JASON Wilcox was left out in the cold as Terry Venables today named his final side before the start of Euro 96 - just three days before he has to finalise his 22-man squad.

Wilcox isn't in the starting 11 for tomorrow's game in Hong Kong and so won't have the chance to add to the good impression he made on his international debut against Hungary.

The Rovers star will just have to wait and see whether he has already done enough to clinch his Euro '96 dream ticket.

He will be hoping that Venables has already seen enough to feel the naturally left sided player should be included in his final 22 for the tournament.

And the manager's words will give him hope.

"It all depends on what you feel inside about someone. I don't make the same decisions across the board," he said

"You don't say 'He's played two games, he's in' and you don't say 'One game, so he's out.' An inexperienced player could miss out because of that whereas with someone like Tony Adams you can bank on his experience.

"He could feature without playing. If he doesn't play on tomorrow it doesn't mean he misses out.

"Like a lot of these boys I have made decisions on them not for what they've done for their club but for what they've done for me on the training pitch. "Before the media come in the work's been done. That's always a testing time to see what they can do.

"I will always go with my beliefs and what I feel about players."

Wilcox might already have done enough in training to convince Venables that his talents down that left flank are just what England needs for Euro '96.

Meanwhile, a poisoned groin could keep Paul Gascoigne out of England's final warm-up game in Hong Kong tomorrow,

Gazza, the star draw for the non-international, will certainly not be in the starting line-up after starring in Thursday's 3-0 win in China.

The England coach, who has made eight changes from Beijing, said: "He's got a big blister from the boots he wore in that game which wasn't too bad.

"But during the trip on the plane to Hong Kong it became poisonous and has given him a lump in his groin.

"He was struggling yesterday but it's a little better today and if he feels fine in the morning I hope he'll be on the substitutes' bench. It's not a long term problem."

There was no place for Alan Shearer, pictured above right, who would have been expected to end his goal drought against a Hong Kong side which includes former Rovers player Mike Duxbury.

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