England's Women have a week-long training camp early in the New Year

Hope Powell will take 24 players to La Manga in January for a week of warm weather training, as the England Women’s team begin their preparations for Euro 2013.

The Three Lions have been drawn in Group C alongside France, Spain and Russia for next summer’s showpiece in Sweden and the National Coach wants to hit the ground running in the New Year.

Powell said: “Conditions in England in January are quite cold and the environment to get some real good quality training in with the players is quite difficult.

“So to take them somewhere mid-January where the weather is a little bit warmer, it means we can do a lot of focused work, hard work.

“We will train twice a day, really condensed, really quite demanding and the conditions are conducive to that.

“It’s a really good environment, more importantly we get a lot of good work done in good conditions.”

University of Georgia goalkeeper Ashley Baker has been included in the senior squad for the first time while there are recalls for defenders Rachel Unitt and Claire Rafferty, midfielders Jade Moore and Jess Clarke and Arsenal forward Kelly Smith.

And just like last season, the seniors will be joined by Brent Hills’s Under-23 squad, with a few of the younger batch no doubt keen to impress among their more established counterparts.

England’s first taste of match action in 2013 will come in the annual Cyprus Cup, which takes place between 6-13 March. They will face Italy, New Zealand and Scotland in the initial group stage.

Squad in full

Goalkeepers
Ashley Baker, Karen Bardsley, Siobhan Chamberlain, Carly Telford
Defenders
Laura Bassett, Sophie Bradley, Steph Houghton, Claire Rafferty, Alex Scott, Casey Stoney, Dunia Susi, Rachel Unitt
Midfielders
Anita Asante, Karen Carney, Jess Clarke, Jade Moore, Jill Scott, Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey
Forwards
Eniola Aluko, Toni Duggan, Kelly Smith, Ellen White, Rachel Williams