DANNY Houghton's recent form has drawn praise from England coach Steve McNamara – who has labelled the Hull FC star "outstanding".

And the 21-year-old has been challenged to maintain his current form until the end of the season to force his way into McNamara's Four Nations squad.

Houghton has been one of Super League's top performers in recent weeks, winning rave reviews from his coach Richard Agar and fellow professionals.

And speaking to the Mail, McNamara admitted his own admiration for Houghton.

"Danny is developing all the time as a player and he has without a doubt put in some outstanding performances of late," McNamara told the Mail. "Some of his statistics and numbers that he has posted are huge.

"The challenge for Danny now is to keep progressing in that direction and do it on a consistent basis, which he seems to be dealing well with at this moment in time."

Houghton was not named in McNamara's 37-man England squad for a team get-together last week, with Hull FC represented by Tom Briscoe, Kirk Yeaman and Willie Manu.

But with the national coach stressing other players still have a chance, Houghton appears a front-runner.

"Danny is certainly a player who is on the radar and without a doubt his performances have been noted," McNamara added.