Wayne Rooney: Roy Hodgson is the Right Man for England

Wayne Rooney has insisted that Roy Hodgson is the right choice to take England forward to Euro 2016 and beyond.

There had been speculation over the manager's future following England's premature exit from the World Cup in Brazil, though the 66-year-old already has the public support of the FA and Rooney is adamant "Roy is the man to take us forward".

Speaking about his manager at a press conference from England's base in Brazil, the forward said: "We appreciate what he's done for us. In my opinion he's changed the way we play over the last couple of years and you can see the progression. I feel we're getting better and this will help the younger players and help us become a better team."

Questions had been asked of Hodgson's preferred tactics and team selection, with Rooney deployed wide on the left in England's first game against Italy. But When asked if he had found playing in wide areas too difficult, Rooney responded: "I've played in different positions throughout my career and I've had no problems doing that and trying my best for the team".

Rooney went on to deny that the pressure had too much on the players, commenting: "There should be pressure, you're playing for your country", adding "We've gone out of the competition but it's not through lack of trying".

Hodgson Has The Players' Support

He wanted to thank the England fans for their support during the tournament and could only offer his apologies that the team hadn't delivered. He said: "The fans have been incredible to us. Hopefully in the near future we'll give them something to smile about."

Joe Hart also reflected similar sentiments, as the goalkeeper said: "We'd like to thank everyone for how they've been, people making the difficult journey to Brazil. I don't imagine what some people have been through  and the sacrifices they've made. Their presence was felt at the games. We were well aware that people made a lot of effort to try and watch us.

"We'd like to thank them for their support, it meant everything to us and we can only apologise that we're not going to take this country any further in the tournament.

"We've left nothing out there on the field but we've just not quite been up to it when required."