MX23RW : Thursday, April 3 08:21:47| >> :600:252101:252101:

Roy Hodgson: 'England lack depth'

Roy Hodgson: 'England lack depth'
© AP Photos
England manager Roy Hodgson admits that his squad lacks depth going into Wednesday's friendly against Scotland.

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that his squad lacks depth ahead of their friendly match against Scotland on Wednesday.

The Three Lions are missing a number of players to injury, most notably up front where Southampton striker Rickie Lambert was included for the first time, alongside Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck.

With Rooney and Defoe also struggling with injuries, Hodgson admitted that the forward area is a particularly problematic one, while also acknowledging that his side does not have the depth that previous England sides have enjoyed.

"[England coach] Gary Neville was talking today about the past and reeling off the names of 10 or 12 class players who were vying for two positions," PA quotes Hodgson as saying.

"We are not in that position, we haven't been in that position and we are not likely to be in that position between now and the end of October but I do believe the players we have are more that capable of doing their job.

"We are short of forward players in particular. If you go through all of the candidates, you still don't get to more than seven or eight. Then you are talking about people who might not have played [for England] for a number of years."

England's match against Scotland will be their last before returning to World Cup qualifying action with vital matches against Moldova and Ukraine in September.

ID:97546: cacheID:97546:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2741:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino on the touchline during the match against Chelsea on March 30, 2013
Read Next:
Pochettino "proud" of Lambert call-up
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool30227170274373
2Arsenal301710355253061
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest30176750351557
4Manchester CityMan City30156957401751
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle29155949391050
6Chelsea29147853371649
7Aston Villa3013984445-148
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton30121174845347
9Fulham3012994440445
10Bournemouth301281049381144
11Brentford30125135147441
12Crystal Palace29101093734340
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd30107133741-437
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs291041555431234
15Everton30713103237-534
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham3097143350-1734
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves3085174158-1729
18Ipswich TownIpswich3048183063-3320
19Leicester CityLeicester3045212567-4217
20Southampton3024242271-4910


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!