Barry hails Manchester City's England players

Barry was one of six City players on the field (GETTY IMAGES)

Gareth Barry believes the hardcore of England internationals in the Manchester City squad can help propel the club to trophy glory.

Barry took immense pride from six City players being on the pitch at the end of England's impressive 3-1 win over Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, James Milner and Barry started the game before they were joined by Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips as second-half substitutes.

It brought back memories of when the then England coach Ron Greenwood fielded seven members of the dominant Liverpool team - also against Switzerland - for a match in 1977.

Barry said: "It was brilliant for the club to have so many players on the pitch - and shows the quality we have got at City.

"It is great to have a core of English players.

"You have seen the top teams over the years, the Chelseas, the Manchester Uniteds, have had that spine of English players and been successful.

"We've got to work hard and hopefully we can achieve something like that."

Johnson pressed his claims to be part of the starting X1 with a second goal in two internationals after coming off the the substitutes' bench.

Barry believes Johnson, who moved to City from Middlesbrough during the January transfer window, can climb to great heights in the game.

The midfielder said: "Adam joined us in the winter with little experience at this level and he just keeps growing in stature.

"For the future, he can get better and better. His confidence keeps growing.

"The more he plays, the better he will get. Hopefully he will get more (game) time and the goals will keep coming."

Barry was not surprised Wayne Rooney was able to put off-field allegations behind him and score his first England goal for 12 months in another mature display.

He said: "It was written there for Wayne to score a goal. He has been waiting for a while and his overall performance was good as well.

"To get a goal, that will cheer him up.

"Wayne would have been eager to get out there and concentrate on football.

"Sometimes it is the best thing to do, to get your mind away from things off the pitch. He has produced again.

"When you are playing at the top level, you need that strong mentality and he showed it once again in Switzerland."

Barry also feels the new format of playing on Friday and Tuesdays will benefit players in giving them more time to recover for returning to domestic action.

He said: "The players will benefit in having an extra day before the weekend.

"The lads spoke about that when we met up and overall we prefer the Friday-Tuesday games.

"It gives you the extra rest. It was a good decision by whoever made it (UEFA)."

Darren Bent was the other marksman as England collected six points from their opening two games after the World Cup disappointments.

Barry said: "It is the perfect start to the group and, after the disappointments of the summer, the good thing about football is you can always look ahead and try and bounce back."