Guernsey captain Sam Cochrane is cloned onto the current red England change strip which the Sarnians will wear in Croatia. (Montage by John O’Neill)

THE thrill and pride of wearing the three lions on their shirts could have a downside for Guernsey’s footballers.

Mid-stream of the biggest week of their amateur careers island stars and management are questioning just how English the Guernsey side will be when they play at the Uefa Regions Cup in late September, as well as at an overseas warm-up game a month before.

Both island manager Tony Vance and Guernsey Football Association chairman Mark Le Tissier admit to having concerns as to how ‘Anglo-fied’ the Sarnians will be when they step forward as England’s official representatives in Croatia, which stages one of three preliminary round competitions of the Uefa event which climaxes with a grand final tournament in June 2011.

Both Vance and Le Tissier have been made aware that previously the England representatives have largely surrendered their identity to England.

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