BEING left out of England’s squad that faced Germany in midweek has made Gary Cahill doubly determined to make his international dream come true.
The Wanderers centre half has been touted in many quarters as a future Three Lions star since his arrival at the Reebok and has bolstered his claim with an impressive start to the season.
But Fabio Capello looked past the 22-year-old on Wednesday night, choosing to include untested Chelsea youngster Michael Mancienne in the squad ahead of him for the 2-1 victory in Berlin.
Although the snub came as a blow, Cahill has vowed to step up his performances over the winter to further his cause, starting with today’s trip to Middlesbrough.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed when I heard the squad,” he said. “It’s one of those things though, all I can do is keep working hard and knocking on the door and hopefully I’ll be given my chance.
“The manager can only judge me by my performances on a Saturday so maybe I need to perform a little bit better. I am determined to get there one day, so maybe hard work is the key.”
Cahill confessed he had never seen Mancienne in action, reading up on the 20-year-old only after his inclusion in the England squad.
“To be honest, I had never seen him play,” he said. “It came as a shock to me because I was unaware of who he was.
“Obviously I know a little bit more now and I understand he’s doing well at Wolves and has done well in the Under-21s.
“Fair play to him but from my point of view, I can’t worry about people who are in front of me, who are older with more experience or younger lads coming up, I have to worry about myself and how I am playing for Bolton on a Saturday.”
The statistics, at least before this afternoon’s trip to the Riverside, lend weight to Cahill’s claim for an England spot.
Only Fulham, outside the top three, have conceded fewer goals than Wanderers in the league this season.
“It’s weird because we could have prevented a few of the goals that have gone in,” Cahill added.
“Andy O’Brien touched on it the other day – if we could have rid ourselves of those mistakes, then who knows where we would be in the table?
“It’s just little, sloppy mistakes from individuals here and there. But overall, I think it’s a great effort from the whole team to stay as solid as we have.”
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