I would never turn my back on England to concentrate on Liverpool, says skipper Gerrard
PUBLISHED: 00:24 GMT, 24 May 2012 | UPDATED: 00:25 GMT, 24 May 2012
England captain Steven Gerrard has insisted he will never turn his back on his country.
The Liverpool skipper has seen team-mate Jamie Carragher and Manchester United's Paul Scholes retire early from international football to concentrate on their clubs.
Proud: Gerrard
But the 31-year-old said: 'I can understand that at my age people are going to start questioning me and asking if I'm going to quit England and focus on Liverpool, but I don't see it like that.
'I don't think I have a decision to make. I love playing for England, I love playing for Liverpool. I'm a proud captain of Liverpool and I'm going to be just as proud to captain England.
'If the manager says to me at the start of next season that he thinks I did well in the tournament, that he wants me to stick about, that he can protect me, not overuse me and that I have a big part to play, I'm sure I will carry on.'
Gerrard also believes his new manager can be a success for England. He spent six months playing under Hodgson at Liverpool, but says the former Switzerland and Finland coach shouldn't be judged on his ill-fated spell at Anfield.
'I think people have looked at the big picture with Roy and to judge him on his time at Liverpool would be stupid,' he said. 'He was very unlucky because of the timing. To go to a club when a lot of the supporters wanted a different man in, you're off on the wrong foot from day one.
'I witnessed him first hand and I can assure everyone he's a fantastic manager. He's a very good tactician and if everyone gets behind him, Roy can make a success of it.'
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