Hodgson reassured by Man United bomb scare

England manager Roy Hodgson felt reassured by the prompt reaction of the police and emergency services during Sunday’s bomb scare at Old Trafford, he said on Monday.

Old Trafford was evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious device in a toilet in the stadium’s northwest quadrant shortly before kick-off in the Premier League game between Manchester United and Bournemouth, which was subsequently postponed.

It turned out to be a dummy bomb left behind by accident during a terror training exercise, but with November’s attack on the Stade de France in Paris still fresh in the memory, Hodgson said it was a reminder of the need for vigilance ahead of Euro 2016 in France.

“It doesn’t affect my thinking,” Hodgson said during a press conference at Wembley to announce his squad for the Euro.

“It’s an unfortunate incident and it’s being dealt with by the people who need to deal with this type of incident.

“It’s good to know that the authorities are that anxious for nothing to happen and for security to be as tight as it’s obviously going to be. We saw that yesterday.

“Although the bomb itself turned out not to be one, it’s still good to see the authorities are really on the ball and doing their job.

“It was good to see the public accepting the unfortunate situation and going along with what they were asked to do. And in France, all we can do is hope that the authorities there and the security will be as tight as we’ve seen it’s capable of being here in England.”

United’s game against Bournemouth will now take place on Tuesday.