Roy Hodgson has vowed not to overstay his welcome as England manager and the national coach is acutely aware his team must impress at next summer’s European Championship in France if he is to remain in the position beyond then.
His contract runs to the end of that tournament, for which England are well placed to qualify given they boast an unblemished record at the top of Group E going into next month’s game against second-placed Slovenia. The Football Association has indicated it does not intend to discuss a two-year extension with Hodgson as yet, due to memories of Fabio Capello being granted new terms before the 2010 World Cup after a fine qualifying campaign and amid interest from Internazionale, only for the team to struggle badly in South Africa.
Hodgson is overseeing a young, emerging team and would like to see them fulfil their potential. “Of course it’s tempting to think that one could stay longer and see these players further down the line but it has got to be wanted, first by the FA and also by the English people,” said the manager. “We saw with Sven [Goran Eriksson]to some extent, and Fabio to some extent. They were not that unpopular going into the tournament but came out of the tournament and everyone was saying: ‘Oh God, we don’t want this for the next two years.’ All I am saying is I don’t want that at 68, 69 years of age. I don’t want that. If you could promise me my life would be as great as it is at the moment for the next three years, of course I would be delighted to carry on. But I am a football realist. I know what football does and can do. And I also know what overstaying your welcome can do and I would really not want to do that.
“If Euro 2016 is to be my last tournament, that is fine. I won’t be bitterly disappointed by that. What I would not want is to be going into that tournament with people saying: ‘Oh God, we have another two years of him, whatever happens.’”
The Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck will not play any part in England’s friendly away to the Republic of Ireland and the qualifier in Slovenia as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury.
Hodgson is content not to call up a replacement. Should there be further withdrawals from the 23-man squad then Aston Villa’s on-loan midfielder Tom Cleverley is in line to earn a recall to the national set-up. The midfielder was a regular under Hodgson post-Euro 2012 but has not featured since the 1-0 home defeat to Germany in November 2013.
“If someone else goes down – and it could happen because we have the Cup final and these [post-season friendly] matches being played all over the world – then we would have to bring someone else in,” said the England manager. “Cleverley was very unlucky to miss out on this selection. He was someone we discussed a lot.
“In the end, with 24 names initially, we decided we know Tom, he is not someone we need to get to know. We like him, trust him, and we can call him up like that if we want, let’s not make it 25. But if someone else went down we have Tom up our sleeves.
“We have spoken about it, he is a massive England fan and, if needed, would drop everything at the drop of a hat to come and join us. He knows if anything happens, I am on the phone to him.”
