I'm fitter, stronger and ready to fight England old guard, says Spurs star Jenas

"He put me at centre half in a reserve game against Tottenham," recalls Jenas with a smile. "I had Les Ferdinand and Peter Crouch to deal with, but Paul felt I had to get more physical as well as use my brain.

"I wasn't going to win headers against those two oafs, but they didn't score against me."

Scroll down for more

Hart, then Forest's academy director and now nurturing young talent at Portsmouth, saw it as an important part of Jenas's education.

He identified the teenager as someone who could become the complete footballer, so also made him play at right back, left back, centre forward . . . anywhere except in goal.

At the same time, however, Hart realised Jenas was going to be a late developer.

That a player David Platt predicted would one day become England captain would not begin to reach his best until he was at least 24.

By then, thought Hart, the boy would have become a man, and possess the strength and athleticism to match the skill and speed of thought.

As Fabio Capello discovered at White Hart Lane 11 days ago, Hart was right.

Jenas is now 24 and against Arsenal in that stunning Carling Cup semi-final he stole the show, scoring the first goal and creating three of the four that followed.

He excelled again in front of the new national team manager at Manchester United on Sunday.

No surprise, then, to see that Jenas is back in the England squad and relishing the opportunity to meet United again.

Does he think he is playing the finest football of his career?

"I do actually," he said. "I don't think I was playing badly before but I think my game has moved on a notch. I've always been a fit player but I feel even fitter now. I can defend, help out the back four and then get on the ball and go forward, help create.

"As well as the physical side, I think I've improved mentally also. You come under a lot of pressure in games and you have to step up. I think both myself and the team have done that recently."

While he still regards Martin Jol as an excellent manager who gave him the guidance he was not getting at Newcastle once Sir Bobby Robson had gone, Jenas says the arrival of Juande Ramos at Tottenham has also had a positive effect.

"Change can help players, whether it's players coming to a new club or having a new manager," he said. "It has worked for the whole team here. Everyone's performing better and that's what has enabled my personal performances to become a lot better as well. We've become much more confident, allowing people like me to express ourselves.

"He has made our game a lot simpler, which has made it more exciting. We attack teams a lot quicker. We don't look for that long killer pass so much. We look for the shorter, simpler option."

Ramos even changed the food at the training ground and told certain players — Jenas is not among them — to lose weight. That must have caused something of a stir.

"Initially it did," said Jenas. "He was asking a lot of certain players. But we wanted to achieve things and with this manager it's hard to go against anything he says because he's been there, won trophies and he knows what he's talking about.

"I spoke to a few of the lads and the feeling was: 'Let's just go with it and see how we feel'.

"We've basically had another pre-season in November. It was mad. When the internationals went away I was doing the yo-yo test in the morning (otherwise known as the physically exhausting bleep test and a way of measuring a player's fitness) and then training in the afternoon."

Jenas excelled at the test, reaching the kind of level that would compare favourably with a top middle-distance runner, and that game against Arsenal proved how much fitter they all were.

"In the past against Arsenal they would keep the ball, keep the ball, and by the time we got it back we were too tired to do anything with it," he said.

"Last week it was different. As a unit we feel fitter and stronger. We're supposed to be the athletes.

"Don't get me wrong, training under Martin Jol was fantastic, too. I thoroughly enjoyed working under him because by the time I left Newcastle there was no coaching there.

"But if there is a difference between the new manager and Martin, it's probably that the new boss has won trophies. He knows what it takes to go to that next level. Against Arsenal everything came together."

A return to the England squad presents a different challenge. He is keen to silence his critics while hoping that Capello selects his players on form rather than reputation.

The omission of David Beckham from the squad for Wednesday's friendly against Switzerland is an encouraging indicator.

"Steve McClaren never really gave me a chance," said Jenas. "But he knows that because I'd speak to him on a regular basis.

"I did feel I'd done well in Azerbaijan (his only competitive start) and I thought it was something to build on. But I'd come in as a replacement for Becks in that game — he was suspended — and it was difficult to move forward when he came straight back into the team and I returned to the bench. A lot of us had to go through things like that."

Full of confidence, he wants to take that fight to the players who have for so long stood between him and a place in the England side. Players like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

"These players are in the Champions League and that obviously helps their position," he said.

"Lads like Stevie G and Lamps have been delivering at top clubs for a long time and it's hard for managers to look past that. Stevie is the one when it comes to getting from box to box. But if those players aren't on form then you expect to get a chance, even if takes a brave manager to make a change."

Not that selecting Jenas right now would take a great deal of courage.