Defoe stamps out firey play to please Capello, mum

Jermain Defoe has stressed the importance of England keeping their discipline in major tournaments and vowed to avoid a repeat of his own reckless sending off against Portsmouth.

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Jermain Defoe is given his marching his orders against Portsmouth.

• Defoe to prove a point
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England have suffered in the past from going down to 10 men in the World Cup, most notably with David Beckham in 1998 and Wayne Rooney in 2006. Defoe is determined to keep his cool for club and country to stay out of the bad books of both England manager Fabio Capello and perhaps his harshest critic - his mother.

He said: "What did my mother say when I was sent off? She hasn't seen it still. I called her after the game and she asked me what I had done. I said 'watch it on Match of the Day'. But she said she didn't want to watch it because she would then have given me a mouthful! I'm glad she didn't see it, to be fair. My grandad saw it and gave me a bit of stick.

"I have matured a lot. Maybe, when I was younger at West Ham, I'd get involved because I'd get frustrated a lot. I remember in the youth team, the manager used to tell me I've got to keep a cool head. Maybe what happened was because it was a big game, going back to my old club, and because I was getting a bit of stick.

Defoe was sent off for an unnecessary challenge on Aaron Mokoena on his return to Portsmouth, leading the defender to call the apparent stamp on his leg a "cheap shot" by Defoe.

"Maybe I was just too fired up before the game. It's important to try and keep cool because we could have lost the game. I let my team-mates down. I said sorry because we could have lost the game. It's something that won't happen again. It was out of character. I don't even get booked any more, I try not to get involved. It was out of character.

"It is also important the same applies with England. You can't afford to do that, especially in a massive tournament. At that level, going down to 10 men, you give the other team the advantage and you could lose the game. You'd let your team-mates down, your country down, the manager and the staff. You have to be professional and keep a cool head.

"You're so fired up, you want to win and you want to play well. Some people say it's important to have that fire in your belly, but you've got to try and control it. Some people try and wind you up. That's normal. It definitely won't happen again. It's difficult. Everyone loses it. It's just something that happens."

Asked if he was worried about Capello's perception of the red card, Defoe replie: "Yes, of course. It's a World Cup year so you want to try and do everything right. I don't want to let myself down. He has told us it's one of the most important things, to keep 11 players on the pitch. He wants 11 players coming off the pitch at the end of the game. At this level, you can't afford to be a man down. You just can't.

"Everything seemed to be going my way. I'd worked hard, got my goals. I don't want to spoil it by getting sent off and doing silly things like that when I can avoid those situations. The England manager is watching and he doesn't want to see players getting sent off. We're role models. You don't want kids doing things like that, emulating what they've seen on television.''

While he wants to stamp out - excuse the pun - the aggressive type of cheating, he was more philosophical about the topic of diving, saying he doesn't set out to do it but will go down if he senses a penalty is there to be won in today's ultra-competitive environment.

"It's a difficult one to be honest. You're trying to win the game for your team. You've got to understand. If you do get a penalty, no one's going to complain. The manager's not going to say to you 'you've dived' because you've got a penalty. You're trying to win the game.

"Obviously, it's not the right thing to do because, when it goes against you, it's not nice. But the game is so quick. If you get a little touch, it feels like a bigger touch at the time. You'll go down because, obviously, you want to win the penalty and win the game.

"It's not something that's discussed before the game. You talk about tactics and winning the game, not diving. Everyone knows you shouldn't dive, you shouldn't cheat, anyway. But I'm sure that players will try to do it to get an advantage.

"Have I ever done it? Maybe, but if I'm in front of goal, it's not something that crosses my mind. The first thing I think is 'try and score a goal'. Even if I get a small touch, I'll try and stay on my feet and score. But if it's blatant and I get fouled, I'll go down.''