I still believe in myself, says Heskey

It has been three years since the Wigan striker last pulled on the shirt, but his England career turned full circle when McClaren made a midnight phone call to the Heskey household.

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The continued absence of injured Wayne Rooney and suspended Peter Crouch has convinced McClaren that Heskey has what it takes to turn a game at the highest level.

McClaren's decision can be vindicated this Saturday when Heskey will be used as a human battering ram to break down Israel's resistance and provide the platform for Owen to add to the 37 goals he has scored in an England shirt.

They have started 12 games together and Owen has scored in 11 of them. The statistics, for McClaren at least, speak for themselves.

Heskey, talking shortly before he joined up with the England squad at the team hotel on Monday night, said: 'Of course Michael and I are different players, there's no doubt about that.

'I know how he plays and we've proved we can play together. We complement each other's games. He is a quality striker and he is there to get goals.

'We saw what kind of player he is on Saturday when he scored in the last minute against us. He has that ability to pop up from nowhere to score goals, but my strengths are in other areas of the pitch.

'You have to play with Michael to appreciate what a good player he is and he is certainly that. I don't know if it is the plan for us to start together against Israel, but I know I am good enough to play for England.

'If I get the chance, I will prove it. I don't have any doubt - why should I?'

Heskey won his last cap for England when Zinedine Zidane crushed the nation's hopes by scoring twice in the last minute for France at Euro 2004, but he has never given up hope of adding to his 43 caps.

His lack of goals - he has scored just five for England - has counted against him and the emergence of Rooney has pushed him out of the international picture.

Heskey added: 'I still feel like I'm the same player as when I last played for England three years ago. I still believe in myself and I still believe that I'm a good player.

'I don't feel that I've changed much as a player, but I do have more experience now. I never doubted my ability, but the longer it goes without getting a call into the squad, the more you begin to wonder whether it will happen again.

'It's been three years since I last played for England and it's a long time. I kept hoping that it would happen and it's an opportunity for me to show that I'm good enough.

'I had no idea that I was under consideration by the England manager. I got a call late on Saturday evening from Steve McClaren and he told me I'd impressed him against Newcastle.

'It was a fantastic moment, but I'm not going to be fazed by it.'

With so many caps under his belt, there is nothing to be fazed about. The former Liverpool, Leicester and Birmingham striker has represented his country at a World Cup - he scored against Denmark in the second round in 2002 - and he was also a scorer in the team that beat Germany 5-1 in Munich in 2001.

Heskey will find some familiar faces in this squad - Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Owen played in the 2-1 defeat against France at the Estadio da Luz in June 2004 - and he believes he will quickly settle into his new surroundings.

Heskey, who scored his last goal for England when they beat South Africa 2-1 in Durban four years ago, added: 'I'm not nervous about joining up with the rest of the squad because I've done it many times before.

'The only thing that has changed since my last game is the manager and some of the players - the standard is still the same.

'The manager wants me to play for my country and I'm more than happy to do that. There will be a lot of players I've never played with before, but David James and Michael Owen are familiar faces.

'Playing for England is the biggest things of my career. The 5-1 in Germany was one of the highlights, along with the game against Argentina in 2002.

'Both were amazing games for very different reasons. To score against Germany and beat them in their own country was really special.'

TWO GREAT MEMORIES

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER Germany 1 England 5

(September 2001, Munich) Set up Owen to make it 3-1 and scored the fifth to send England into dreamland on a magical night in Munich as Heskey-Owen partnership tore the Germany defence apart.

WORLD CUP, SECOND ROUND England 3 Denmark 0

(June 2002, Niigata) Dominated the line and scored decisive third goal to put game beyond the Danes and book England's place in quarter-finals.

TWO GAMES TO FORGET

EURO 2000 PLAY-OFF, 2ND LEG England 0 Scotland 1

(November 1999, Wembley) With England desperate for possession, Keegan brought Heskey off the bench to hold the ball up in attack. Unfortunately it proceeded to cannon off him as if he were a wall.

EURO 2004 England 1 France 2

(June 2004, Lisbon) Zidane took advantage of Heskey's reckless challenge on Makelele to equalise with a superb free-kick in injury-time. A second Zidane strike from a penalty broke English hearts.