countdown kicks off for real.

STAR OF THE WEEK

IT HAS to be Darius Vassell. It's not easy to come into the England side at such a late stage of the World Cup build-up, against a class side like the Dutch, play superbly and score such a fantastic debut goal.

Let's hope he can build on that and make his name in the greatest tournament on the planet.

Image rights and wrongs

WAGES of pounds 90,000 a week are unimaginable for most of us but for David Beckham and his advisers it appears they are not enough. They want them topped up with image rights.

This is where sportsmen get a share of the proceeds from merchandise bearing their name or picture. You can understand why the advisers of an icon like Beckham are telling him to push for a percentage because it is his name they are selling. I suppose they have a point because it is only exceptional players who can demand huge amounts from image rights.

Manchester United are resisting because they are one of the few clubs where there are plenty of superstars who will be justified in demanding the same as Becks.

United are quite rightly not going to roll over. You can't just say: "OK David, have what you like." There is not a bottomless pit of money in football, even at United. Clubs can't keep shelling it out because one day it might not be there and if the bigger clubs keep setting higher benchmarks the smaller ones are going to suffer even more.

If they want to keep Beckham United might have to compromise but it must not be allowed to get out of control.

Greed is already synonymous with many demands in football. Let's make sure image rights is not just another kick in the teeth for the right image!

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