Former England manager Graham Taylor has defended Roy Hodgson's decision to include uncapped trio Charlie Austin, Jamie Vardy and Tom Heaton in his latest Three Lions squad.

All three have been included in the squad for the friendly with the Republic of Ireland and next weekend's Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia.

"I always remembered that and I found myself that there were certain players who at club level you think 'He's got to be picked for the international team' and yet when you picked them for the international team, they couldn't handle it," Taylor told Perform, as reported by FourFourTwo.

"Everybody finds that out, when you come on to the international scene you're at the highest level of football. Some players just accept it, they're fine at it, other players find it a bit nervous and don't quite deliver what they've been delivering at club level.

"The only way you find out whether players are going to be good enough for the international scene is to give them a chance, give them an opportunity."

England currently sit top of their qualifying group for Euro 2016 with five wins from five games.