Bertrand ready to compete for England place

Southampton left back Ryan Bertrand has acknowledged just how good his fellow English full backs are, but is hoping to nail down a position in the England side ahead of Euro 2016.

Bertrand, 26, started his first international match since last season as England faced Estonia on Friday night; running out victorious with a 2-0 win and a clean sheet for Bertrand on the left hand side of the defence.

Due to injuries to Luke Shaw and Leighton Baines, opportunities for Bertrand to impress will become more apparent, as despite the competition for places the Southampton man faces at left back; he is now in the frame to be England’s number one choice left back for the time being and will look to retain his place in the team against Lithuania on Monday.

Bertrand admitted that the competition he faces for the position is strong, however. He said: “There are a few of us in there: myself, Luke, Leighton, [Kieran] Gibbs, even [Danny] Rose and Aaron Cresswell at West Ham. There are a lot of us vying for that place. It’s about putting in consistency and when we get the chance, we take it.”

Bertrand added: “I think, first and foremost, when you get here, you do want to perform well, but also the position is one that, at club level, is about establishing that consistency within the Premier League and then hopefully those performances are recognised.”

Talking about his return to football from knee surgery this summer, Bertrand expressed his delight to be back, but admitted his injury was causing him grief over the course of last season: “The operation was something I had planned from January onwards. It was killing me, to be honest. It was something I wanted to get done as soon as possible, so I could limit the amount of games that I would miss, rather miss than December or January times, which we all know is a very important period in the Premier League.”

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