Roy Hodgson has warned the core of England players who have formed the bedrock of his team that his loyalty to them is being tested by the emergence of new recruits who are making him rethink the possible make-up of his squad for next summer’s European Championship.
Hodgson says Dele Alli and Eric Dier should now be considered realistic contenders to go to the tournament after their impressive introduction, putting pressure on some of the England manager’s established favourites such as Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere.
Seventeen players who would usually be in contention for Hodgson’s squad were missing from England’s 2-0 win against France on Tuesday and Hodgson admitted it had left him with a dilemma about whether he should put his faith in the younger call-ups who have filled the void or go back to the more experienced ones.
“When it comes to weighing up loyalty, it is an important quality and one should never dismiss the value of loyalty from player to coach and coach to player, but it is a world in which unfortunately if you want to keep your place in the team you have to be playing to a very high level, especially when other people are doing well around you,” Hodgson said.