Lewington talks up change of approach

Ray Lewington believes England’s decision to change their tournament preparations will pay dividends this summer in France.

The Three Lions, who are 9.50 to win Euro 2016, have struggled to perform in recent major competitions, prompting boss Roy Hogdson to rethink his methods.

Hodgson took the reins shortly before Euro 2012, guiding his side to the quarter-finals before crashing out in the group stages at the World Cup two years later.

On both occasions the boss favoured the traditional approach of giving the players a week off following the end of the season. However this time around, instead of having a defined spell away from the camp, the squad have had a couple of days off at a time before reuniting in a new location.

Assistant boss Lewington says the change of plan is borne out of conversations with coach Gary Neville and the sports science team with the aim being to try and make the preparations for Euro 2016 more like an extension of the season rather than a designated camp.

The 59-year-old admits the staff have made a significant departure from their previous preparations and is confident the new approach will make a difference in France. “We’ve changed the way we have gone about it,” Lewington told the PFA’s ‘4 The Player’ magazine.

“We thought about whether players should have a week off after the season finishes. “Logically it sounds right because they’ve had a long, hard season. But the sport science people were asking ‘what would you do with a week off apart from giving them a rest?’

“A lot of the players – where they’re not under our supervision – can be given the freedom to go off with their families and do anything they want. So we have changed it around a little bit.”

England open their campaign on June 11 against Russia, a game they are 1.95 to win, with the draw 3.25 and Leonid Slutsky’s men 4.00.