THE WASHBLOG: Tired of talking tiredness?

No, it was for the thousands of England fans who have already seen more dead rubbers than a bad illustrator's bin.

But after Sterling's request for a rest went public, tiredness became the issue. Suddenly the same old question was squawked: ‘Where is the desire , the passion?’

At club level, ex-Town striker Steve White has always had an answer. He's claimed that the physio's room at Swindon would empty of strains and sprains as soon as the scent of success filled the nostrils.

White would know all about playing through injury as he risked spearing his brain with the label of his underpants every time he hoisted his shorts up.

But is desire enough? What about ability? Town midfielder Darren Bullock had desire. You could see it pulsing in his blood-red temples. He always ran, ran to be the first to every fight. Terrible footballer though.

At the other end of the spectrum there was the spurious pace of David Prutton. Two reds and six yellows in 46 games for Swindon showed the colour of Prutton's passion. Yet the midfielder, once bought for millions, played like the man who cleans out sewage tanks – just going through the motions.

Town have to hope for their international trio that White is right. That fatigue will fade with the motivation of playing in the Asian Cup and our push for promotion. For many coaches now believe that younger bodies demand more rest, not less.

And Town will have lot of tired teenagers. Also, it is thought that explosive, pacy players, such as Brad Smith, have more fast-twitch muscles fibres which take longer to repair themselves, meaning yet more rest.

This will test Mark Cooper in two ways. One is to manage their minutes in games and in training. And, to do so privately.

The second is to convince them that the road trip to Yeovil is every bit as exciting as flying to Yemen. And not just tiring.

Alex is a regular contributor to Swindon Town blog The Washbag