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Emile Heskey admitted he can have no complaints if Jermain Defoe takes his place in England's starting line-up for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Croatia.
Tottenham striker Defoe came off the bench to score in Saturday's 2-1 friendly victory over Slovenia.
The 26-year-old's impressive display came less than a month after his superb brace as a second-half substitute earned England a 2-2 draw in Holland and continued a fine run of form at club level that has yielded four goals in four Premier League matches. By contrast, Heskey has just one goal in his last 14 appearances for Aston Villa and England as he struggles to rediscover his best form.
He said: “Jermain has done brilliantly because every time he comes on the pitch he scores goals.
That's the main thing as a striker and it's nice to see.
“You can't complain if he was selected ahead of me. He has scored three goals in his last two England games and you can't argue about those statistics. He has done brilliantly every time he has come on. He has not complained when he hasn't started either. We are in competition but it puts you on your toes. You know you have got to do well. I like to play that role and so does Jermain.
“When you are playing, that's when you are available for selection, I have got to get into the Villa team and I am confident in my ability that I will do that.”
Heskey has found himself a peripheral figure at Villa Park as boss Martin O'Neill favours a 4-5-1 system but he added: “I am just concentrating on doing well and performing when called upon.”
