Jack Wilshere says England know they are capable of better after a frustrating 0-0 draw in Dublin.
On an afternoon where chances were at a premium, the Three Lions struggled to break through an organised Ireland defence.
And Wilshere knows they are capable of better and remains confident they will raise their game when they take on Slovenia in seven days.
Ireland 0-0 England
International Fixture
Sunday 7 June
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
“Overall I think we are a little bit disappointed,” he said.
“At times we looked like we were going to create something but then it broke down. The way we’ve been playing we know that we are better than that.
“Maybe it was a case of getting the cobwebs off after a few players had a week off. We’ll take the positives and we’ll learn from where we went wrong.”
Despite the frustration on the pitch, Wilshere said that he was delighted to be back in England’s starting eleven after enduring another injury-hit season.
“It’s great to be back,” he told ITV.
Jack Wilshere and Jamie Vardy speak to FATV
“It’s just great to be involved around the whole setup. When I missed the last one I missed a lot of meetings.
“As England players we don’t get much time together so we have to make the most of the time we have.
“We have to work on the things that need to be worked on – I missed that last time so it’s good to be back.”
England travel to the Stadion Stozice in Ljubljana to take on Slovenia in a European Qualifier on Sunday 14 June, and the Arsenal midfielder expects the encounter to be far more competitive.
“I think it will be a different game, but we do have to be better.
Jack Wilshere in action for England against Ireland
"We’ll watch the game over the week and we’ll learn from where we went wrong and work on it in training.
“Then hopefully we’ll get the three points we need next weekend.”
Meanwhile, England manager Roy Hodgson said the game proved a good opportunity for his players to get a workout ahead of the all-important qualifier.
“For some of our players it’s been a while now since they had a game,” he said.
“I think it will be a different game, but we do have to be better. ”
Jack Wilshere on England game in Slovenia
“I think we needed this game and we needed this level of competition as well because certainly going into the game against Slovenia there’s a lot of things we want to improve upon from today’s performance.
“Having said that it’s never easy in Ireland – we don’t have a great record here. We were hoping to put an end to that today but we weren’t able to do so.
“But at least we go away with a clean sheet and that of course is positive.”
