David James hopes to emulate David Beckham and win a
recall to the England squad.
The Portsmouth goalkeeper has been left out by Steve McClaren since
the World Cup, with his last appearance for England coming against
Jamaica last June.
James has seen Beckham, whose England career also appeared over
last summer, return to the England fold for the friendly against
Brazil and the Euro 2008 qualifier in Estonia.
The 36-year-old has been on top form for Portsmouth over the last
year and sees no reason why he cannot win back his place in the
national team.
"What happened with Beckham coming back for England was a carrot
for me, shall we say," James said. "The fact that Steve McClaren
was prepared to do that gives me hope.
"There are always goals that you have in your career and to be
involved at international level again is one of them.
"I feel good and I feel I can go out and play as well as I
can.
"Scott Carson is a very good keeper and English football needs as
many English keepers playing regularly as it can to keep the
standards high.
"I look at it genuinely and logically. There was no way last season
that Paul Robinson was going to be dropped because he didn't have a
bad season. If he had had a rough time, then you can ask questions,
but he didn't do anything that was deserving of losing his
place.
"Personally speaking, I would sit on the bench for England any
time. I would be happy to be involved. I still have the enthusiasm
and all I can do is keep working and hopefully I will get the
opportunity to get back into the squad."
