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Wayne Rooney told he ‘will have the eyes of the world on him’ in Brazil Wayne Rooney told he ‘will have the eyes of the world on him’ in Brazil
(35 minutes later)
The England manager Roy Hodgson has heaped the pressure on Wayne Rooney ahead of the World Cup, telling the striker that “the eyes of the world” will be on him.The England manager Roy Hodgson has heaped the pressure on Wayne Rooney ahead of the World Cup, telling the striker that “the eyes of the world” will be on him.
The Manchester United striker, who at the age of 18 broke on to the international scene with four goals at the 2004 European Championships, has failed to impress at the last two World Cups. The Manchester United striker, who at the age of 18 broke on to the international scene with four goals at Euro 2004, has failed to impress at the last two World Cup finals.
Big things are expected from him in South America, but should he flounder at the tournament then Hodgson insists it will not be “for the want of trying”.Big things are expected from him in South America, but should he flounder at the tournament then Hodgson insists it will not be “for the want of trying”.
“He knows what a good player he is, he knows the eyes, certainly of England, if not the rest of the world, are going to be on him and he’ll do everything he can to make certain he brings out his best qualities,” Hodgson said during Wednesday’s press conference at Vale do Lobo, where he is leading England’s pre-tournament training camp.“He knows what a good player he is, he knows the eyes, certainly of England, if not the rest of the world, are going to be on him and he’ll do everything he can to make certain he brings out his best qualities,” Hodgson said during Wednesday’s press conference at Vale do Lobo, where he is leading England’s pre-tournament training camp.
“He spent his week off here in Portugal and he trained during that time. He said to me, ‘When you arrive on Monday, I’ll meet you there and I want to be 100 percent ready to train from the first day’. “He spent his week off here in Portugal and he trained during that time. He said to me: ‘When you arrive on Monday, I’ll meet you there and I want to be 100% ready to train from the first day’.
“He’s a bit disappointed because I decided to leave him out of the exercise I was doing, which involved a lot of shooting, because I wanted to protect his thigh. If it had been up to him, he’d have been in it having as many shots as all the others.”“He’s a bit disappointed because I decided to leave him out of the exercise I was doing, which involved a lot of shooting, because I wanted to protect his thigh. If it had been up to him, he’d have been in it having as many shots as all the others.”
Hodgson believes England’s World Cup preparations have got off to an excellent start with three positive days of training. The 30-man contingent are training in the warm weather of southern Portugal and, barring a training-ground knock suffered by Everton full-back John Stones, Hodgson has not suffered any fresh injury setbacks as he prepares the players for next Friday’s warm-up friendly against Peru at Wembley. Hodgson believes England’s World Cup preparations have got off to an excellent start with three positive days of training. The 30-man contingent are training in the warm weather of southern Portugal and, barring a training ground knock suffered by the Everton centre-back John Stones, Hodgson has not suffered any fresh injury setbacks as he prepares the players for next Friday’s warm-up friendly against Peru at Wembley.
United defender Phil Jones is also recovering well from a shoulder injury and the England boss hopes he will be involved before the squad return home. The United defender Phil Jones is also recovering well from a shoulder injury and the England manager hopes he will be involved before the squad return home.
He added: “The first three days have gone as well as I could possibly have hoped for. But there’s a long way to go and three more days to get through but we’ve made a good start. We had a slightly unfortunate incident with John Stones. He twisted his knee very slightly in training but it’s nothing serious.He added: “The first three days have gone as well as I could possibly have hoped for. But there’s a long way to go and three more days to get through but we’ve made a good start. We had a slightly unfortunate incident with John Stones. He twisted his knee very slightly in training but it’s nothing serious.
“He could have trained but we decided to leave him out because it’s so early on and we don’t want to take any risks. It was nice to see Phil Jones joining in the warm-up. He’s training very very well and it looks like he might be taking part even before the end of this week.” “He could have trained but we decided to leave him out because it’s so early on and we don’t want to take any risks. It was nice to see Phil Jones joining in the warm-up. He’s training very, very well and it looks like he might be taking part even before the end of this week.”
Hodgson feels the competition for places in the squad, which will be reduced to a confirmed final 23 before England head to Brazil, has ensured the players take their training especially seriously.Hodgson feels the competition for places in the squad, which will be reduced to a confirmed final 23 before England head to Brazil, has ensured the players take their training especially seriously.
But while relaxation is not an option, he insists he is leading a “happy” camp. But while relaxation is not an option, he insists he is leading a “happy” camp. Hodgson added: “We don’t talk about relaxation, or about sessions being light-hearted or serious, we talk about the job that we need to do and we expect that every time the players go on to the training ground that they are 100% following what we think needs to be done.
Hodgson added: “We don’t talk about relaxation, or about sessions being light-hearted or serious, we talk about the job that we need to do and we expect that every time the players go onto the training ground that they are 100 per cent following what we think needs to be done.
“If they happen to enjoy it then that’s a major bonus but we don’t set out to make it enjoyable, we set out to do the work that we think is absolutely necessary if we’re to have any success at this World Cup.”“If they happen to enjoy it then that’s a major bonus but we don’t set out to make it enjoyable, we set out to do the work that we think is absolutely necessary if we’re to have any success at this World Cup.”
Hodgson made some tough calls before revealing his first selection - his decision to include Southampton teenager Luke Shaw instead of 107-time international left-back Ashley Cole was hotly debated. He believes that fierce scrap for places on the plane has helped focus his players’ minds sharply on the task in hand. Hodgson made some tough calls before revealing his first selection – his decision to include Southampton teenager Luke Shaw instead of 107-times international left-back Ashley Cole was hotly debated. He believes that fierce scrap for places on the plane has helped focus his players’ minds sharply on the task in hand.
“I think they’re excited to be selected and I think everyone realises that my choice was a difficult one,” Hodgson added. “It wasn’t just a case of taking the only players that were there, there were more players than these who could easily have come so I think there was a lot of tension among players before I made my selection as they waited to be chosen.“I think they’re excited to be selected and I think everyone realises that my choice was a difficult one,” Hodgson added. “It wasn’t just a case of taking the only players that were there, there were more players than these who could easily have come so I think there was a lot of tension among players before I made my selection as they waited to be chosen.
“So in this camp of course there’s a lot of enthusiasm but they’re also happy that they are taking part in this incredible adventure and that they’re the ones who are going to be leading England over the next few weeks.”“So in this camp of course there’s a lot of enthusiasm but they’re also happy that they are taking part in this incredible adventure and that they’re the ones who are going to be leading England over the next few weeks.”