Everton manager Roberto Martinez tips Aaron Lennon for England call-up
The in-form Everton winger has not played for his country for three years
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Your support makes all the difference.Everton manager Roberto Martinez has no doubt England could still benefit from the services of Aaron Lennon.
The 28-year-old winger has been in fine form of late and Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Stoke saw him score for the third game in a row.
He has 21 caps, but has not made an international appearance since February 2013. England coach Roy Hodgson was watching Saturday’s match from the stands, and when Martinez was asked afterwards if he thought Lennon had any chance of making England’s Euro 2016 squad, the Spaniard said: “Obviously it is not down to me. But I get the opportunity to work with Aaron day in, day out, and he is such an important player.
“We all know the quality he brings and that experience he has is invaluable.
“There are other players in that position, but I think he is showing he can be of incredible value to any squad, and clearly for his national team, he could be a real help.”
Lennon scored the third goal of a first-half blitz from Everton in which Romelu Lukaku and Seamus Coleman also netted.
Newcastle’s match-winner Aleksandar Mitrovic has warned his side have a long way to go despite moving out of the relegation zone.
The 21-year-old Serbia international’s fifth goal of the season was enough to clinch a priceless 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at St James’ Park on Saturday and edge the Magpies a point clear of the bottom three as Norwich slipped into the mire.
However, with difficult away trips to Chelsea and Stoke either side of an 18-day lay-off to come, Mitrovic knows the job is far from done.
He said: “It’s very important for us, for our confidence, but we still don’t have anything. We have 13 games more and they are like finals for us.”
Norwich City manager Alex Neil questioned the Canaries’ character after they slumped to a wretched defeat at Aston Villa.
They slipped into the relegation zone after a 2-0 loss at Villa Park on Saturday.
Goals from Joleon Lescott and Gabriel Agbonlahor condemned the Canaries to their sixth straight defeat in all competitions. They have shipped 19 goals in that run .
“Not until we were 2-0 down,” he said, when asked if Norwich showed enough character.
“If you watch the Premier League they shouldn’t need building up. That’s motivation in itself. Nobody wants to feel the pain of relegation. I’ve got two promotions back-to-back and the last thing I want to do is go back.
“I’ve been used to winning and when you start losing it’s difficult to handle. It’s not nice. You want to fight, you need the players to do that. They have to show that passion.”
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