ROY HODGSON believes England's World Cup RUGBY flops could help him win the European championships.
Hodgson, whose own World Cup football dreams ended in early heartbreak last summer, reckons Stuart Lancaster's first hurdle rugger disaster will remind his England side that they can take nothing for granted in France next year.
As he prepares to see his young Lions win a record-breaking 10 out of 10 in Lithuania tomorrow Hodgson is hoping the national rugby team's failure will help keep his players' feet firmly on the ground in the Euros.
He said: "We’ve just seen it with rugby. Fourteen weeks of preparation and four years of working with the team and then they come across Wales."
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| Stuart Lancaster and his England rugby team have been knocked out of the Rugby World Cup |
Losing that game put enormous pressure on England for the match that followed against Australia, he recalled.
"And after that everything is woeful and disastrous."
Hodgson, whose England side never really recovered from losing their first match to Italy in last year's World Cup, warned that history must not be allowed to repeat itself.
"For all your preparation and all your work, if you get there and play brilliantly in the first game but lose it to a dodgy penalty, you’re a disaster," he said.
"What will give us a better chance in the tournament than last time is winning the first game - or certainly not losing it.
"We didn’t play badly against Italy, but we lost and after that it was downhill
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| England captain Chris Robshaw and his side were knocked out following the defeat to Australia |
"We will be hoping that all the organisation, preparation and the quality of our work will not be wasted or thrown back in our faces if we can’t win the knockout matches."
Hodgson admits he doesn't know enough about rugby to say what went wrong for Lancaster and co.
But he added: "I do know for things to be as disastrous as they are claiming it to be is a bit unlucky when you are playing against two top teams like Wales and Australia.
"We know there are lots of tough games ahead and know it’s next summer that really counts. But we’re working hard to improve going forward into that competition."
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| Hodgson has urged pundits to not put too much pressure on Tottenham youngster Dele Alli |
In the meantime the manager is desperate to 'protect' one of the players who could play a big part in ensuring his side doesn't suffer the sort of fate Lancaster's team did at Twickenham.
He urged pundits and fans alike not to heap too much pressure and expectation on the young shoulders of Spurs teenage midfielder Dele Alli.
He said Alli may play in Lithuania, but pleaded: "Don’t start pushing too much with him.
"Dele is an interesting talent and we’re thinking that by next summer he might have kicked on even further like Ross Barkley has kicked on in the last year.
"But don’t start hyping him up too much because he still has an awful lot to do.
Hodgson, who will be without the injured Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick tomorrow and is also resting Joe Hart, Gary Cahill and James Milner, will take the opportunity to have a look at reserve goalkeeper Jack Butland.
The manager added: "For a long period he was the property of the Under-21s and preparing for their European Championships and, of course, he was not getting a regular game of football which makes life a bit harder.
"But we always believed in him and he certainly has deserved his chance.
"Let’s hope he keeps a clean sheet like Joe has been doing."
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