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LONDON. — New England manager Sam Allardyce has vowed to break the mental barrier affecting the Three Lions at major soccer tournaments. England failed to live up to their billing at Euro 2016 as the players froze on the big stage.

Their disastrous campaign under predecessor Roy Hodgson culminated in a humiliating exit to Iceland in the last 16.

Allardyce, speaking at his first press conference at St George’s Park following his appointment, will seek to address that mind-set.

“The pressure on players at international we will be looking at in depth,” Allardyce said.

“I will exploit all areas for the players benefit. The key element is to get among the staff in place and talk about the programme going forward particularly psychologically.

“It’s not about potential now. It’s about standing up and being counted even though some of those experiences have been bitter. Potential is a word I don’t like to use too much. You want the actual quality of the player producing his best immediately.

“I think this group is very experienced and going forward can be producing more performances, and better results.

“It’s not just about qualifying but going as far as we can. I am just getting my feet under the the table at the moment.” — The Daily Star.