PHIL JAGIELKA wants to prove he is the answer to Roy Hodgson’s defensive headache as England prepare to embark on what the Everton centre-half describes as a ‘‘great new era’’.

With Rio Ferdinand confirming his international retirement, and John Terry out of the equation for good, Hodgson now has a pool of five defenders from which he must mould a centre-half pairing that is good enough to perform at the World Cup.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have struggled with injury and Joleon Lescott has not played regularly at Manchester City, leaving Jagielka and Chelsea’s Gary Cahill as the front-runners for the two vacant spots.

Jagielka is probably in pole position because he has had yet another excellent season at Everton.

The 30-year-old has not played for his country since October due to injury, however, and given that Hodgson has rotated his squad so much – he has used six different defensive pairings in the last eight games – the Everton defender knows his ticket to Rio 2014 is far from assured.

‘‘We don’t really know what the starting XI will be so it’s all about putting down a marker this week,’’ said Jagielka ahead of England’s friendlies against Republic of Ireland tomorrow at Wembley and Brazil in Rio on Sunday.

‘‘Obviously they can look at your club form before that, but this is the time to impress the manager and the coaching staff.

‘‘There are no points available, but I’m sure everyone will be trying to cement their place ahead of the games in August and September.

‘‘Previous players nailed down that position for three or four years so it will be interesting.

‘‘I’m sure Hodgson is looking at the mixture of defenders or partnerships that he might have.

‘‘Hopefully I am in the mix and I might get a few run outs.’’ This is the first time Jagielka has joined the England camp without David Moyes as his club manager.

The Scot’s 11-year reign at Goodison Park came to an end earlier this month when he replaced Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Uncertainty continues to surround who will replace the former Preston boss, although Roberto Martinez has been strongly linked with the position.

Jagielka reaffirmed his commitment to Everton and he is sure he will be able to forget the events of the last few weeks and fully concentrate on England duties this week.

‘‘I definitely see my future at Everton,’’ he said.