Hodgson: I would have taken six wins

England qualified for Euro 2016 with ten straight wins but Roy Hodgson admits he would have been happy with less.

Hodgson targeted an unbeaten run to next year’s major tournament and England surpassed his expectations by qualifying with a 100% record.

The England manager was incredibly happy to see his squad channel the disappointment of last year’s World Cup in a positive way.

“It’s very hard to put in words the dejection and disappointment you feel after working hard and preparing for a World Cup as we did, and then to go out after two games. I still don’t have the words to describe my feelings. It could be an experience which serves in the future, because we never want it to happen again,” said Hodgson.

“In tournaments matches are cup finals, one-off games.There are no guarantees you can ever give except prepare properly and hope you get the players you want on the field at the right moment.

“Being unbeaten was a big goal to set – perhaps too big in some respects – but something in me said ‘they are good players here, and we’re not dependent upon 11. If we play well, with focus and continue to try and get better, we could go through unbeaten’. But qualification was the main thing. I would have been happy with six wins and four draws.”

England completed their stroll to Euro 2016 with a 3-0 win over Lithuania on Monday night.