Hodgson's debt to patriotic Saints as star striker Lambert insists other clubs should follow St Mary's model

Hodgson's debt to patriotic Saints as star striker Lambert insists other clubs should follow St Mary's model

In an era when Barclays Premier League clubs seem obsessed with foreign imports, Southampton are supplying ready-made talent for the England team.
Club chairman Nicola Cortese believes the Saints have a responsibility to the national team and his philosophy is felt in every area of the club. It is working.
Southampton are third in the table and there was recognition for their efforts last week when England manager Roy Hodgson called three Saints players into the senior side.

Three Lions: Southampton's Jay Rodriguez, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert were called up for the forthcoming friendlies against Chile and Germany

Press-ing issue: Lambert says more Premier League clubs should attempt to blood young English players

Rickie Lambert, club captain Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez were all training at London Colney yesterday to prepare for a World Cup audition against
Chile at Wembley on Friday evening.

Lambert said: ‘A lot of chairmen bring in foreign players and that is a shame. I’m not just saying that because I am at Southampton but I think other clubs need to take a look at how Nicola has done things and use it as an example. He wanted to focus on British talent and give them confidence to succeed.’

Spot on: Lambert scored during Southampton's 4-1 victory over Hull City on Saturday

Lallana’s classy goal against Hull at the weekend in front of Hodgson demonstrated exactly why the England manager had brought him back into the national squad for the first time since September 2012.
Rodriguez has been included with impact in mind, a potential super-sub in Brazil next summer if England are in a crisis.

Debut delight: Lambert scored on his debut against Scotland

If Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez play against Chile, it will be the first time Southampton have had three players in England action since Peter Shilton, Danny Wallace and Mark Wright starred in a 4-0 win in Egypt in 1986:
Shilton (Southampton); Stevens (Everton), Wright (Southampton), Fenwick (QPR), Sansom (Arsenal); Steven (Everton), Wilkins (AC Milan), Cowans (Bari), Wallace (Southampton); Lineker (Everton), Hateley (AC Milan).

Lambert is the Saints trailblazer, becoming a fixture in Hodgson’s squad after scoring a super winning goal on his debut against Scotland in August.
He is also modest and genuinely pleased to see his clubmates join him in the England squad. He said: ‘Adam’s the best player I’ve played with. We’ve known how good he is for years and he’s starting to show on the world stage how good he can be.’
Beyond the senior side, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers are with England’s junior squads.

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