Joleon Lescott hopes to get over his FA Cup heartache by helping England record back-to-back wins.
Toffees defender out to put FA Cup final loss behind him
Joleon Lescott is hoping to get over his FA Cup final disappointment with Everton by helping to play his part in England's upcoming World Cup qualifying games.
The 26-year-old has had another solid season at Goodison Park but it was ultimately tempered by the Toffees' 2-1 loss to Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
But the defender is now fully focused on helping his country overcome the challenges of Kazakhstan and Andorra respectively in the next 10 days.
Maximum points from both games would see England all but qualify for South Africa in 2010 and Lescott feels that would be the perfect tonic to help him get over his FA Cup final hangover.
"It's definitely a chance to do that," he said. "I was disappointed at losing at the weekend but I'm fully focused."
With Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand sitting out of training, Lescott knows this could be his chance to fully establish himself in the England set-up ahead of Saturday's trip to Kazakhstan.
Established
"I haven't established my properly on the squad yet," he added. "So hopefully I can do that and get myself in the squad more regularly.
"Obviously I don't want to see Rio injured because he is one of our best players but if he is not selected I hope to be involved."
18 months have passed since Lescott made his Three Lions debut against Estonia before featuring a few days later in Russia, and the Toffees ace believes he is a better player than the one who filled in at left-back in the 2-1 defeat to Guus Hiddink's men.
"I'd like to think I've progressed and got better since that," he stated.
"For me, I was playing out of position at the time, at left-back, and I had never played there before.
"I always see myself as a centre-back and now I'm playing there I'm enjoying it a lot more."
