ENGLAND boss Roy Hodgson insists he has not had to take on a dressing room full of huge egos.

One of the concerns expressed about Hodgson when he was confirmed as Fabio Capello’s successor was how he would handle the star names within the England camp.

His unhappy experience at Liverpool did not bode well and the power said to be exerted at Chelsea by John Terry and company hinted at Hodgson inheriting an unmanageable gang, who would carry on doing their own thing, irrespective of results.

Instead, life at England’s Euro 2012 HQ in Krakow has been good.

There have been no showdowns, just a steely determination to get the job done.

“I feel on a roll because I’ve found it such an enjoyable job,” he said.

“I knew working with this group of players was going to be a privilege.

“They have gone about their business in a professional way. When you take on a national team perhaps you take on more egos than you do in a club team.

“That hasn’t been a factor so I suppose in that respect I’m feeling good about the job.”

The backdrop tonight qualification decider with co-hosts Ukraine could not be much more positive.

With Theo Walcott reporting no ill-effects from the tight hamstring he experienced in training, Hodgson is selecting from a fully-fit squad.

He is also facing a Ukraine team which, for all the fervour of their support, have never won in their six previous internationals in Donetsk, four of which ended in defeat.

“I am more than aware there are plenty of hurdles in front of us, not least tomorrow night,” said Hodgson.

“I’m also aware, unfortunately, that defeats do occur in football and sometimes they occur when you least want them.”

Hodgson, 64, is far too experienced to get drawn into the trap of believing England deserved a quarter-final place.

Yet there is an element of acceptance that, in both the secure manner of their defending against France, and their sheer refusal to be beaten by Sweden, England have contributed something to this tournament that should not be dismissed lightly.

“We would all be disappointed if tomorrow night didn’t go our way and we had to take the plane home,” he said.

“There would be an enormous amount of dissatisfaction because we believe we have done enough to go on.

“But Holland and Russia thought they could do that so it is naive to believe that just because you think you are able to do and want to do it that it will be enough.”

However, if England do make it through, the optimism that was so obviously absent in much of the buildup will be back ahead of one of those quarter-finals the Three Lions have had so much difficulty with down the years.

“It’s not just England who haven’t always performed when the expectations were heightened,” said Hodgson.

“There’s quite a few teams that have failed.

“It’s a fact of life. We’ve come here with the England national team. We believe in ourselves and we want to do well.

“In some ways it’s rather nice that people back home are hoping and even believing we can do well, and we’re giving them something to dream about and cling onto.”

Hodgson will not expect all his selections to go quite as spectacularly well as they did in Kiev on Friday, when Andy Carroll and Walcott in particular did exactly what their manager would have wished.

However, decisions always have to be made, even if they are merely to confirm most of the team that started against Sweden are going to retain their spots, with Hodgson confirming the repeated travel from Krakow is not causing a problem.

“The technical staff have done such a good job helping the players recover,” he said.

“We’ve been very anxious to make sure we use the training sessions, and in particular, the recovery sessions wisely.

“I get the feeling at the moment that the players are as fit and ready for this third game as they were for the first.

“I don’t necessarily feel the need to change people because I’m worried about their legs or their ability to see the game through.

“The team that’s been doing so well is ready to go.

“On the other hand, there are plenty of people who are out of the team, as you saw with Walcott when he came on the other night, who are very anxious to make a statement as well.”