Dyer Hailed by Sven
By Nick Raynor
March 29 2005
England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has praised the mental strength of Kieron Dyer after recovering from the taunts of hostile Toon fans.
Sven also agreed that Dyer could complete the vilan to hero transformation if he comes on as a substitute for
Dyer was slandered when he refused the captains armband in protest for being played out of position and it has taken months and some stunning performances for the Geordies to forgive him.
Sven said:
"He has shown a lot of mental strength in getting over that. It's not easy to play at home when the fans are booing you when you come onto the pitch.
"That is the worst thing that can happen to you as a player.
"When you play away, it's okay but playing at home, it's not very nice at all.
"Lately, when I have come up here and have seen him playing right midfielder or second striker, the public love him again. That's very good to see."
Dyer said:
"It just goes to show what a funny game football is because I do believe that if I feature at some point on Wednesday, the reaction will be very different."