The 32-year-old striker made his debut in the competition against Uruguay but moments later saw his country knocked out

Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert has spoken of his devastation at England’s early exit from the World Cup, labelling their elimination at the hands of Uruguay ‘the worst moment’ of his career.

England fell short of expectations by failing to qualify for the knockout rounds after succumbing to defeats against Italy and Uruguay, and now take on table-toppers Costa Rica in their final game.

The 32-year-old made his World Cup debut as an 87th minute substitute against Los Charruas but failed to rescue a draw, and branded the experience both the best and worst point of his career.

“It’s been the best experience of my career and probably the worst experience at the same time,” he told the FA’s official website while at England’s team hotel in Rio de Janeiro.

“It’s always difficult being an England fan and getting knocked out, but this time, being involved, [it] is devastating to get knocked out at an early stage.

“It was probably the worst moment of my career when the final whistle went and we were knocked out of the World Cup. It was horrible.

“Maybe I might look back in years to come and think ‘I’ve played in a World Cup’ – that will live with me forever. But I can’t remember any moments that are as bad as that.”

Roy Hodgson’s position as manager has come under scrutiny after failing to qualify England from the group stages for the first time since 1958, yet Lambert has insisted he should remain in charge.
 
“One thing is very important – we don’t make any knee-jerk decisions,” he said. “The manager who is in charge is definitely the person we need to go forward with the group of young kids coming through.

“The progression they have had under Roy has been amazing, so if he can keep the group together for another two years it’s going to be exciting and they are going to learn after what has just happened.

“Roy has given the young players a chance and they have thrived on it. That’s definitely one of the positives we’ll take out of the World Cup and when the next scenario comes around in the next two years at the Euros, this is going to help them. That’s why this set-up needs to stay together.”

The Reds boss is keen to build on their title challenge by adding to the summer signings so far of Rickie Lambert and Emre Can

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes “hungry” additions hold the key to his team going one better in the Premier League next season.

Rodgers led Liverpool to within touching distance of their first top-flight title for 24 years last term, with the club eventually finishing second – just two points behind champions Manchester City.

Liverpool earned many plaudits for their swashbuckling brand of attacking football, which saw them plunder 101 goals in the Premier League thanks largely to the goalscoring prowess of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.

The Merseyside outfit have finished second twice before in the Premier League era – in 2001-02 and 2008-09 – but failed to build on those campaigns.

Liverpool have already sealed deals to sign Rickie Lambert and Emre Can since the end of last season, with the likes of Adam Lallana, Alberto Moreno and Xherdan Shaqiri also heavily linked with moves to Anfield.

And Rodgers feels recruiting players with the right technical and mental attributes is essential if Liverpool are to avoid making the same mistakes as years gone by in 2014-15.

“What do we need to ensure we kick on? We need to ensure we continue with our thinking in terms of the types of players we’re going to bring in,” the Northern Irishman told the Liverpool Echo.

“We want to bring in players who are hungry – they must have the ambition to want to come in and succeed here.

“We need players who there can be no doubts about their quality.

“We’re in a position now where we’re going straight into the group stage of the Champions League and we’re going into the Premier League next season with an expectation and a belief that we can win the league.

“We need players that those qualities – that belief, players who are willing to improve and who are hungry to improve themselves.

“If we can get a number of signings with that profile then we can go on and build on last season … those players who are coming in need to be capable starters.

“They have to be to the level that we require to perform. That is absolutely key for us this summer.”

The striker returned from keyhole surgery to score two goals and effectively eliminate England from the World Cup, with the Chelsea boss lauding his player and fan relationships

Jose Mourinho feels Luis Suarez proved his “amazing” quality by inspiring Uruguay’s crucial World Cup win over England.

The Liverpool striker underwent minor knee surgery just four weeks ago, but still proved to be too lively for England’s defenders to handle with two goals in Uruguay’s World Cup win.

And Chelsea manager Mourinho believes a more mature Suarez is one of the world’s best players when he lets his talent do the talking.

“I think there are two periods of Luis Suarez,” the Portuguese told Yahoo. “The one period, before I arrived [back at Chelsea in 2013] he had bad behaviour. Obviously he was criticised.

“After that there is a second period of Suarez, which was this last season and this season he was voted … as the player of the season, so I think they all recognise that he is a fantastic player.

“When his behaviour is okay, people give him the credit he deserves. I speak by myself – when he dives and tries to win penalties out of nothing I don’t like the situation.

“But when he plays like he did many, many times for Liverpool, and when he plays like he did [against England] – I have to say, [he is] absolutely amazing.

“The commitment, the connection with the players, the connection with the supporters – I have to say, amazing.”