• Barry to have groin problem scanned on Monday
• Manager Hodgson says he is looking to 'long-term'
Roy Hodgson has insisted his vision for England stretches well beyond the summer's European Championship and stressed the finals should not be considered "the be-all and end-all", with the national manager braced to have Gareth Barry ruled out of the tournament.
Barry, whose impact at the World Cup two years ago was hampered by an ankle injury sustained before the tournament, lasted only 26 minutes of Saturday's 1-0 friendly victory against Norway before hurting a groin. The Manchester City midfielder limped away from the stadium in some discomfort and will undergo a scan on Monday morning to ascertain the extent of the damage, with Everton's Phil Jagielka, who impressed at centre-half, expected to be promoted from the standby list as a replacement.
He would be elevated into a squad still adjusting to the new manager's philosophy and with time ticking down to the team's first group match, against France in Donetsk a fortnight on Monday, although Hodgson's outlook is fixed more on the long term. "I am looking beyond the Euros," the England manager said. "The fact is I signed a contract to do this job over the coming years, so I have my sights firmly fixed on the future. I also want to do well in the Euros and I will try to get the team as well organised and prepared as I can.
"But I am not prepared to make the Euros the be-all and end-all in terms of the way I want to hopefully make a mark on the team and hopefully play in the future. The biggest fillip I've had in the three days' working with the players was their attitude to training and their desire to work hard and show what they can do. It would have taken a lot in Norway for me to have lost the feeling this is a group of players that can become a better team. But they have been excellent in terms of attitude and desire."
If there was cause for concern in Oslo then it centred on the injury picked up by Barry in his second-half cameo – Hodgson has until midday on Tuesday to confirm his 23-man squad for the tournament – though the perception voiced by Norway's defeated players, that England appeared weary, also felt depressingly familiar. The team struggled in South Africa two years ago as if jaded by their exertions over a long domestic season and after Hodgson acknowledged "the fatigue factor" in his post-match assessment, the home side's Fulham defender Brede Hangeland laboured the point.
"It's a good England team but they look a little worn out after a long Premier League season," said the Norway captain. "I felt the same thing. It's not a good preparation for the Euros to play such a long and tough season as you do in England. Even if it was only a friendly, you could see that the English players need a break. It's unusual that a Norwegian team has so much possession. Normally we play defensive and wait for the opponent to make a mistake, but on Saturday it was the other way around. Sweden [England's group opponents] have a good chance."
England, to date, have worked primarily on tactical discipline in their sessions with Hodgson, whose focus may shift once the squad reconvenes for training on Wednesday. The manager has received more positive news on the other injured players and is confident Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck – both of whom were not considered in Oslo – will have recovered from a septic toe and an ankle injury respectively to be in contention for the game against France on 11 June. Both will be checked on Monday but there is some optimism that Johnson might even be available for Saturday's friendly against Belgium at Wembley.
Scott Parker, who ended the domestic season struggling with an achilles complaint, featured for 56 minutes on Saturday and reported no ill effects. "It felt good," he said. "It's a relief. I have waited a long time to break into the England team, never mind go to a major tournament, and to think I might not be there was quite disappointing. But things have cleared up a little bit and I am ready to go."
Hodgson said: "I am not worried about Glen Johnson or Welbeck – we are convinced they will be fit when they get on the plane to Poland [on 6 June]. Barry is the one who does concern me. We don't know yet how severe the injury is, and only have a couple of days to sort that one out. I can't take a risk on that one. The scan will show us a lot but if it doesn't really give us a 'yes' or 'no' answer, I will have a very serious discussion with Gareth and he'll have to be honest with me and let me know. As Scott [Parker] has been."
Jagielka's inclusion in the squad, ahead of the central midfielder Jordan Henderson, would allow Phil Jones to serve as back-up in central midfield and offer options across the back-line. "I am prepared to reconfigure the squad," added Hodgson. "I am not necessarily looking to replace man for man in the midfield areas because I have a lot of players there. I might have been more interested in replacing man for man in one or two other areas where we don't have the same degree of choice." Read More
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