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da 888： Rio Ferdinand has stated that he will be supporting England this summer, despite the fact that he was surprisingly overlooked on two occasions for the Euro 2012 squad.
With a feud between the Manchester United man and fellow centre-back John Terry, Roy Hodgson decided to omit Ferdinand for ‘footballing reasons’ in his initial squad.
However, when Gary Cahill was forced to withdraw due to injury, the Old Trafford veteran was again overlooked, this time in favour of inexperienced Liverpool right-back Martin Kelly.
Despite the blow of not playing for the Three Lions in Ukraine and Poland, Ferdinand will be supporting the national side.
“Just so we don’t get it twisted here… I’ll be in a pub somewhere supporting England this summer! Love the lads!” he told his Twitter followers.
Meanwhile, former England boss Steve McClaren has admitted that new manager Hodgson had a really difficult decision to make.
“I think it is a bit of double-take again. There was initial shock when he (Ferdinand) was left out before and now with the injury to Cahill he has not been brought in,” the Twente trainer told Sky Sports.
“That is for obvious reasons. Roy Hodgson has a difficult job to do and he has to make big decisions. He knew when he got the job that this was probably going to be the most controversial and biggest decision he would have to make.
“He is making it for the good of the squad, for the good of the team, and for the good of the tournament coming up. It is always going to be sensitive with the court case coming up. It is a lose-lose situation for any manager.
“You are going to get a nation of opinions. When tournaments come up involving the national team it is always going to be a media circus. You can’t get away from that.
“Roy has been very strong and very firm. He has done his homework, talked to the people involved, he knows the consequences of each decision he would have to make and the decision he has made he has made for the benefit of the squad and the team.
“I think he has had to choose between the two of them and he has chosen John Terry. In an ideal world without all the controversy around them he would take both of them.
“Only Roy will know the full facts. Only he will have spoken to the necessary people and gathered all the information to make a decision. You make a decision for the good of the squad, that is difficult, but that is one of the things the England manager has to do,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight