Adam Lallana: 'I want World Cup place'

Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana has insisted that he will not be joining Roy Hodgson's squad this week to make up the numbers, targeting a place in his 23-man party for next summer's World Cup finals.

Lallana's fine start to the season earned him a call-up for England's friendlies against Chile and Germany as he joined his Saints teammates Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez in the Three Lions fold.

He told The Mirror: "The next two or three weeks are massive and I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself.

"But I won't just be going along for the ride. You've got to have that desire when there's a World Cup around the corner because it's every kid's dream, it's the pinnacle of a footballer's career and it would be silly to treat it as anything less.

"I've just got to try and take my chance, however many minutes I get on the pitch and play the best football I can, and the same goes for Jay and Rickie."

Lallana helped the Saints go third in the Premier League with another eye-catching display at the weekend, scoring in a 4-1 win over Hull City.