Gardner thanks Hoddle for England call-up

New England call-up Anthony Gardner has paid tribute to the faith shown in him by his former Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle as he prepares to win his first England cap.

Gardner has been rewarded for a string of impressive performances at the heart of the Spurs rearguard this season as he was called up by Sven-Goran Eriksson as a replacement for the injured Gareth Southgate.

He looks certain to be involved as a substitute in tomorrow’s friendly international with Denmark at Old Trafford.

But Gardner was quick to thank Hoddle – now departed from White Hart Lane - for the role he played in his progress.

Gardner told www.thefa.com: “Glenn Hoddle always said to me that he had a lot of faith in me and that he thought I would do well.

“I owe a bit to him because he was the one that had the faith in me and gave me the chance to play regularly at Spurs.

“The same goes for John Rudge at Port Vale too. He gave me my league debut and everyone at Port Vale helped me a lot.”

Gardner believes his progress this season has a lot to with managing to stay injury-free.

He said: “My form has been getting better, I’m probably playing better than I have done for a while.

“That has coincided with me getting a run of games together after the injuries that have hampered me in the last two seasons. I feel I’ve been getting better week by week.”