Football
PA Sport 8y

Jack Wilshere must play regularly to get England call - Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce has warned Jack Wilshere he needs to be a regular starter for Arsenal before returning to the England side.

Wilshere was a notable omission from Allardyce's first Three Lions squad, particularly given the faith Roy Hodgson frequently showed in the midfielder.

Ross Barkley was also an eye-catching absentee, but while he did everything possible to press his case -- scoring twice in four appearances for Everton this season -- Wilshere's problem is lack of game time.

He has been given a total of just 37 minutes off the bench by Arsene Wenger so far, not enough to make Allardyce's 23-man squad for the World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sept. 4.

Hodgson was willing to hand the 24-year-old a key role at Euro 2016, despite just one start at the end of an injury-ruined 2015-16 campaign, but his successor appears unlikely to follow suit.

"Jack just hasn't had enough game time. Hopefully he will get that in the future at Arsenal,'' said Allardyce.

"If Jack Wilshere was playing every week for Arsenal he would be in the squad, but unfortunately he isn't. It is game time for him and it has been few and far between because he has had too many injuries unfortunately.

"It is a question of game time and the contribution he is making to Arsenal and he is not doing that at the moment, so I left him out.''

Allardyce has not contacted any of the absentees personally, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabian Delph also among the disappointed hopefuls.

But publicly there was a clear message: force your way in through sheer strength of performance.

"I didn't, no,'' he said when asked if he had made commiseration calls.

"I think that I have always been the type of manager who has just made the selections.You think about how much time do you spend on the phone? Will he answer the phone? Should I leave a message, should I WhatsApp them?

"What should I do if I miss one, I spoke to one and the not the other?

"I say to everybody publicly that those who are disappointed to be left out, the door will always be open and we will always be watching.

"If they are playing well, there will be a chance to get into the next squad.''

While Wilshere has been left in no doubt he needs starts to improve his chances, there was an admission that the same does not go for Manchester United defender Chris Smalling.

England's reserves are thinner at the heart of defence and Allardyce never seriously considered demoting Smalling, despite his failure to dislodge Daley Blind from the Red Devils team.

"The area of central defenders is a little bit more limited for me,'' he confessed.

"There's not a lot of options.''

That could be deflating news for Burnley's Michael Keane, Hull's Curtis Davies and Stoke's Ryan Shawcross, all of whom might have harboured realistic hopes of beating Phil Jagielka to a place in the squad.

^ Back to Top ^