• Euro 2012

Lescott: England squad have no problem with Terry

Roy Hodgson was very pro-active in training © PA Photos

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Joleon Lescott insists there is no problem with John Terry being involved in the England setup for Euro 2012, and the Manchester City defender said on Thursday that the situation was dealt with months ago.

Terry was selected by manager Roy Hodgson for the summer tournament, despite the Chelsea captain facing an impending hearing in relation to an accusation of racial abuse towards Anton Ferdinand. It is an allegation Terry strongly denies.

Lescott will be in direct competition with Terry for a starting place at Euro 2012, but he insists there is no ill-feeling towards the former England captain. Indeed Terry was part of the squad that took part in a November double-header against Spain and Sweden, when they won both games, so Lescott believes the situation has long been a thing of the past.

"We're all here for the same reason and that's to do well for England," Lescott said during Thursday's press conference. "I think in the Spain squad we were all together and we produced two good performances so it's proven that there's no animosity in the squad."

England conducted an open training session at Etihad Stadium on Thursday, during which Glen Johnson lasted only a handful of minutes before heading down the tunnel with an infected toe. Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck also sat out the practice match and neither are expected to feature against Norway this weekend.

As for the addition of Hodgson, Lescott confessed he instantly noticed an improvement from the old regime under Fabio Capello, and he believes the door is open for all 23 England players to earn a starting place at Euro 2012.

"The biggest difference is the communication side of it. Obviously Roy's first language is English. He gets his point across well.

"The manager's made it clear that he hasn't picked his squad yet, so hopefully in these warm-up games I can stake a claim."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.