ROY HODGSON has been urged to make Wearside a regular stop on his scouting missions as Sunderland’s inspirational midfielder Lee Cattermole attempts to gatecrash the England squad.

Cattermole, who has carried on in the sort of form which helped the Black Cats stay in the Premier League last season, thinks the door has widened to break in to Hodgson’s get-togethers and that was highlighted by the likes of Jack Colback and Fabian Delph being called up this time around.

In the past the Sunderland man felt it was too difficult to get noticed to compete for a midfield berth for his country because Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard had their places nailed down. However, following the experienced duo’s decision to retire from the international stage, there are openings for the younger generation.

Cattermole, who was an regular in a Three Lions shirt through the youth ranks, believes Sunderland could be the ideal place for Hodgson to cast an eye given the number of young English talent wearing a red and white shirt.

“We’ve got a few English players here: Jack Rodwell, Adam Johnson, Connor Wickham and me – so I’d like to think Roy Hodgson will come up,” said Cattermole. “It is up to us to go out there and play well.

“If we perform well, it can raise a few eyebrows and that can only benefit all of us. If we help each other, that is the aim, that is what we have got to do. If we play well and are winning, it makes all our individual games so much easier.”

Hodgson only made his first trip to the Stadium of Light as England manager in February, when Johnson was turning in the sort of displays to warrant attention. With so many Englishmen now part of Gustavo Poyet’s squad, however, Cattermole thinks there is a real opportunity to become permanent fixtures in the international fold.

“The lads in the England squad right now have a great chance to grow a bond and head for the Euros,” said the former Middlesbrough and Wigan man. “It is a new squad. They have lost some big players, but it is a good opportunity for other lads to step up.”

He added: “I pulled an England shirt on at most levels from 15 or 16. It’s nice. My last game for the Under-21s was in the final at Sweden against Germany. I probably did expect a senior call up at the time. When I got back from the finals in Sweden, I moved from Wigan to Sunderland and started really well. But after a few weeks, I had my medial injury and was out for four months so that was that.

“But it would mean an awful lot to me to get a call-up. Every English player would be lying if they said they were not looking to play for England. The wider perception is that players don’t care but a lot of the time, it is just trying to be cool around each other, not letting on how much you really do care.”

Sunderland’s season started with two draws and then a defeat to Queens Park Rangers, which is by no means a disgrace. However, two defeats to Tottenham on Saturday and away at Burnley in their next two games would dent the mood around the club.

Cattermole, however, has looked strong in the games so far, which was why he was mentioned so strongly before Hodgson named his England squad for the dates with Norway and Switzerland.

He said: “I was not disappointed to be left out but you see the lads getting opportunities now, for me that has to be a motivation. In recent years, it is not something for me to be too interested in because of the names that were playing - the Gerrards and the Lampards. But you look at the boys who have got in and who are playing well and that is something I am trying to achieve.

“It has become a goal for me getting into the squad. England is going through that cycle of change right now. It is a great opportunity for the lads who are there now but also for the lads who are looking to get there - like Tom Huddlestone, Mark Noble, who I played with for the Under-21s and myself - that is what we are now looking for. That is something we probably would not have been able to do in the past.”

Cattermole’s disciplinary problems in his earlier years have often harmed his chances of an England call. The reality, however, is that his red card at Hull last November was the only red card he has collected in the last two years.

He said: “I am in a good time in my career at the moment. I feel I’m not having to try as hard on the pitch and that helps. I am really comfortable about my game, very focused every week now. I have had a few ups and downs since he arrived but lately it is going in the right direction and that is down to the work I do on the training pitch.

“I felt I finished last season strongly and have felt great all pre-season so I am in a good place. Since the manager has come in, I have adapted my game to what he wants. That is purely and simply, a defensive midfielder. I have learnt an unbelievable amount since he came here. Last season, yes, I made mistakes but in that time, I have felt my game improving in terms of what he wanted from me.”