NICK POPE has revealed he was not given an explanation for his surprise omission from the England squad for this summer’s European Championships.

Pope won the most recent of his ten senior England caps in last September’s Nations League draw with Germany, but despite recovering from an injury setback ahead of the end of last season, the Newcastle United goalkeeper was not selected for the Euros.

Jordan Pickford was always going to be Gareth Southgate’s number one keeper for the tournament in Germany, but rather than choosing Pope as back-up, the England boss opted to take Arsenal reserve Aaron Ramsdale and Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson in his 23-man group.

Pope did not even make the provisional squad, with Burnley’s James Trafford getting the nod before being cut from the final selection, and the 32-year-old is still waiting to learn why he did not feature in Southgate’s plans.

When asked whether he received an explanation for his omission, Pope said: “Erm... No, I don't think so. No. It’s part of football, it’s part of life. Obviously, it’s a difficult decision for the manager.

“England is always a tough decision for the manager. You saw that in the summer during the group stages and obviously England were winning games and getting through knockout games and yet there's still such a high level of scrutiny. It’s a tough job.

“Gareth gave me my debut, and my ten caps were all under him, so I'm never, ever going to speak ill of him and the decision he makes.”

Nevertheless, with Southgate having left his position in the wake of England’s defeat to Spain in the Euros final, Pope is determined to win back his place under the next England boss.

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“Is it an ambition to get back in with England? Of course,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m over the hill just yet! I feel like I’m in a team now and in a place personally, as a player, to be able to make an impact.”

The next England manager could, of course, be Eddie Howe, with the Newcastle United boss understood to be figuring prominently in the Football Association’s thoughts as they assess their options in the wake of Southgate’s departure.

Howe reiterated his passion for Newcastle United when discussing his future during the Magpies’ recent training camp in Germany, but stopped short of ruling himself out of the running to be England boss.

Pope is confident Howe would do a good job as the leader of his country, but is understandably desperate for the 46-year-old to remain in his current position of head coach at Newcastle, with the pair’s relationship having been a key part of the Magpies’ successes in the last couple of seasons.

“He’s (Howe) been great for me,” said Pope. “I've been with him for two years and I feel he has brought my game and my mentality on. He’s improved me as a player and as a person, so I can't speak highly enough of him.

“Playing different systems, you can learn off his mindset and skillset. You learn what he wants from a goalkeeper in his team. I've improved along with that.”

Pope missed most of the second half of last season after suffering a shoulder injury that kept him on the sidelines for five-and-a-half months.

He returned for the final game of the season against Brentford, and confirmed his wellbeing with an excellent display in Saturday’s pre-season friendly win over Hull City that featured a superb reflex save from Regan Slater.

He has headed to Japan as part of a 28-strong squad that will tackle matches against Urawa Red Diamonds and Yokohama F Marinos, and is keen to make up for lost time after the frustrations of last season.

“I sacrificed a lot (to get fit),” he said. “A great amount of work goes into it when you're injured, a lot harder than when you're playing. I have a huge amount of gratitude now I'm back and able to train and play and be back around the lads. It's a huge motivation for me going into the season.

“You always have a good excitement for the new season and just to be back together. We have great characters in the group and a good feeling amongst us.”

Newcastle also have two new goalkeepers, with Pope having helped welcome Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy into the squad since the end of last season.

“We’ve gelled really well,” he said. “They’re two great characters and very experienced goalkeepers. It's great for the group and the team – they’ve fitted in straight away.”