ADAM JOHNSON still has the hump about missing out on a place in England’s Euro 2012 squad.
The Manchester City ace, 24, was not picked by manager Roy Hodgson
despite winning five caps and scoring two goals in the qualifying
campaign.
He was left on standby for the campaign in Poland and Ukraine, where England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Italy.
Johnson said: “I’ll be quite honest and say I really think I should have been selected because I played five times in the qualifiers and scored two goals so I thought I’d proved my worth.
“When I played for City last season I scored a few goals and made a few as well so it took me a while to accept not being able to represent my country at a major championship, because the same thing happened at the World Cup two years ago.
“To be fair, Roy Hodgson has been brilliant with me and phoned me to say that he still wanted me to come to Norway and train before the Euros began.
“As far as I’m concerned, I start my bid for the 2014 World Cup from now.”
Johnson paid for a poor end to the season domestically. He did not feature at all in City’s final three games as Roberton Mancini’s men went on to lift the Premier League title.
The ex-Middlesbrough man is desperate to force his way back into the reckoning for this campaign.
He said: “It was pretty hard watching from the sidelines because obviously you want to be out there helping the lads.
“It’s tough but you have to keep plugging away and just give your all.
“We won the title, which was the main thing, but obviously you want to feel you’ve played your part, too.
“Things can change pretty quickly in football and this is a new season and we all start with a clean slate once again. What I need to do is respond, try even harder and react positively.”
He was left on standby for the campaign in Poland and Ukraine, where England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Italy.
Johnson said: “I’ll be quite honest and say I really think I should have been selected because I played five times in the qualifiers and scored two goals so I thought I’d proved my worth.
“When I played for City last season I scored a few goals and made a few as well so it took me a while to accept not being able to represent my country at a major championship, because the same thing happened at the World Cup two years ago.
“To be fair, Roy Hodgson has been brilliant with me and phoned me to say that he still wanted me to come to Norway and train before the Euros began.
“As far as I’m concerned, I start my bid for the 2014 World Cup from now.”
Johnson paid for a poor end to the season domestically. He did not feature at all in City’s final three games as Roberton Mancini’s men went on to lift the Premier League title.
The ex-Middlesbrough man is desperate to force his way back into the reckoning for this campaign.
He said: “It was pretty hard watching from the sidelines because obviously you want to be out there helping the lads.
“It’s tough but you have to keep plugging away and just give your all.
“We won the title, which was the main thing, but obviously you want to feel you’ve played your part, too.
“Things can change pretty quickly in football and this is a new season and we all start with a clean slate once again. What I need to do is respond, try even harder and react positively.”
Source : TheSun.co.uk
