New England boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will name the man who will captain his new-look side tomorrow.
Manchester United man Wayne Rooney was the holder of the armband for the most recent tournament, but Allardyce was giving nothing away when asked who would be leading the team.
He said the announcement “will be tomorrow, and the captain – along with a few other players – will be doing some press.”
He also suggested the fact that Wayne Rooney was named among the midfield players in the FA’s squad announcement does not necessarily mean he will not be played up front.
📝 @OfficialBigSam names his first #ThreeLions squad, with a debut call-up for @WestHamUtd winger @Michailantonio. pic.twitter.com/TbEeMzBzEA
— England (@England) August 28, 2016
“Shall we say attacking midfield player, or shall we say striker? Wayne’s position has changed at Manchester United, and that’s the way I would like to play him.
“I think I will look to change the format of the squad next time I announce it, so I may put no position and just an empty squad.”
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
He also insisted Ross Barkley was still in his thinking, despite missing out on this squad.
“For him it’s disappointing, for me, you have to make these decisions. The door will always be open for Ross, but right now I feel the squad I’ve picked is the right one.
“We’d made our mind up – all my staff – not just me, we discuss every decision, over the past four, six weeks.”
The new boss was also clearly keen to get off to a good start with the famously savage press who cover England.
He wrote them all a letter insisting he was looking forward to working with them.
“The media play an important role in helping us to engage with the nation. You provide us with a platform to communicate directly with football supporters across the country and beyond.
In this era of 24-hour rolling news, media conferences are a vital part of the England schedule and I am looking forward to working with you over the course of this two-year campaign as we all strive to reach the finals in Russia.
All very friendly from Sam Allardyce… #eng pic.twitter.com/tqOVzybtEE
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) August 29, 2016
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