New England manager Sam Allardyce has defended the players by insisting that there is "no lack of passion" among them, despite limping out of Euro 2016 under Roy Hodgson's leadership.
The players were heavily criticised after they won just one of their four matches at the tournament in France and were knocked out by Iceland in the last-16 stage.
"There is no lack of passion," Allardyce told reporters in his first official press conference as manager. "I don't see a lack of passion anywhere. The fact they didn't perform to their best was not because of that.
"I don't want to spend too much time talking about the past - let's focus on the future. It's about creating a feel-good factor for the players so they can go onto the pitch and play with freedom.
"The first challenge is qualifying [for major tournaments]. Then we can get onto how to improve performances at tournaments. We all had great hopes for the Euros but it was a disappointment. In two years I'll have much more experience with England so I'll answer that question nearer the time."
Allardyce was appointed England manager last week on a two-year deal.
Danielle Joynson
