Inside Sport: Russia's plastic pitch

By Micah Richards Manchester City and England defender

It was nice to sign off for the international break with a good win for Manchester City against Middlesbrough on Sunday and I can take that confidence into England's Euro 2008 qualifiers.

There is always a bit of banter when you meet up with the rest of the England squad and I have been telling everyone that they won't find it easy to beat City this season, no matter who they play for.

For now, though, I am concentrating on England.

The squad has been hit by a few injuries but it is a massive boost for us that Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are fit to play

There has been a lot of talk about whether we would be happy with a point in the game against Russia in Moscow but we need to go there with a winning mentality and try to get three points out of the game.

A lot of people have asked me how I am going to find playing on their artificial pitch but, to be honest, I don't know yet - although we will get to play on the same surface in Altrincham on Monday.

It will make things trickier though. I have heard it is like Astroturf and when I used to play on that when I was younger it made a difference for things like slide tackles.

But I am sure we will be all right. We may be used to playing on beautiful pitches week in, week out, but we have all played on a bad pitch before so we are just going to have to do it again.

The squad has been hit by a few injuries but it is a massive boost for us that Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are fit to play.

Michael is a proven goalscorer and a key man to have for the team. He has such an impressive record for England for a reason.

606: DEBATE Your chance to quiz Micah

As for Rooney, well, he is a quality player who can do just about everything.

He is always working hard for the team and if you give him one chance he will stick it away.

I am glad Steve McClaren has backed Paul Robinson too.

Paul has come in for a lot of stick in the papers and that really hurts some players but, with others, it is a case of 'if you write that about me I will prove you wrong'.

Paul has a strong enough character to bounce back. Paul is trusted for England and he is a top keeper.

As a Man City fan, Hatton watches Richards on a regular basis

Finally, some of you might have seen me on Football Focus on Saturday, sparring with Ricky Hatton. You might have noticed I didn't let him hit me though - I wouldn't let that happen!

I try to do as much charity work as I can - and that was for the Premier League's Creating Chances scheme.

If I was a kid and had the chance to do something with Ricky that would keep me off the streets then I'd want to do it. It is great for kids to have someone like him as a role model and it is nice to be able to help.

I'd met Ricky a couple of times before - he has got an executive box at Eastlands - but that was the first time we had a really good chat.

I am only just starting to get into boxing now to be honest. Obviously he has a big fight coming up against Floyd Mayweather on 8 December.

I would like to go but it is in Las Vegas and, with training on the Monday, it might be a bit tricky!