There was a definite feeling in the build-up to England’s game with Bulgaria last Friday that pressure was mounting on certain individuals, most notably the manager Fabio Capello, and I think they answered the critics perfectly.

The crowd wasn’t what you would normally expect at a Wembley qualifier – there were quite a few empty seats – so I think the game went as well as it possibly could, and I hope England follow it up on Tuesday against Switzerland in what will be a very difficult game. But they’ve done the first bit well and to win any game 4-0 deserves credit.

I thought it could have been difficult for England on Friday night because the crowd and the press would have picked up on anything negative. The team and the manager were definitely in a precarious situation and they responded really well.

There was some good inventive play. James Milner drifted in from the left, which didn’t make it a flat 4-4-2, and Wayne Rooney dropped into the hole in front of midfield, with Jermain Defoe maintaining a presence up front. Theo Walcott was a threat with his pace and Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry complemented each other very well.

I also thought the back four did well, although it was a disaster for Michael Dawson because it looked like he suffered a bad injury.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart looked assured and confident. He has been given the opportunity, but a lot of English goalkeepers have been given the opportunity and haven’t taken it in recent years. Hart looks like he has the necessary confidence, mentality and belief to be the England goalkeeper.

Adam Johnson looked ok when he came on; he has a good left foot with lots of skill, the type of player England haven’t really had in wide positions over the past 10 years or so. Milner also looks to be a player who is comfortable on the ball and can beat people. If you complement that with Walcott’s pace, the passing ability of Gerrard and Rooney’s attacking skills then it looks quite good.

I think 4-4-2 works better when players don’t stay in a flat 4-4-2. Walcott and Defoe like to do so, but Barry, Gerrard, Rooney and Milner were interchanging.

I have been critical in the past about England playing 4-4-2 because they have been very rigid and played in straight lines. But there was some flexibility against Bulgaria, with Rooney moving out to the left, Milner coming inside, Gerrard pushing forward and Barry going out to the left at times.

It’s difficult to say if the pressure will be off Capello if England win on Tuesday. What the English media, and to some extent the fans, need to realise is that England qualified brilliantly for the World Cup. When they got there, the performances weren’t great, but playing in a World Cup is not easy.

England can definitely play better than they did in the tournament, but if they had played better would they have won it? Potentially not. They might have got to the last eight, but if you look at all the teams that got to the last eight they were probably better than England.

There were some things that went against England, namely Rio Ferdinand, and then his replacement Ledley King got injured; Gareth Barry had been injured before the tournament and Wayne Rooney hadn’t played a lot of football, plus the goalkeeper issue was not settled. Coming out of the tournament, England look in a better position than they were going into it.

I think we just need to take a bit of a reality check and realise that maybe we’re not as good as we think we are, and we are achieving nearer to what we should be than people realise.

Tuesday will be a difficult game, and if we lose there will still be huge pressure on the players and the manager. But I don’t expect England to lose; I expect them to get at least a draw.

On paper, England should qualify from the group, but it doesn’t always work like that. The Switzerland game is very big in terms of the group. If England win, it will put them in an incredibly strong position with six points from two games. A draw wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world and the main priority has to be not to lose, but England are capable of winning.

Wales are also in the group and they will cause England problems. Any time you play against a home nation you can have problems because there is so much passion. I’ve played against Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and I would say they were always more difficult than they should have been, because they have so much spirit when they play England. We’re their great enemy I suppose, and form can go out of the window.

Everton next

At Manchester United, we face Everton away on Saturday and that will be a difficult game for us.

Everton always seem to be slow starters but they will come strong. I know a bit about them because my brother Phillip plays there and they are a fit and talented bunch of lads. I’ve never been to Goodison Park when it has not been difficult.

Everton have a team that could challenge for the top four. Their problem is there are now six or seven teams that are very, very strong, which is making it harder to get into the top four, but they are a very good side and they could push if they have an outstanding run.

Owen Hargreaves aside, we have all our players back from injury. Anderson and Rio Ferdinand played the other night, and I’m fit. The squad is looking very strong; it’s difficult to get into it at the moment.

Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.