Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne has revealed that England manager Roy Hodgson confided in him that he is in a strong position to hold his spot.

Clyne, 24, played the full 90 minutes against Slovenia and Lithuania in Euro2016 qualifiers and 45 minutes of the friendly with Italy in Turin on March 31 before he was replaced by Tottenham's Kyle Walker.

"The boss said to me, 'You've done ever so well since coming in'," said Clyne.

"He said it was like I had been playing international football for a long time. He said, 'The right-back spot is yours at the moment, if you can continue on'. He has the belief that I will. He gave me confidence.

"He has freshened things up with England. You can see in the performances. We are more pacey as a team now. He is bringing in a lot of pacey players, with youth, and we're looking a lot more threatening as a team."