Jagielka ready to stake his claim for the centre ground

For Phil Jagielka, the path is suddenly clear. A golden cluster of English central defenders has dispersed and the future can be his.

Jagielka has waited patiently as John Terry, rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher and ledley King dominated the heart of England’s back four.

Then there was Jonathan Woodgate, Jagielka’s central defensive partner on his international debut in a friendly in Trinidad, four years ago.

But as roy Hodgson looks to build his World Cup team upon the bedrock of Joe Hart and two solid centre halves, the Everton defender with Polish grandparents is pleased he did not pursue the option of playing for England’s opponents tomorrow.

‘John decided to retire and there’s a few of us competing for the two spots,’ said Jagielka. ‘you’ll have to wait to see who takes the mantle of leading the back four but I’ll be chucking my name in the hat.

‘Gary Cahill had a great game the other night and Joleon lescott had a fantastic European Championship. The lads coming in like ryan Shawcross are going to keep us on our toes.

‘John and rio seemed to play together for England forever, didn’t they? They had a great partnership and there were a couple of others behind them.

‘you’re down a long list of players, but time passes and you get your opportunities. I’ve just turned 30 and I’m not exactly a young lad any more. I’d like to play on a more consistent basis.’

Terry’s retirement changed the landscape. For Hodgson, the Chelsea captain was his senior centre half and it was a matter of choosing a partner.

When Cahill ( above) was injured before Euro 2012, he paired Terry and lescott, who gelled, but Jagielka has started all three games this season when Terry has been unavailable. ‘As an England fan I was gutted to hear John had retired,’ said Jagielka. ‘He’s been a fantastic player for England and he’s put his body on the line for many years, but he had his reasons. From a personal point of view it’s one less person to compete with. As much as I was gutted, it was also an opportunity for me to try to go higher up the pecking order.’

An understanding with lescott helped. Born a day apart in August 1982, they developed through England’s youth ranks, though not always as defensive partners.

Both were versatile. Jagielka started in midfield, sometimes played right back and, later, when Everton team-mates, lescott might play left back. But when they have played together in central defence they have shown chemistry.

‘It just works,’ said Jagielka. ‘The communication, the way we play, one left-footed, one right-footed. It’s just one of those things when you play with someone and it clicks.

‘ If you’re telling a person something and he’s listening, you’re on the same page. If sometimes you’re saying something and they’re not hearing it or decide to do something else, it puts you on the back foot.’

Hodgson is expected to revert to this partnership tomorrow even though the pair were not at their best against Ukraine last month. ‘We were a little bit open,’ said Jagielka. ‘It was a difficult game with us conceding first. We weren’t particularly in control and their game plan worked really well. We looked back at the videos and saw what we could have done better and we move on.’