Gary Neville to report for England despite pressures at Valencia

Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater and West Ham United’s Mark Noble in contention for squad for upcoming friendlies

Gary Neville lost his job in Valenica as the team's manager (Getty)

Gary Neville will report for duty for England’s forthcoming friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands, despite coming under growing pressure as Valencia manager.

Neville, who has worked alongside England manager Roy Hodgson as coach since 2012, apologised to the Valencia supporters at the weekend following a derby defeat against Levante, La Liga’s bottom club, for what he described as an “indefensible performance”.

The former Manchester United captain has seen Valencia lose seven of his 15 league games since taking charge at the end of November.

But despite intensifying criticism from supporters and the Spanish media, Neville will go ahead with plans to link up with the squad next week for two fixtures deemed crucial to preparations for Euro 2016.

Neville took part in a video conference call with Hodgson and his assistant, Ray Lewington, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the senior squad for the game with the world champions, Germany, in Berlin on 26 March and the Wembley encounter with the Dutch three days later.

Hodgson will announce his squad on Thursday morning, but Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old Manchester United forward, will not figure in the senior squad, having been selected for the Under-20s following his impressive start to life in Louis van Gaal’s first-team.

Hodgson has, however, considered the credentials of Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater and West Ham United’s Mark Noble.

Drinkwater

Drinkwater has emerged as a potential selection for a defensive midfield role after playing a key role in Claudio Ranieri’s team during their remarkable rise to the top of the Premier League this season. Noble, meanwhile, has also caught Hodgson’s attention, with the West Ham United manager, Slaven Bilic, publicly backing the 28-year-old’s claims for a senior call-up. West Ham are pushing to qualify for the Champions League.

With his captain, Wayne Rooney, unavailable because of a knee ligament injury, Hodgson faces decisions on a number of players who have recently returned from lengthy injury lay-offs.

The Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge and Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck have both pressed their claims by displaying goalscoring form for their clubs after returning to action, while Everton defender Leighton Baines is another who has proved his fitness in recent weeks.Hodgson, who will watch Tottenham’s Europa League tie against Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on Thursday night, spoke to United defender Luke Shaw during the FA Cup sixth-round tie at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Luke Shaw will return to training next month and could turn out for the climax of United’s campaign (Getty)

Shaw is due to return to training next month after being sidelined since suffering a double leg fracture in September in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven, but is expected to be back in first-team action before the end of the season.

The former Southampton defender is understood to have only an outside chance of playing at Euro 2016, but he will be considered by Hodgson should he make a setback-free return to action.