It's never a straightforward thing to do, to be able to inherit a squad. When you're mid-season it's never easy to get a team or a squad of players to function exactly the way you want them to.
I'm not silly enough to say I don't take note of what other strikers are doing. I was totally aware players were scoring that were in the squad - and of English players scoring who weren't in the squad.
You cannot achieve your goal just with young players. We have to see them growing in a stable, mature squad.
You only have to look at the England squad to see the amount of players who get in the squad and start the games - the majority play in the Champions League.
I've shown I am deserving to be in the England squad, but I don't just want a place in the squad; I want to be in the team.
All I want is to be just another member of the squad and fight for a place in the side.
There are times when new players replace injured players in the national squad. Since the new players don't have enough experience and match practice at the international level, they seldom play under a lot of pressure.
Arsenal do not have money to spend, so they are gambling on young players. Arsenal are obliged to sell their best players and bet on youth - but what counts is having a team, great players, and a solid squad to win titles.
All I'm concerned about is that I'm with a good squad of players and want us to be competitive and I'm not looking for anything more.
We want to progress and ultimately win something. You can't do that with 11, 12 or 13 players, you need a squad.
Managers now don't just use 11 players; they have to care about all the squad of 25 or more players.
I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.
I think public criticism of players can go one of two ways: either the players will want to raise a proverbial middle finger at their manager and prove them wrong, or the squad will go within themselves and performances will deteriorate.
As players and coaches, we all want to reach our goal. It's up to us to go out there and perform.
Jonny Hayes is a good player. All the players trust the manager to bring in the players he believes should be added to the squad and his arrival is great for competition.
We used to tell our receivers, 'If you want to run an inside breaking route, and you want to fight for yardage after the catch, you better be careful, because these defensive players, they're on the hunt.'