England boss Roy Hodgson claims he could stop Manchester United with a pub team

England national team manager Roy Hodgson

England manager, Roy Hodgson, has stated that he could field in a bunch of lads from the pub to stop the Manchester United team if he would have six months to train them.

The Three Lions boss, who is preparing his team at Portugal for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, is confident that Wayne Rooney and co can be denied from scoring by a pub team provided they were given time to train.

“You can organise a pub team not to let in six goals against Manchester United,’ Hodgson said while talking to World Soccer magazine. ‘Give me six months and I’d organise them, if they had a half-decent goalkeeper and a couple of centre halves who can get in the way of the ball.”

“I consider myself to be in the same position as a lawyer,’ he added. “I studied to be a professional. I like to think that I’m good at my profession. Just as if I was to go to a lawyer, I’d go to someone who was good and really knows his job, even if I have to pay more.

“It’s nice for people to believe some managers are born with a magical quality to transform bad into good. I don’t. It’s about leadership, practice, repetition and bloody hard work.”

The English team will finish up their weekly schedule in Vale do Lobo. Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and United’s defender Phil Jones have been making progress in their injury recovery process.

They still have three weeks before England kick off their Group D campaign against Italy, in Manaus.