Jermaine Jenas still feels he can have a future for England.
The 30-year-old has won 21 international caps for his country, yet the last of these came in November 2009 when he started in the 1-0 friendly defeat in Brazil. The time he has spent on the treatment table hasn’t helped his cause, and he is now some way down the pecking order.
Jenas, who had a loan spell at first club Nottingham Forest earlier this season, joined Queens Park Rangers in January, having accepted his time at Tottenham Hotspur was over. He has gone on to make nine appearances in the Premier League, chipping in with two goals.
The midfielder has now revealed he still has ambitions of playing for England again, as Roy Hodgson continues his plans to reach the World Cup Finals next summer. And Jenas has revealed he is using his former White Hart Lane team-mate Parker, 32, as his inspiration.
“Look at some of the players that have drifted out of the system and come back into it – the likes of Scott Parker,” he told the Evening Standard. “He is two years older than me and still getting picked. There is also Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard who are a little bit older than me.
“And although there are young players coming through, there is always the question of whether they are good enough. As long as I maintain my performances and keep myself fit, I would like to think that I would always be in the background of the manager’s thoughts.”
Jenas may find his route back into the England squad all the more difficult if QPR suffer relegation from the Premier League this season. A 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic on Sunday leaves them seven points adrift of safety, but the 2003 PFA Young Player of the Year insists he has no plans to quit the Loftus Road club, even if they are plying their trade in the Championship next term.
“Everybody wants to be in the Premier League, but I am very happy at QPR,” he added. “The club and fans have taken to me very well and we will cross that bridge if we come to it, but I would love to stay. QPR probably took a chance on me and it would be very harsh for me to go anywhere else.”
