Billy Jones has thanked former West Brom manager Roy Hodgson for turning his Premier League dream into a reality.
Hodgson lured the right-back to The Hawthorns from Preston North End in June 2011, a transfer that followed the Lancashire club s relegation to the third tier of English football at the end of the previous campaign.
From League One to the top flight in an instant, Jones has not looked back and has flourished at West Brom to become a mainstay in the team, playing every minute in the Premier League this season under Steve Clarke, who took charge when Hodgson became England boss in 2012.
Jones has expressed his gratitude to Hodgson for spotting his potential to become an established Premier League player.
Roy was massive for me, Jones told the Birmingha…
Rickie Lambert has heaped praise on England manager Roy Hodgson for instilling confidence in him ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Lambert edged out West Ham striker Andy Carroll for a spot in England s 23-man squad after netting 13 Premier League goals for Southampton this season.
The 32-year-old s selection caps a remarkable rise as, this time four years ago, just prior to the 2010 World Cup, Lambert had just completed his first season with the Southampton, who were still playing in the third tier of English football.
Lambert is now set to compete at his first World Cup, where England will face Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica, and he lauded the impact of the man that introduced him to international football against Scotland last year.
He has been brilliant f…
Juventus have a commanding seven-point lead over Roma in Serie A, but head coach Massimiliano Allegri is taking nothing for granted.
Massimiliano Allegri has warned his Juventus side that there is plenty of work to do to retain the Serie A title.
Juve suffered a rare blip when they were held 0-0 at Udinese last weekend, but second-placed Roma drew for the fourth successive league match to keep the gap at the top of the table to seven points.
Head coach Allegri insists that Rudi Garcia s side remain a threat, though, and will not allow Juve s standards to drop.
[Is the] Scudetto already won? No chance, he said ahead of Juve s clash with Milan on Saturday. There s still a long way to go and Roma are firmly in the hunt.
We need to stay focused,…
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes said he was never asked to play for England at Euro 2012.
The 37-year-old retired from international football after Euro 2004 to focus on his club career, and then hung up his boots entirely at the end of the 2010-11 season before making a comeback in January.
Scholes has suggested before that he regretted turning down the chance to play at the 2010 World Cup and has now hinted that he may have considered accepting a call-up if asked by Roy Hodgson ahead of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
I wasn t offered the chance, Scholes told reporters on United s pre-season tour when questioned about his potential involvement.
It has been reported that Hodgson expected Scholes to want to focus on his club career and d…