Norwich City striker Grant Holt says he has given up on being picked for England and believes other players have been unjustly denied chances by England boss Roy Hodgson. Holt, now aged 31, was the Premier League's second-highest English scorer last season, but his name was not included in the national squad list for Euro 2012. He considers his omission "ridiculous" and says that he does not hope for a future call-up.
"I gave up on that," Holt said. "I think I'll never be in it. Roy's come in and picking his players. When two friendlies came up, against Norway and Belgium, and I wasn't included it was ridiculous to be honest. He hasn't given anyone opportunities - people like Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham from Swansea didn't even get a look in, but that's life."
Roy Hodgson's latest selected squad contains two uncapped players: Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross. Grant Holt believes Rickie Lambert, who has scored four Premier League goals for Southampton this season, should have been considered for a call-up.
"He's scoring the goals. He's done well. But I think any neutral looking at that list could have written it down beforehand and not been far off," said Holt. "Unless Rickie Lambert scores 25 goals or bags 10 in the next two months I don't think he'll get close."
England are favourites to qualify or the 2014 World Cup, with Bet365 offering outright odds of 1/6.
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