Former Tottenham captain Ledley King says England's players struggle with the pressure of expectation.
King admits players do listen to the criticism of pundits.
"The fear factor has been part of the problem," King told the Sunday Mirror. "As players we are always looking at what's going to be said after the game.
"As soon as an England game is over we would come off the pitch and you're wondering what's been said in the TV studio about the performance. The players should be strong enough to deal with that, but if you're going to have enough players who are worried about that, it's going to affect the team.
"As an England player - or manager - you can very rarely win, unless you're playing against the top nations of the world and you beat them. There is a lot of pressure. There is the fear. They are worried about the backlash.
"I've been in the camp and it's a worry. They are trying to take care of their own performance rather than it being a team thing."
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