Micah Richards has described his international career as a "touchy subject" but believes that he is the best right-back that England have.

The Fiorentina defender has never made an appearance under Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson and has been out of the frame since February 2012.

However, the 26-year-old, who is on loan from Manchester City, is convinced that he deserves a recall, insisting that he is the best that the country has to offer.

"England is a touchy subject," he told The Telegraph. "It was a weird situation because I got a call from Stuart Pearce [to say he was not in Euro 2012 squad].

"Why's he ringing me? Why not Hodgson? Stuart said, 'Roy's not going to take you to the Euros but he wants you to go on standby.' I was angry."

"There are right-backs performing better than me now but I don't believe they have better attributes than me. People always say to me: 'You should be England right-back'. I know how good I am as a player."

Richards is expected to face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane tonight in the Viola's first-leg round-of-32 Europa League clash.