Parker still confident on England

By Bryan Mulhall
October 6 2005

Despite this, Parker remains confident he can be a sucess for his country and believes regular football will force him into the England boss thought's.He also hailed Micheal Owen's arrival to the club.He is also totally confident of England get 6 points out of 6 in the 2 upcoming games.

"It wasn't meant to be but I'll keep working hard and maybe next time.

"Obviously I was out for a long time last year and I'm just finding my feet and getting back into it. I do feel I have been performing reasonably well for Newcastle and I was hoping maybe I'd have got the shout but it wasn't to be. I'll keep working hard and see what happens."

"It is pleasing and all I can do is keep performing well for Newcastle. We're on a good run now, have come out of some good results and if we keep it going, when a team does well, individuals thrive on that, so hopefully I'll be one.

"Definitely [the World Cup is the aim]. I think when I came to Newcastle that was one of the main reasons other than playing football. I didn't get a lot of games at Chelsea so I came here to play football and obviously try and establish myself again in the Premier League and prove to everyone I can do a job here. I'm really looking forward to it."

Parker paid tribute to the signing of Michael Owen and backed the Magpies striker and his international team-mates to clinch back-to-back victories over Austria and Poland.

"As soon as you sign someone of Michael's calibre, you know what you're going to get from him," he added. "He says it himself, it's goals and he brings a threat with him.

"He's a brilliant signing and he gave everyone a lift just when we needed it. We've gone from strength to strength.

"I think we've got the quality in the squad and we're a country that should easily be winning games. There's no easy games in international football, I understand that, but I fully expect us to win both games."

I definetly believe Parker should be in that squad, and I think Eriksonn is an idiot for ignoring him, but I shouldn't complain, it means he will be fresh and ready for Wigan next week, it also means he can't get bloody injured!I think it's only a matter of time before he is picked however, he has been outstanding for us and can only get better.I've taken great pride in the heart, desire and determination he has shown since his arrival.