Johnson: Carroll ´unplayable´

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has backed his team-mate Andy Carroll to land a place in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2012.

Carroll has suffered a torrid 18 months at Anfield since his 35-million-pound move from Newcastle in January last year.

But, after two impressive displays against Chelsea in four days which include one goal and an assist, Johnson said the striker should be on the plane to Poland and Ukraine.

Johnson told The Guardian: “You could see John Terry was petrified at times. Andy is a big lump but he’s good on the ball and works very hard. He will scare a lot of defenders.

“I definitely think Andy has put himself in contention for the England squad. In the last few weeks, Andy has been fantastic. He is unplayable. Andy looks like he is quicker and is working a lot harder.”

Carroll, himself, has hinted that a place at the tournament is his aim, and hopes he can impress in the last game of the season, away at Swansea.

“It would be nice to go to the Euros, but I have one more game to go and we’ll see what happens after that,” Carroll said.

“You can see that I’m more confident now when I step out on to the pitch, and I feel I have shown that in the last couple of games.

“I’ve always been confident of playing well. I just needed a little bit of a run. I’ve been doing well in training and all that lads seem to be enjoying themselves. We have been sticking together and doing well.”

And the former Newcastle forward has thanked his manager Kenny Dalglish for sticking with him throughout the course of the season.

“Kenny has shown a lot of faith in me. I haven’t had the greatest season but he has stuck by me and defended me. He has encouraged me a lot and has a lot of belief in me,” Carroll continued.

“I’m confident of doing well all the time. It’s not just the last two games I have played well in.

To be honest, I feel I’ve done well in other games. But it’s not just me, it’s the team. Four different players scored against Chelsea, and that shows it is a team effort.”