Euro 2016: Roy Hodgson only guaranteed new contract if England reach semi-finals

Greg Dyke, the FA chairman, has said only a run to the last four – or an honourable defeat in the last eight – will be enough to keep Hodgson in a job

Hodgson does not believe Rooney's days as a centre forward are over (Getty)

Roy Hodgson has been told that the only way to guarantee a new contract as England manager is by guiding the country to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Hodgson, whose team can secure top spot in Group B with a victory against Slovakia in Saint Etienne on Monday, will see his current deal with the Football Association expire at the end of England’s campaign in France.

The 68-year-old is understood to be keen to remain in the post until the 2018 World Cup, but after failing to progress beyond the quarter-finals at Euro 2012 before suffering a group stage elimination at Brazil 2014, FA chairman Greg Dyke has claimed that only a run to the semi-final at Euro 2016 – or an honourable defeat in the last eight – will be enough to keep Hodgson in a job.

"Clearly if you get to semi-finals, that's success," Dyke told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek. “If we have played well and unfortunately lost against a good team, or on penalties [in the quarter-finals], then that's a discussion that will go on."

Should Hodgson fail to deliver in France, Dyke claims that his replacement should be familiar with English football, but not necessarily an Englishman.

"You will want someone who has managed in England and understands English football," he said. "That doesn't mean they have to be English."

Dyke is due to leave his post as chairman next month, with the FA currently in the process of identifying a successor to the former television executive.

The one-time Manchester United director has proven to be a controversial figurehead since his appointment in July 2013, claiming shortly after beginning the job that England should be in a position to win the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

And with the likes of 18-year-old United forward Marcus Rashford breaking into England’s Euro 2016 squad, Dyke insists that the 2022 target is still achievable.

"2022 is a realistic objective,” Dyke said. “We have a very young side now - if we can hold the younger players together and bring in some others," he added.

"Rashford came from nowhere. I suspect there are other Rashfords out there who never get a chance to play in the Premier League."