Arsenal ace Andrey Arshavin admits he's struggling for motivation after Russia's World Cup failure.
Arshavin has been singled out for criticism after Russia's play-off defeat by Slovenia, but has angrily denied claims that he was out drinking with team-mates before the crucial matches.
Depressed Arshavin has been shaken by his own poor performance, but says claims of over-indulgence were made up by envious Russian journalists with outdated Soviet attitudes.
"Frankly speaking, I'm not surprised that there are so many rumours," he told Russian newspaper Sport Express. "It is a typical situation for our country.
"When people asked me about this in England, I called it rubbish. One can't treat such rumours seriously. Are we so mad to kill our own dream?
"Usually there is something that triggers the rumours - something small and trivial that gets blown out of proportion - but in this case there was nothing at all and could never have been.
"In the national team, nobody can drink, let alone get drunk before the games. Nobody. And if it had happened, that would have been the last day you saw that guy in the team."