Cleverley aiming to impress Hodgson and Sir Alex Ferguson at Olympics

Jul 26, 2012 12:50:00 AM

The midfielder is hoping that he can deliver on the international stage after suffering continued injury setbacks during the Premier League campaign and missing out on Euro 2012

Tom Cleverley has revealed that he is relishing the chance to impress Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and England head coach Roy Hodgson as he gets set to try and win a gold medal for Team GB at the Olympic Games.

The 22-year-old was expected to enjoy a breakthrough season at Old Trafford in 2011-12 after a match-changing second-half performance in the Community Shield last August, but spent much of the campaign on the sidelines through injury and was subsequently overlooked for selection for Euro 2012.

And Cleverley is keen to make up for those missed opportunities by tasting success with Stuart Pearce's side and winning the attentions of Hodgson and Sir Alex in the process.


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The midfielder told the Daily Mirror: "I was disappointed not to make the England squad for the Euros. I had not played a lot of football towards the end of the season, but I felt I could have brought something to the party.

“Now, hopefully I can impress in the Olympics and Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Hodgson will be watching."

Football may well be overshadowed by other Olympic sports as the event progresses, but the young Red Devils star believes that a British success in the tournament would give a boost to the nation after England's lacklustre campaign in Poland and Ukraine.

He added: "Our nation’s first sport is football. I expect everybody will be down and feeling a bit sorry for themselves after the way we went out of the Euros, but what a way it would be to bounce back with a gold medal at the Olympics.

“We’ve got a young team and it would be something for everybody to get excited about again."

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