England’s players have indicated they would welcome any move by the Football Association to reward Roy Hodgson with an extension to his contract to ensure he remains at the helm beyond Euro 2016.
Hodgson’s current deal, signed when he succeeded Fabio Capello two years ago, extends only to the tournament in France although Leighton Baines has suggested the current squad would be “really happy” if he agreed to stay in the position with a view to the World Cup finals in Russia. The FA is understood to be in no immediate rush to address the 67-year-old’s situation, particularly given England failed to emerge from their group in the summer’s finals in Brazil.
The team have made an impressive enough start to their European Championship qualifying campaign, and face Slovenia at Wembley seeking to extend their winning run to four games. Hodgson would be almost 69 when the tournament begins in France with the likes of Gareth Southgate, who will take his Under-21s to the summer’s junior European tournament in the Czech Republic, and the senior team’s assistant, Gary Neville, having been mooted as potential long-term successors. The former boasts managerial experience with Middlesbrough, while Neville continues to combine his duties with the national side with those as a pundit on Sky television.
Hodgson has received regular public backing from his players even in the wake of the summer’s disappointments, with the team’s showing in Brazil their worst at a World Cup finals since 1958. The captain, Wayne Rooney, has suggested a young team is making steady progress and, when asked about the possibility of keeping the manager on, Baines was glowing in his endorsement of the current regime.
“The players would all be delighted with that,” he said. “We all enjoy working with him. He’s a good guy, a good person to speak to. He’s got a lot of knowledge about football, has had a lot of different jobs, worked in different countries. Us, as a bunch of players, would be really happy if he extended.”
It is arguable that a truer test of the team’s recent progress will come not in qualifying but in a series of prestigious friendlies over the next 18 months, with the likes of France and Italy to be confronted and games against other major sides, such as Spain and Germany, potentially in the pipeline.
The Southampton defender Nathaniel Clyne is expected to become the 60th different player to represent England under Hodgson against Slovenia at Wembley on Saturday night, with Raheem Sterling operating at the tip of a midfield diamond. The Tottenham winger, Andros Townsend, has followed Michael Carrick in returning to his club. Townsend sustained a kick to his ankle in Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat by Stoke City on Sunday and had failed to train with the national side since joining up at the weekend, with England’s medical staff determining he should return to Spurs for treatment after assessing him on Thursday morning.
