Brooking admits time is of essence as Hodgson holds first get-together Published on Thursday 24 May 2012 02:08 Sir Trevor Brooking accepts new England manager Roy Hodgson would probably have liked more time to prepare for Euro 2012 - but is in no doubt the players will know just what is expected of them when they tackle France in Donetsk on 11 June. Hodgson met up with the squad for the first time in Manchester yesterday, having allowed players to take a short break after the conclusion of the Barclays Premier League season, while Chelsea's John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill - plus stand-by player Daniel Sturridge - have been given extra time off after the Blues" Champions League final victory. The former West Brom manager will have just 19 days, with friendlies against Norway and Belgium, to fine tune his plans ahead of their Group D opener. However, Brooking - the Football Association's director of football development and part of the panel which helped select the successor to Fabio Capello - is confident that, by the time the action gets underway in Ukraine, Hodgson's plans will have come together. "Roy is an experienced coach, but I am sure if you asked him he would say he wanted longer in the job to prepare the side," said Brooking. Chelsea did really well and we congratulate them on their Champions League success, but it does mean some of their lads will be coming in after the first warm-up game and I know there are three or four injuries as well at present. Maybe the game against Norway in Oslo is more about giving all the squad members a chance to play and even some of the standby players who at present will be wanting to show their worth to Roy for the future. Brooking added: "They meet up on 5 June and fly out on the 6th and then the first game against France is a really tough one, but by then everyone will know what is needed from them. It is about trying to get off to a good start, we all know group situations are pretty tight and looking at the group they will be very close affairs. The new manager's main dilemma will be in attack as Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is suspended for England's opening two games and his first chance to be involved in the tournament will be against Ukraine on 19 June. Brooking feels former Switzerland coach Hodgson has opted for a "balanced mix," which will give some of the more senior members what is possibly a final chance of redemption. He said: "Roy certainly thinks there are some quality experienced players who will look on this tournament as one of their later opportunities. In 2004 we were a bit unlucky, at the 2006 World Cup we didn't play particularly well and had a sending off that affected us when we went out, in 2008 we didn't qualify and the last World Cup was a poor tournament so what we are looking for is a better tournament and for the side to do themselves justice. Meanwhile, Scott Parker took part in the opening training session of the Hodgson era despite being troubled by an Achilles problem during the latter part of the domestic season. The Tottenham midfielder was able to participate, although the extent of his involvement is not being revealed at this juncture. Hodgson has to decide whether he thinks Parker is fit enough to play a full part in the finals by 29 May - the final Uefa deadline for squads to be announced. Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck sat out the 90 minutes closed session in what was described as a precautionary measure. But both are expected to train later this week before England fly out to Oslo for the Norway friendly on Saturday. Welbeck suffered a bruised leg in United's penultimate Premier League clash with Swansea two-and-a-half weeks ago.