If hindsight is not to judge the latter, England will need to warm up more impressively in Berne.. IT had been a long, long week. And then the West Indies opening batsman Stuart Williams edged a ball which moved away from him to first slip Graham Thorpe held a good low catch in front of him. It was my first wicket of the series and as the ball stuck I felt I might have been emerging from darkness into light That initial breakthrough was of utmost significance. I had started bowling well with the new ball at the start of the Third Test, but without tangible reward of the sort that has "... It has been notable this season how the older players have endured flat periods mid-season, aware of resources needed for the peaks to come.We will only know come Switzerland next month.

Long unbeaten runs before World Cup finals may deceive - as did England's 17 games before 1986, when Hoddle was a player, and they promptly lost their opening game to Portugal - but losing runs certainly undermine.It may be that last Wednesday mattered not a jot, that in fact it was a valuable "positive out of a negative" as Hoddle insists. Or it may be that it was the beginning of things turning sour for Hoddle and England. The intense programme of autumn, Christmas and the New Year takes a toll and strength is regathered before the spring offensive. "As a professional, that feeling of walking off the pitch when you have lost is not nice," he said.

"I don't think it would be healthy if we lost the next four games so it's a balancing act between keeping the confidence up and experimenting. But that's my job, isn't it?"Perhaps it was all down to the lull that English players can experience in February, and the Manchester United players looked particularly jaded. Any experimenting is simply to confirm his preference for the wing-back system."We can play a back four when we are defending if we need to and swing into a back three when in possession," said Hoddle, which appeared to be what Chile did, though the coach did not see them as a 4-4-2 team. "But I believe it gives us better options on the pitch with a back three.

At this moment we haven't done badly playing the way we have been."Hoddle does not like to reveal too much to opposing coaches but he will not wish to endure another night like last week with a below-strength team, no matter how unimportant the result is said to be. Lack of preparation time was a factor as England looked a team hastily assembled but Hoddle would not be human were his marriage separation and surrounding publicity not to have its effect.What was probably confirmed to him last week was that the team he fielded in Rome last October - with Shearer for Ian Wright - remains the first choice. If we lose experienced players through suspension we have got to have a foundation of experience for other players who are going to perform instead."Hoddle himself bears much responsibility for the week's shortcomings. The alliance of Teddy Sheringham, Owen and another debutant in Dion Dublin up front always looked ambitious and bore resemblance to England against Poland and Italy at Wembley when they were similarly strung out and messy Only once could Alan Shearer save England then.

When he arrived on the scene on Wednesday to replace Sheringham, the balance looked even more fanciful.With Butt making his first start, there was a too naive look to England that served neither him, Dublin - though he only started because of Andy Cole's injury - nor Owen well. Now Dublin may be used in a B game as a defender to see if his versatility will be valuable to the squad either against a Swiss Under-21 team, when four over-aged players will be permitted, or Russia B in advance of England's match against Portugal in April.In addition, the confidence of Sol Campbell and Phil Neville probably took a knock, while only with the introduction of Le Saux was there a left-footer to balance the team. At the last World Cup we saw yellow cards brandished all over the place Some are going to be just, some are not. Aggression and determination may be admirable and necessary but allowing frustration to undermine the cause is another matter altogether. "That's exactly why you experiment a little bit," said Hoddle "It's not just for injuries I learnt that at Le Tournoi last summer Suspensions are going to come into it. As their central tactic they pressed the peas-in-a-pod David Batty and Nicky Butt when they received the ball from the back three.