Wayne Rooney was yesterday named the new England captain as Roy Hodgson named a very average looking England squad for next week’s friendly against Norway.

Rooney was the obvious choice for captain after the previous captain Steven Gerrard’s retirement was followed a few weeks later by Frank Lampard’s.

The 28-year-old Manchester United skipper got the nod ahead of the likes of Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Manchester City’s Joe Hart and will lead a new-look England squad featuring four uncapped players into the upcoming matches against Norway and Switzerland.

“Wayne is an obvious choice for his honesty, commitment to the cause, his experience and the fact he has already captained England in the past,” Hodgson said.

“Now of course he’s got that responsibility at Manchester United as well. All those factors weighed into my thought process and I’m pleased to be able to say I’ve been able to offer it to him. I had a long conversation with him and he’s prepared to accept the pressures the England captaincy brings.”

Jack Colback, Calum Chambers, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph have all been called up for the first time in a squad which will not be striking fear into any of the top footballing nations across Europe.

While England should comfortably qualify for Euro 2016, their hopes of winning the tournament doesn’t look very good highlighting the lack of talent Hodgson has to pick from.

But the England manager sees this as an exciting time for England.

“I don’t think there is any reason for trepidation,” he said. “Don’t forget there is no (Theo) Walcott, no (Ross) Barkley, no (Adam) Lallana (due to injury), all of whom have shown already that they’re a serious part of what we want to do going forwards.

“I don’t see any reason for us to be fearful in any way, but on the other hand it is going to be exciting and to some extent some anxious moments for us all to see if the players can step up.”