Euro misery
DANNY DRINKWATER can vividly recall trudging along the corridor after being summoned to Roy Hodgson’s hotel room.
The Leicester midfielder was aware the axe was about to fall and that part of his summer would now be spent on the beaches in Ibiza rather than on the playing fields of France.
Yet the passing of time means he views his exclusion from England’s Euro 2016 squad with a different perspective these days.
The midfielder would not try to argue it was a blessing but, after a season spent chasing and achieving his dreams with Leicester, rejection brought reality biting back.
Drinkwater says he will be better for it. “Yes, I would say it is motivation,” he said. “On the other side of that, it is probably best I didn’t finish on just winning the title because I might have got sloppy this season and settled with what I have done.
“So ending the season on a bit of a low might have kicked me back into gear to get going again this season.
“I was obviously disappointed, but football is full of highs and lows and there were enough highs last season, so I can’t complain.
“My initial thought was I need to enjoy what has happened. The season Leicester had was unreal but then, watching the games, I was wishing I was there.”
Drinkwater settled for following England’s miserable fortunes in France and the depressing, humiliating denouement against Iceland with the group of friends he has known since he was “four or five years old”.
“I went all over – Ibiza, Portugal, Vegas, LA, then back to Ibiza. I didn’t complain about my summer,” he said.
“I watched that game against Iceland at home, but at least England didn’t lose the