Pochettino praises his three Lions

Southampton coach Mauricio Pochettino believes that his trio of England players are good enough to play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana joined Rickie Lambert in the Three Lions set-up on Thursday as England boss Roy Hodgson announced his latest squad for the upcoming friendlies against Chile and Germany.

With Southampton flying high in the Premier League, Pochettino feels that his charges merit their inclusion in the national team, and he sees no reason why they cannot book their place on the plane to Brazil for the World Cup finals next year.

“Jay fully deserves his England call-up,” the Southampton coach said. “He’s been on a really good run lately.

“We’re really proud of our three players in the England squad. Can they go to the World Cup? Why not?

“Not only those three, but the squad has improved in the nine months that we’ve been here.

“The players are the protagonists here – they deserve all of the credit, not me. We have a great structure here.”

Southampton sit sixth in the Premier League and will climb into the top four with victory over Hull City on Saturday, but Pochettino has urged his players to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

“I’m very happy with the project and ideas we have here. It’s been four years in the making,” he added.

“We have to be intelligent in managing the plaudits we’re getting. We have to take the compliments and use them to boost confidence.

“Compliments can be taken negatively or positively. We’re in the headlines and we appreciate that, but it changes nothing.

“Right now, we have to think as a team. After that, our players can think about their national teams.”

The Argentinian also revealed that forward Guly do Prado will be out for two months following knee surgery.