YORK City forward Richard Brodie is certain former team-mate Jamie Vardy will not be daunted by Euro 2016, having thrived in a dressing room full of Scousers at their old club Fleetwood.

Brodie and Vardy were strike partners during the Cod Army's 2012 Conference title-winning campaign but, while the City forward struggled at times to cope with the brutal Liverpudlian banter that season, the future England marksman prospered in such an environment.

Ex-Three Lions C international Brodie now believes that steely character means Premier League winner Vardy will feel no pressure as he prepares for his first major tournament at the age of 29.

Roy Hodgson's men get their campaign underway against Russia tomorrow night and, on Vardy's mental suitability for the challenge ahead, Brodie said: "He’s a character and a typical northern lad from a working-class family. When he came to Fleetwood, it was dominated by Scousers like Steve McNulty, Anthony Barry, Jamie McGuire and Scott Davies, so you had to have a thick skin.

"The manager Mickey Mellon used to say to me ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, but I didn’t want to. They say Scousers are like Geordies, but they’re not.

"But Jamie Vardy came in from Sheffield and nothing phased him. He had a tough inner shell and performed the same way whatever the stage, so I know he will take everything in his stride in France."

Brodie also reckons that the Leicester talisman can play a major part for England, either as a first-XI selection or second-half substitute, with the 28-year-old Minsterman reasoning: "I think he should start because of his performances this season, but he's one of those who is fantastic to have in your squad, because he's a great option from the start, but has also got the ability to be a massive impact player from the bench.

"Although I'm not saying that should be his role, if there's 20 minutes to go in an important match and the opposition's defence is getting tired, then none of them are going to want Jamie Vardy coming on to run at them and Roy Hodgson could use him either way."

Brodie recalls Vardy being signed by Fleetwood in 2011 from Halifax, where he had played in the Northern Premier League, following a seven-year stint with Stocksbridge Park Steels.

While confessing he could not have forecast the then 24-year-old's meteoric rise at the time, Brodie does insist, nevertheless, that his potential was there for all to see.

"It’s strange in a funny kind of way to see what he's gone on to achieve because, every time I pick up a paper or put on the TV, I see his face, but I know where he’s come from and he’s still the same lad," Brodie smiled. "I thought he was different class last season, but the majority of goals he was scoring were the same as what he used to get for Fleetwood so, in that sense, I’ve not been surprised by how well he’s done, although you would have never predicted it back then at all.

"He knew he had ability and that he could score goals, but he wasn’t really thinking about the future back then. He was just living in the present.

"I remember his debut for Fleetwood being against York and, during our Friday meeting, we were thinking who’s this lad? There was already me, Gareth Seddon, Andy Mangan, Magno Vieira and George Donnelly as strikers at the club, so you were wondering where he was going to fit in.

"He was given the number 33 shirt and that’s how big the squad was back then but, fair play to him, he was great that season. He had come from a similar background to me football wise and had a few problems in the past, as we all do, but he had pace to burn and was as quick on the ball as he was without it, which was a massive bonus, especially when you can finish like he can.

"He has got where he is through ability and a lot of hard work along the way."

Brodie scored six goals and Vardy netted seven times during the 26 games the pair were on the pitch together for Fleetwood with the City attacker admitting he benefitted considerably from their partnership, laughing: "I remember playing up front in a 4-4-1-1 with him behind me and, if I had a bad touch, he used to make up for that with his speed and got to the ball first, so he was that quick he made me look a better player!"