Manager Roy Hodgson says morale is high in England camp

Roy Hodgson says morale remains high in the England camp as they gear up for the knock-out rounds of Euro 2016.

The Three Lions take on Iceland in the round of 16 on Monday evening, exactly seven days after their final Group B match with Slovakia.

And Hodgson revealed that England’s schedule allowed him to give the players some time off before they re-focused on their next test on Thursday morning.

"We wouldn't have been able to give the players any time off at all had we played against a third-placed team," he explained.

"This way, we did the warm-down session straight after the game so that when we got back to the hotel in the early part of the [Tuesday] afternoon, we could give the players a day and a half off.

"I think that's important sometimes, to get away from football and away from the routines of the training ground to just remember that there is a life out there, outside of football.

"That will be very good for us in the long term as players aren't normally used to going day after day of working without a day off.

"Usually, in club football, there's always days off planned at strategic intervals so you get that break from it and this was a great opportunity for it, with us playing on Monday rather than Saturday."

Despite that extra two days of preparation time though, Hodgson admits that there was still an air of disappointment among the players that they hadn’t finished top of their own group after being held to a 0-0 draw by Slovakia in the final game.

 Roy Hodgson says the mood in the England camp is high as the squad prepare for their game with Iceland

 

"There's been more frustration than 'happy to be through' because we realised we were going to get through to the next round anyway, so it was purely frustration I think," he revealed.

"But the mood is good because the players know themselves that they're playing well and doing enough to win games.

"Results are, of course, what matters and if you don't get the result you're going to be very disappointed and very unhappy, especially at tournament level.

"We were the favourites to win the group and I honestly believe that we probably did enough to win the group, but we didn't because the performances weren't matched by the results that we got in the games.

"As a result, we have to accept second place and possibly go into, on paper, the harder part of the draw.

"But the mood in the camp is good because the players honestly believe they are a good team and they are capable of beating any team in the tournament on their day, so let’s see what happens."