Bernstein steps down from his position in July and has told his
successor Greg Dyke, the former BBC director general, of his belief in
Hodgson. Hodgson has another three years left on his England contract,
and has come in for some flak after recent results and performances, and
World Cup qualification remains by no means certain for the national
team.But Bernstein, speaking in Rio de Janeiro where England
secured a 2-2 draw in a friendly against Brazil, said he had faith in
Hodgson. He said: "Yes, absolutely. Why shouldn't I? We thought it when
we appointed Roy and it is still the case that he brings a lot of
attributes to the job."He added: "His experience, his breadth of
thinking and buying into the whole game. We are focusing today on the
England first team, but his interest in the wider development, in St
George's Park and all the other things for the longer term aspects of
English football, he buys into all that."I think he has been a first-class appointment and I am very confident that he will bring us back to Brazil."Bernstein confirmed that he had passed his views on to Dyke.He
added: "My successor will make his own mind up. He is clearly an
experienced, strong-minded individual and he will make his own mind up.
He will have picked up the vibes clearly. I have met with him and passed
on that view to him so the answer to the question is yes."In terms of English players, Bernstein said only 30% of Premier League squads were eligible for England.Figures
produced by the Premier League however say that in terms of the number
appearing in matches the figure was 40% last season with a further 7%
being other British.Bernstein said: "We need more of English
players playing in the Premier League and therefore we need more
world-class players. That is the real issue. There is the 30% figure
that we throw around and Germany is 60% and that is a big big gap. That
is the big long term-issue."
Source: DSG