Hodgson wants greater England focus

That is the fervent belief of Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson, even in a week that has been taken over by the thrill of Champions League combat, with a blockbuster weekend of Premier League action to come.

At such times, and coming on the back of a rather tame World Cup draw with Ukraine at Wembley, it is easy to see how England might end up being shoved to one side.

But Hodgson insists the national team should be centre stage - because it is capable of attracting support like nothing else.

Speaking at an exclusive private Club Wembley members' event on Thursday morning, Hodgson said: "It would be lovely to think one day we could all get together and say 'England is important'."You hear people trying to say it's only the Premier League and Champions League that counts and people don't care about international football - but something like 24 or 25million watched our game against Italy.

"If you want to see the English desire to see a national team do well, you only have to go to the Olympics.

"I know it's Great Britain but you look at any event, you had 20,000 turning up to watch a handball game."

Hodgson's problem is an age-old one; the power in football, not just in England but all major European nations, belongs with the clubs.

The idea he could prepare for the World Cup by borrowing a concept from Sir Clive Woodward, who in the build-up to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, gathered all his England players together for a training session every Monday throughout the season, can be dismissed as a complete non-starter.

Even the relatively innocuous desire for his international squad to be in a position to push themselves through a proper training session when they meet up on the Monday ahead of a Friday game is fraught with difficulty.

Any call for the major Premier League clubs to be excused Sunday duty would meet with the instant argument some have to play on that day due to Europa League commitments the previous Thursday, whether TV wanted to screen their weekend fixtures or not.

"We are not bemoaning the Premier League," said Hodgson.

"But it would be nice if, when we're playing on Friday, the top teams played on Saturday and not Sunday. Then on Monday we could do a bit of work and on Tuesday, do some serious work.

"But every time, the top clubs have played on Sunday."

If Hodgson's frustrations were obvious, so was his understanding of where the priorities of Premier League bosses lie.

Next month's double-header with San Marino and Poland holds additional significance for the Football Association because it will be the first time the senior team has prepared for a fixture at the impressive St George's Park complex in Burton.

Once over though, together with assistant Ray Lewington, Hodgson intends to embark on a visit of Premier League clubs to build on existing relations with managers and players.

He has also spoken of, and repeated again on Thursday, the obvious need for England's club managers to pursue their own agendas in terms of player recruitment, which often run contrary to the needs of the national team.

It need not be that way though.

The strategy is long-term but ultimately, the FA's hope is that SGP will revolutionise coaching standards in England, which in turn will increase the ability of young players throughout their development.

Then, the trend of Premier League clubs recruiting such a high volume of overseas players might eventually be reversed.

"I am hoping the league retains its quota of at least one-third English players and doesn't go below that," said Hodgson.

"Juventus are champions of Italy and in resurgence.

"They had seven Italians in the team that drew with Chelsea last night [Wednesday].

"It would be nice if we ever had a situation where the top teams had seven [English] players in their squad."