Gerrard to Play in Friendlies KEVIN KEEGAN declared his confidence that teenager Steven Gerrard would "take international football in his stride" Keegan revealed the midfielder would start one of England's pre-European Championship friendlies. Gerrard, 19, has come through the ranks this season with Liverpool in a similar way to Michael Owen in the year leading up to the 1998 World Cup. And he is similarly poised to claim a place in the senior squad if Keegan's ringing endorsement of his talent is anything to go by when he named his provisional 28-man squad for the Euro 2000 finals. Gerrard would have faced Argentina if a groin injury had not intervened and while there are concerns over his fitness - he has been substituted seven times in his past 10 appearances for Liverpool - he did return from a two-game absence against Bradford last Sunday. Watched by Keegan, he also impressed for the Under-21 side against Yugoslavia in March and the England coach is determined to ensure that he plays against either Brazil on May 27 or Ukraine on May 31 before the final 22-man party is announced on June 1. And that is evidently intended as much to give the midfielder a taste of international football as it is for Keegan to test him out. "He's done very well this season, he's been outstanding. He will need to have a game before we go out there, if he's going to be in the final 22, and he needs to do okay in that game," he said. "I'm not putting him on trial as I've seen enough of him to know that he can go into that final 22 and do himself justice but I want to be assured that he can play a part." Gerrard would be most comfortable playing in his most accustomed position at Liverpool - central midfield - yet he can also cover a number of defensive roles and that versatility is a bonus in Keegan's eyes. "I think he can play anywhere. I've seen him play right wing-back, right-back, central midfield and against Derby last season, he even went into the back four, and it worked very well," he said. If he does indeed make it into the final squad, that could spell disappointment for club team-mate Jamie Redknapp, who was pushed out to a right-sided role - while Gerrard stayed central - when Keegan watched Liverpool play Bradford. The England coach gave what was, for him, a measured verdict on the display of Redknapp, who has had his own injury problems this season. "It was a difficult game to judge Jamie on but he did okay. He played a bit on the right side to be fair but his use of the ball was good," he declared. Both Liverpool players are still in contention, however, along with outsiders Everton midfielder Nick Barmby and Aston Villa keeper David James, who have been recalled to the England fold for the first time in more than three years. There were no other surprises in the 28-man squad, with only Graeme Le Saux - who has not yet fully recovered from injury - Trevor Sinclair, Steve Guppy, Steve Froggatt and Ian Walker having harboured any realistic hopes of being selected. Steve McManaman will meanwhile only join up with England after the Champions League final on May 24 with Real Madrid and he will therefore probably not be included against Brazil. His chances of going to Euro 2000 are still strong though, especially as Keegan indicated a willingness to field players out of position again if necessary - such as McManaman on the left flank, or Gerrard or Sol Campbell at right-back if Gary Neville is not selected. Keegan, who revealed he is set to take only one younger player - rather than his previously stated intention of three - to the tournament for experience alongside the squad, nevertheless has a far tougher selection dilemma over Robbie Fowler. Due to two ankle operations, Fowler has started just one game since September 27 - and even then he only lasted an hour against Southampton - while he apparently had a fall-out with Gerard Houllier over his omission from the squad to play Bradford. Fowler still has a good chance of being picked ahead of either Andy Cole or Kevin Phillips but must first prove his fitness to Keegan, who knows that he will face strong criticism over whichever of his six strikers he eventually leaves out. "When you look at the quality of player that I'm going to have to leave out to accommodate Robbie Fowler, two things are going to be thrown at me," he admitted. "One is that the player Fowler can't prove his match-fitness in time so it's a gamble, which it would probably would be. he second is that the guy left out has proved it week in and week out. "That's why Robbie's got to prove his fitness. I may still decide it's not right to take that risk, bearing in mind the quality of the other strikers, but I want him to make that a massive problem for me and I'm sure he will. Robbie desperately wants to be part of the England squad and he's adamant that his fitness is okay. I told him 'come along, let's have a look at it and I'll be the judge of whether you're really fit enough to take part in a major tournament."' While Keegan is confident about the fitness of other recent injury concerns - Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Gary Neville, Michael Owen and Gerrard - he will certainly be looking for assurances from Fowler and Redknapp during the next fortnight. Back