Benitez backs Pennant for England chance
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes Jermaine Pennant is close to receiving an England call-up.
The 23-year-old winger has been impressive since his move to Anfield from Birmingham and in the absence of Aaron Lennon he had been a contender for inclusion in the squad to face Macedonia and Croatia in the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers, but was left out by national team boss Steve McClaren.
However, Benitez has no doubt that Pennant’s time will come.
“It is only a matter of time before he gets called up for England,” the Spaniard told his club’s official website www.liverpoolfc.tv.
“He is learning a lot, he is working hard, he is more mature and I think that soon we will see him in the national team.
“I have no doubts about Pennant’s quality. He is playing really well. This is the kind of player we were looking for, someone who can beat players, can cross and can give to us more options on the right side where we had problems last season.”
Talking about the decision to leave him out on this occasion, Benitez added: “You must have a lot of respect for the other managers, and if they want to select other players then you must respect their decision.
“The only thing you can do is to support your players and tell them they need to work harder.”
