Grant Holt has expressed his disappointment at not being acknowledged by England manager Roy Hodgson and says he has now given up hope of ever playing for the national squad.
The Norwich City striker, believes he should have been capped by his country after becoming the second highest English scorer in the Premier League during the 2011/12 season, however he was not considered for the 2012 European Championships and does not think a call-up will arrive. Talking to the BBC Holt said:
“I gave up on that, I think I’ll never be in it. Roy’s come in and picking his players. When two friendlies came up against Norway and Belgium and I wasn’t included, it was ridiculous to be honest”.
Despite calling on several uncapped players such as Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Poland and San Marino, Holt believes he is not the only one getting over looked by Hodgson. He added:
“He hasn’t given anyone opportunities – people like Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham from Swansea didn’t even get a look in, but that’s life”.
The 31-year-old feels strongly about the issue and singled out one player in particular for his omission from the 22-man squad. Rickie Lambert played alongside him at Rochdale, and after scoring four goals in the Premier League for Southampton already this term, Holt believes his former teammate is in perfect form to deserve a place.
“He’s scoring the goals. He’s done well. But I think any neutral looking at that list could have written it down beforehand and not been far off, unless Rickie Lambert scores 25 goals or bags 10 in the next two months, I don’t think he’ll get close.”
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