England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he has been left feeling 'gutted' following the division created between him and Raheem Sterling.
The Liverpool midfielder was left out of the Three Lions' starting lineup for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia earlier this month, having complained of being "too tired" to play.
However, Hodgson believes that the teenager has been unfairly treated since then, reiterating once more that there is no long-standing issue between himself and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.
"With young Raheem Sterling this week, it guts me to see that sort of treatment," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "It's totally unfair and totally wrong. It's suiting people's agendas. But, you know, he'll be stronger for it.
Hodgson added: "There is no tension with Brendan. We get on very well. I've been very fortunate that, in two-and-a-half years I've not had a single situation where a manager has tried to drag a player out of the team, or told me that they don't want their players to take part.
"I think a lot of the players, if their manager said, 'I don't want you to play for England', the player would say, 'I'm sorry, I love playing for England and I want to go.' Brendan and I have always got on very very well since he took the job at Liverpool, so there's no problem at all."
England are back in action next month when they take on Slovenia at Wembley.
Daniel Lewis
