Roy Hodgson has revealed the reason he didn’t take Rio Ferdinand to the Euros was largely down to his standing within the game.

The England boss believes that a player like Rio Ferdinand isn’t the type to be considered as just a reserve or squad player, but someone that will have to be deemed a first team starter:

"I'll tell you one of the things. When you've played 81 times already for your country, but only a couple of times in the last few years and had a lot of injuries … I don't think those players go as travellers. They go as one of the first names on the team sheet. I had to be convinced that, if I was going to take Rio in my 23, he'd be one of the first names on the team sheet. I couldn't be convinced that would be the case.

"It was a tough call to make, to tell him that I wasn't including him – one I didn't look forward to making. I did it."

Hodgson was also quick to rule out that the presence of John Terry within the squad had any bearing on his decision to omit Ferdinand:

"It wasn't part of my decision. I can't turn round to you [and say] that it didn't occur to me. I'm a football person. I work in football day in, day out. I don't live on the planet Mars. So you can't expect me to say I didn't even give that a thought. But I chose the centre backs I wanted to come with me. I can't be clearer than that." (Guardian)

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