Roy: Why Stevie's my captain

Roy Hodgson today announced that Steven Gerrard will be the England captain for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. Gerrard was England's skipper in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup and has captained the national side on 15 occasions since 2004. Former Liverpool manager Hodgson was speaking to a press conference at Wembley stadium this afternoon, during which he explained his decision to appoint the 31-year-old as captain for the forthcoming tournament. "In my opinion he's the man who merits this award or distinction," said Hodgson. "I know him as a player and I know him as a person. I know how committed he is to the England cause and he was delighted last night when I told him of my decision. "And I shall be counting on him to help me as much as he possibly can to build the type of team unity and the type of environment that's going to be very necessary to thrive in an important tournament."