Micah Richards: 'England call came too soon'

Micah Richards has admitted that he was "too young" when he received his first call-up to the England squad at the age of 18.

The Manchester City defender, who is currently on loan with Serie A side Fiorentina, was first included in the national side in 2006, but has played just once for the Three Lions since 2007, earning 13 caps in total.

The defender told BBC Sport: "Sometimes, when English players do well at a young age, they get thrown in and get spat back out three of four years later.

"I was brought through too young. If you put me in an England shirt now, I'd be 10 times better than I was. If [Roy Hodgson] decides to come out here, then good luck to him. If he doesn't, then I will do what I have to do.

"Some players get to a stage when they haven't played for a couple of years and then they don't pick them again. They are always looking for the next new thing, which sometimes I don't always see as right. Players should be picked on performance."

Richards also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London.