Ferdinand junior was denied the opportunity to play in his first major tournament next summer after England lost in cruel fashion when Kieran Richardson conceded a penalty with only five minutes remaining.

But despite the disappointment, Ferdinand believes he is showing his best form for both club and country and should be considered a much different player to his brother Rio.

Ferdinand said: “I would have loved to been involved at the finals next summer because that would have been the first major tournament that I have played in.

“I always dreamed as a kid of playing for England at any level, so to play in a big tournament like the European Championships would have been a dream come true for me.

“But we lost the game in a disappointing manner and the referee is there to make the right decisions. I felt on this occasion he got it wrong and the other players did not feel it was a penalty.

“I have been told from an early age that as long as I keep playing my football, people will respect me for who I am. Rio had it with Les Ferdinand from an early age because they were cousins.

“I was just coming up to schoolboys level when Rio was always getting compared to Les. All I can do is to convince people myself. I have got strong family and friends that make me know that I am Anton Ferdinand and that is all that matters to me.

"What people say out there does not get concern me. I know I am Anton Ferdinand and my brother always knows me as my own man.”

Ferdinand is already switching his attention back to the Premiership and is relishing the chance to mark his former team-mate and England striker Jermain Defoe when West Ham face Tottenham on Sunday.

Defoe also grew through the youth ranks at Upton Park before securing a £7million move to Spurs and will come up against Anton for the first time in his career. Ferdinand added: “I am relishing the chance to come up against Jermain. I use to enjoy coming up against him in training and I’m looking forward to playing against him in a competitive match. I know all the boys are looking forward to it.

“When I see Jermain I always speak to him and we send each other the occasional text message. I have not spoken to him since we flew out to France, but I’m sure he was behind the team to win this game.

“My mind is now on the next game and I want to make sure that we beat Tottenham on Sunday. This is a long hard season and our main concern is to finish as high in the table as we can and stay in the Premiership.”