Butland’s backing himself for No 1 job

JACK BUTLAND is eyeing the England No 1 jersey for the World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia. The Stoke goalkeeper wants to dislodge Joe Hart and Gareth Southgate is giving the decision serious consideration. Southgate was impressed by Butland’s display in the 1-0 win over Arsenal when watching from the stands while Hart has conceded 10 goals in three Premier games for West Ham. ‘Everyone knows being No 1 is what I want. But you’ve got to earn it,’ Butland said. ‘Hopefully I’m on my way to doing that. We’ll see what happens. ‘I feel good, I feel I’m playing well. I’ll go away with hopes of getting some game time, but it’s really a case of doing as well as I can during the week, and putting my name in the hat. ‘I’ve got some fierce competition. I always look forward to going away with England and training with the other boys. I’ll try and do whatever I can to be in the goal.’ Butland has five England caps but only one from a competitive encounter, away to Lithuania in October 2015, and missed out last year due to a lengthy ankle injury. Southgate is an admirer having worked with the 24-year-old at England Under-21 level. ‘I’m still young, I’ve got plenty of time left,’ added Butland. ‘There’s no rush, there is no feeling of having to make up on lost time. I feel fit and back to where I was before. ‘I’ve had injuries, I’ve had tough times, I’ve missed European Championships, but the big one is being on that plane to Russia this summer, that’s what I want.’ Both Southgate and Wales boss Chris Coleman, who is preparing his squad for games against Austria on Saturday and Moldova next Tuesday, will allow players to leave camp this week if they need to complete transfers before deadline day.