Liverpool star Raheem Sterling was dropped for England because of tiredness

Roy Hodgson last night revealed he left Raheem Sterling out of his England team after the 19-year-old complained of feeling tired.

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Three Lions boss Hodgson picked Sterling's Liverpool team-mate Adam Lallana instead for this Euro 2016 qualifier, won through a 73rd minute goal from Wayne Rooney.

Sterling played only the first-half of the 5-0 thrashing of minnows San Marino at Wembley on Thursday, but approached Hodgson to tell him he felt jaded at training at on Saturday.

"It was a question of having two players, who both did pretty well against San Marino and one is telling me he is a bit tired and jaded the other one is full of beans," said Hodgson.

"Well put the one on who is full of beans and keep the other one up your sleeve. Don't forget it was two days after quite a difficult game against San Marino.

"It was fatigue he hadn't managed to shake off after the San Marino game, it was no more complicated than that."

Hodgson, who had claimed after the San Marino game that Sterling had not wanted to be taken off at half-time, added: "We were training at The Grove (Watford) doing a light session but some work in how we wanted to play the game tactically."

"Just before we started, Raheem had done the warm-up and he came to me and said 'look I really am feeling a bit tired I'm not in my best form at the moment because I am feeling a bit tired'."

"So I said, 'best thing is Adam Lallana starts the game and you rest and I have got you to bring on from the bench'."

"Simple as that. As you saw when he came on there is nothing wrong with him and he isn't suffering from anything."

"I think it would be wrong of players to try to fool me into think they are ready and that they're 100 per cent when they aren't because they are robbing somebody else of an opportunity."

But Hodgson felt the responsibility of resting players should be shared with their clubs.

"I think it's a bit unfair if all the expectation to give hat player a bit of a break fall on my shoulders," he added.

"As it turned out on this occasion it was perfectly good thing to do, I think it was the right thing to do to be perfectly honest, as Raheem wasn't as sharp in the game against San Marino as he's been."

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Agreeing many would not understand how a teenager could be tired just two months into the season after 45 minutes against international football's worst team, he added: "Sure. I can't argue with the reasoning and I'm sure that will be said.

"In mitigation of a young player, when you break into a team like Liverpool and you a fantastic season, then you go to the World Cup and you do well and people regard you as one of the few who lived up to his reputation."

"Then you come back and you're still only 19 years of age, there are a lot of other things that play a part it people's make-up."

"It isn't quite as simple as the training you're doing maybe taking some juice from your legs. There is an awful lot going on in your head as well."

"Perhaps it's quite simply the season hasn't started quite as well for Liverpool as they wanted, he's a player who's always in the focus and spotlight for England and Liverpool, maybe that's had some effect."

Hodgson also disclosed Rooney had not been pleased with his own performance, despite claiming his 43rd international goal to take him to six of Sir Bobby Charlton's England record.

"Wayne is very self-critical. He is happy to score the winning goal but he knows he and his fellow forwards could have had so many more. It's glasses half-full and half -empty."

Hodgson revealed he took off Danny Welbeck after the Arsenal striker turned an ankle.

Hodgson denied he had been planning to take off Rooney before he scored the winner, then appeared to contradict himself.

"Both missed their chances," he said of Rooney and Welbeck. "Neither could have been too critical of me if I had chosen him."