KELLY SMITH WEEKLY COLUMN -22nd APRIL

KELLY SMITH: We must be doing something right with England - Fabio has sent Stuart Pearce to spy on us

By Kelly Smith
Last updated at 12:08 AM on 23rd April 2009

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In her weekly column for Sportsmail Online, KELLY SMITH talks about her return to England on international duty after hitting three goals in three games for the Boston Breakers in America's Women's Professional Soccer championship...

Another goal and a win with the Breakers last weekend was obviously perfect before heading home for England duty this week.

It's only a month since we were all together, but there's a new face in the camp at Shrewsbury: Stuart Pearce.

He's part of Fabio Capello's team, as well as preparing the Under 21s for their European Championship in Sweden, and it's a huge compliment to us that he's been sent to see what we do and to try to learn from our success.

We've not lost all year and got a lot of confidence from winning the Cyprus Cup in Larnaca last month, so it's no wonder people are noticing and we hope to keep that form up against Norway on Thursday night. There's even a rumour that Fabio might come along.Pearce has been watching our coach Hope Powell in action and coming to meetings to see how we do things.

He's somebody I watched growing up and was well aware why they called him Psycho. Pulling on his England shirt, that will to win and energy is something that stuck with me and I like to think we share a similar kind of attitude. I hate losing. But people can be very different off the pitch and he seemed quite reserved, actually.

Never say die: Pearce famously scoring in a shootout against Spain at Euro 96

Getting the plane over here was a bit of a hectic turnaround after playing in Washington on Saturday. It was our second away game of the season and to win 3-1 was vital after losing the opener.

Our coach keeps talking about instilling a winning mentality and we've spoken as a group about becoming a team who can win on the road and in adversity.

I hit my third goal in three games and seem to be getting in the right places. It's all about being comfortable with where I'm playing - at the tip of the midfield triangle in a 4-3-3. I really enjoy playing with Kristine Lilly. She's been to five World Cups for the United States, won two of them, and is still world class at 37.

And as a team I think we're only going to get better with our passing, positioning and understanding.

We flew back to Boston on Sunday with Alex Scott in economy in a little Virgin plane, about a 50-seater. Then we headed back to England, eventually arriving in Shrewsbury by car to report for duty on Monday.

We don't exactly get the David Beckham treatment when we're hopping across the Atlantic. We were told to try to get as much sleep as possible but it's difficult when you're sitting upright.

The other girls coming over from the States - Kaz Carney, Eni Aluko and Anita Asante - all played on the Sunday, so we were a day ahead and had Monday to meet up, go out and try to get ourselves through the jetlag.

It wasn't just the time difference, hearing English accents again was weird. We went for a meal when we arrived and it was unusual not to have the American twang constantly around.

But it's good to catch up with everyone. There is quite a lot of banter with the Everton and Arsenal girls because the league is a bit of a nail-biter.

Some of the players ask privately what it's like in the U.S. league. I think a lot of them would like to have a go at playing in the States. Some international players have only signed one-year contracts over there, as it's a trial period for them and coaches are asking all the time which players they should be looking at.

Everyone wants to play for their country, but it can be a sacrifice for some of them. People have to take time off work for training and sometimes go unpaid. Others might be students who have to catch up with lessons later.

Thorough: England coach Hope Powell

But while everyone is here, Hope keeps us focused on Norway. She's meticulous in how she prepares for the opposition, which is crucial at this level. She can be hard on the players, but knows exactly how to treat everyone and when someone needs an arm round the shoulder.

We beat Norway the last time out - just over a year ago - and we'll take that confidence going into the match. They are one of the powerhouses of women's football and we could face them in the later stages of the European Championship in August.

We're determined to go into that tournament undefeated and though they're going through a change in personnel, any team that they put out will be hard to beat.

After Thursday comes the not so fun part: travelling back. If I play a good amount of minutes for England, I don't know how much time I will be able to play against Chicago - with Kaz and my old coach Emma Hayes.

We fly back on Friday and the game is on Saturday evening, so it's a tough turnaround, but this is the life of an international footballer and I wouldn't swap with anyone.