Joleon Lescott fears he may have to leave Manchester City to save his England career

04 December 2010 14:52
Joleon Lescott has admitted he will look to leave Manchester City if he cannot earn more regular playing time as he believes he will soon lose his England place.[LNB]The £24million signing from Everton has been behind both Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure in the City pecking order, and has often been deployed as a left-back when he has played.[LNB]With Mancini even preferring Belgian teenager Dedryck Boyata on occasion, Lescott admitted he is considering his future.[LNB] Rare start: Joleon Lescott beats Joaquin Boghossian of FC Salzburg during their Europa League clash at Eastlands[LNB]'I'm not happy with the situation. I don't enjoy sitting on the bench, and sometimes not even making the bench,' he said.[LNB]Lescott said he would be open to a loan if his salary and transfer fee ruled out a permanent move.[LNB]'That's down to myself and the club,' Lescott said. 'The club might say 'If there's a chance to play, go and play' and, if not, I will have to stay here.'[LNB] England expects...Joleon Lescott to at least hold down a club place if he wants to be an international player[LNB]However, Lescott insisted he never regrets joining City.[LNB]'The squad's big and there is a lot of quality here so I knew it wasn't going to be a foregone conclusion that I was going to start every game,' he said.[LNB]Not masking his disappointment: Joleon Lescott fears he may have to leave Manchester City[LNB]'You have to respect the manager's decision and it's warranted because Kolo and Vincent have been outstanding so far this season, but when I've gone in I think I have done okay.[LNB]'I've never regretted my decision to come here. Mark Hughes was in charge at the time and I was playing every game but, even now, I still don't regret it.[LNB]'It's unfortunate that I'm not playing as much as I'd like, but you just have to get on with it sometimes. I'm a professional and level-headed person. I know situations come and go.[LNB]'Next week there might be an injury and I could be backin the team for the rest of the season. I just have to be ready for that, in case it happens.'[LNB]Lescott has retained his England place to date, but believes that might soon change if he does not get in the City team.[LNB]'Fabio [Capello] has kept his confidence in me when other players have gone down with injury [Lescott has started the last three matches] and I'm grateful for that but there's going to come a time when, if I'm not playing for City, I'm not going to be in the England squad as well,' he said.[LNB] City scrappers! Bad boy Balotelli in training ground bust-up with BoatengAndy Townsend's boot room: Clash of the day - Manchester City v BoltonCome on, it's not THAT cold! Man City stars go to extremes to keep out chillTime is now: Man City sense chance to sign £35m Barca defender Dani AlvesMancini's mantra has made me a better player, insists City winger JohnsonMANCHESTER CITY FC

Source: Daily_Mail