IF Gerry Taggart has his way, he'll be putting his talents to the test against Jurgen Klinsmann next month.

The Burnden centre-back, whose form in the first quarter of the season has been a revelation, is desperate to win a Northern Ireland recall for the Group 9 qualifier against Germany in Nuremburg on November 9.

Already an established and accomplished international, Taggart is playing arguably the best football of his career but his World Cup ambitions have been frustrated - first when he was injured and forced to miss the home qualifier against the Ukraine, then when he was confined to the subs bench for the Armenia game.

Capped 35 times, many as captain, Taggart is currently being kept out by Leicester's Colin Hill and Reading's Barry Hunter.

He's been so frustrated at failing to regain what was a regular place at the heart of the Irish defence that he's started to question whether he's done something to upset national boss Bryan Hamilton.

Taggart says: "Football's all about opinions. Some people like you, some people don't. "I don't know what he's looking at when he comes to watch us. I don't know what he sees. He must be looking at someone else, I don't know."

No disrespect to his rivals but Hamilton must have a high regard for Hill and Hunter if he chooses to ignore the Bolton man, who appears to be doubly determined to make up for his stop-start Premiership experience.

Taggart said at the start of the season that he hoped to show the form to match the £1.5 million price tag he was saddled with when he moved from Barnsley to Burnden but no-one expected such an impressive transformation. There were signs of encouragement last season that the Belfast-born defender would justify the record fee but injuries, lack of fitness and suspension meant he never really got into his stride.

The turning point came in the summer when he returned from the close-season break looking leaner and meaner and suddenly found himself and Chris Fairclough the automatic first choice centre-back partnership after injuries put Simon Coleman and Gudni Bergsson out of the frame. Looking back, Taggart says: "Getting pre-season under my belt was the biggest help for me because last year I totally missed it. I knew that was what I really needed.

"I need to be training. Doing that pre-season has really helped me a lot."

For the moment, thoughts of Klinsmann and Germany take a back seat as he prepares for two titanic tussles in the space of four days - against Chelsea on Tuesday and his return to Oakwell for Sky TV's Friday night special.

Are you watching, Bryan Hamilton?

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