Tottenham left-back Danny Rose says he is 'not anywhere near' the England national team
Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose has claimed he is "not anywhere near" the England national team and suggests Everton's Leighton Baines, Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs, Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Southampton's Ryan Bertrand are ahead of him in Roy Hodgson's pecking order.
The 24-year-old defender has won the battle with summer signing Ben Davis at White Hart Lane to be Mauricio Pochettino's first choice, having started 19 Premier League games out of 26.
But even though he was named man of the match in the 2-2 draw against West Ham United, with the defender scoring a crucial goal, Rose believes he is far from receiving a call up.
"I'm going to be honest: I don't see myself anywhere near the international squads. It's just how it is," he said to Standard Sport. "Leighton Baines is quite rightly the first choice, then Ryan Bertrand is doing very well at Southampton. Kieran Gibbs and Luke Shaw are ahead of me, too, and I'm a big fan of Aaron Cresswell at West Ham."
Rose's revelation is surprising considering in September 2014, Hodgson named him for the games against Switzerland and Norway, although he was unable to play due to an injury.
But even though the Tottenham star has since progressed, he believes he was in that list alongside Baines because the other alternatives were injured.
Rose said: "I was there at the start of the season through other people's injuries. It doesn't bother me. Tottenham is my top priority and as long as I do well for them I'll be very happy. Am I playing well enough to be in the squad? I'm not sure. I know I'm more consistent than last season, when I was a bit hit and miss, and I'm trying to put that right.
"I can do that by limiting the mistakes I make or trying to chip in with a goal or an assist here and there, so I've improved from last season. If I can get better season after season, then I will have a good career."
Nevertheless, Gibbs is out of favour at Arsenal, with Nacho Monreal preferred, while Shaw has struggling to reach his Southampton form at Manchester United since his 2014 summer move due to a number of injuries.
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