Q Since the Poland game everything has gone well for you with Spurs but maybe not so well with England?
A "Yes, it’s a strange one. At the club it’s been great this season, we’ve pushed on massively and achieved great things and with England that hasn’t been the case. But if I get the chance I’ll be ready."
Q What’s that down to?
A "I don’t know, but obviously at Tottenham I play most games. That’s a massive factor. Whereas with England I seem to come off the bench and get 20 minutes. But if I get a chance I’m sure I’ll be ready."
Q Do you look back on the Denmark game with a bit of regret?
A "Yes. Obviously it was a chance. I would have liked to play the second half as well but that wasn’t the case. The second half was disappointing.
But I thought the first half was OK. I think that’s another game we want to try and forget."
Q Do you feel its between you and Michael Owen for one place in the team?
A "People say we’re quite similar in the way we play. People have come up to me this season saying you’re trying to do different things, trying to get involved more and trying to create chances for other people. That’s what I’ve worked on in pre-season. So far it’s been OK. I’ve been involved in a lot of goals and been scoring them too.
"I think Mido plays the furthest man up front and I play just behind him so I have to get involved more. I feel great and so far it’s been great.
Q Can you see a situation where you and Michael play together?
A "I don’t know, I played against Poland and we got the result.
Q Do you feel you’ve done justice to your own ability with England?
A "I played against Poland and that was great and I settled in very quickly and then after that I started against Wales in a three up front and obviously I would have loved it to have gone better. This season for Tottenham I am just working hard on my game and try to score goals and I’ll just take it from there.
"I’m the sort of person not to let things get to me, I just keep working hard. That’s all I can do, let my football do the talking. It’s the manager that picks the team at the end of the day and I just have to keep working hard."
Q You weren’t picked for Wales when everybody expected you to be, who picks you up when you’re down?
A "My family. To be honest I’m a strong person. Of course it would have been nice to have played the previous game but it didn’t happen. I came on to try my best and that’s what I always do. When I play for my club I keep working hard in training and always want to learn. If I get a chance I’ll take it and try and do what I do for Tottenham. So far it’s been good. If I do get a chance I’ll be ready."
Q Have you spoken to Sven about it?
A "Obviously it’s difficult because when we meet up on a lot of the trips its as quick trip. But I spoke to Martin Jol at the club and we’ve worked on a lot of things in training, especially pre-season, and its’ helped me a lot. If you watch me play this year it’s quite different compared to last season. I try to get involved more, get a lot of touches of the ball and try and create a lot of chances for other people and so far it’s been good."
Q You must have been disappointed not to get a chance against Wales?
A "Obviously as a professional it’s disappointing. But there’s not much you can do. I thought to myself ‘right, I’m just going to back to my club and just try and show people that I should have been playing and prove to myself that I’m good enough to step up a level’. I went back to my club and so far as I’ve been saying it’s been great. I think you just have to keep working hard and let your football do the talking and hopefully that’s good enough."
Q It took Lampard three years to get into the team, is there an element of patience required?
A "You always have to be patient. Obviously it’s difficult when you’re young, you want to play every game. But it’s a key thing to be patient and that’s what I’m going to do."
Q Is there a thought in your mind about making yourself more effective as a substitute?
A "I don’t know. I do think that if I get a chance to come on I’m going to try and score and get the winner and do well for the team. You do think that. It’s good when you think like that. But it’s better when you start. I will just keep working hard."
Q The pre-season work with Martin Jol was that with England in mind as well to make you a more all-round player?
A "Martin did say that tome. He said get involved more. He pulled me pre-season and said last season you had a great season and scored a lot of goals for the club and this season if you can get the goals and create more for other people it will be great for my chances of getting into the England team. That’s what I’ve worked on and it’s been good.
Q Do you think you’ve ever had a chance to prove yourself with England?
A "Obviously I had a chance against Poland and that went well. After that it would have been nice to have had more games. But I’m just concentrating on hopefully getting into the World Cup squad and take it from there."
Q You’ve got eight months to change the manager’s thinking to get into the team. Is that your goal for the rest of the season and if so how do you do it?
A "I do think to myself I have to get my head down and work hard and maybe prove to the manager that I should be playing. But Michael is a great player, Wayne is a great player. Darren Bent has come in and is on fire, but I’ve told him I’m chasing him! And Crouchy is playing Champions League for Liverpool and is a great player as well. They are all good players and for some reason we all seem to be playing well. So it’s tough call for the manager but I suppose it’s good for the country."
Q Would Spurs getting into the Champions League help you?
A "I think so, it’s another step isn’t it? Playing against the greatest defenders in the world. It’s a great tournament. For me it would be great for Spurs to get into the Champions League but it’s early days. Things are looking good at the moment so we’ll just keep going."