Netherlands v England: John Terry, the England captain, has confessed to being "baffled" by the apparent inability of England's footballers to replicate their club form at international level.

An apologetic Terry said he accepted the criticisms that had engulfed the team since their Euro 2008 qualifying group defeat away to Croatia, and sympathised with the supporters who had grown tired of their failures.

Chelsea's central defender refused to follow manager Steve McClaren's line of argument that it was wrong to look ahead to tonight's friendly against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena by first analysing what went wrong in Zagreb. The two games are intrinsically entwined, and Terry chose to acknowledge there would have to be a significant improvement if the team were to start retrieving the public confidence that had been lost in the closing stages of Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign and the first part of McClaren's tenure.

"I understand the anger," he said. "It's been really disappointing, because when I look at our squad of players we really should be going to places like Croatia and getting a good result.

"We have a squad which is capable of getting a result anywhere. But I've seen the video of the match and there were times when we were sloppy at the back. It's pointless me saying before every match 'we've got a great squad, we've got some great players' - it's time we started showing that with our results and performances."

Terry was one of the players McClaren visited in a series of one-on-one meetings to ascertain what had gone wrong and how it could be put right, discussions which have led to the team reverting to a flat back four tonight, rather than the 3-5-2 system employed in Zagreb.

Fiercely proud of his captaincy, Terry said he had taken the near-unremitting criticism particularly hard. "It's always horrible to lose a game, but when you are playing for your country and the captain it's the worst feeling ever. I hate the feeling it leaves me with and it's always there, because there's such a big break between matches."

In the seat where McClaren would later stumble over his words in a performance that was perhaps more unimpressive than by any previous England coach, Terry offered encouraging words to a man under pressure and defended the decision not to make wholesale squad changes.

"Who else is out there?" he said. "That's the question you have to ask. You can bring other players in but what about the ones who have been in the squad waiting for their chance? Those players have been patient and maybe this is their chance. There have been a couple of new additions but it is important for the players who have been waiting that they get their chance."

Manchester City's teenage defender Micah Richards (18), goes straight into tonight's starting XI at right back after Gary Neville was ruled out by injury.

* Chelsea have signed Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hedman (33), until the end of the season. The former international who has been on trial with the club, has played for Coventry and Celtic.

* Sligo Rovers have appointed former Newcastle United player Rob McDonald as their new manager. The Englishman has managed De Graafschap and Cambuur in the Netherlands and South African side Alex Cape Town. He succeeds Sean Connor, who is expected to be named manager of Bohemians.