Middlesbrough defender Sean St Ledger is keen to get amongst the goals on a more regular basis for his country.

The 24-year old scored an important goal for the Republic of Ireland against Italy last Saturday in their 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw but was needed to sit back in defence against Montenegro on Wednesday.

That match bought about a 0-0 draw which enabled Ireland to go into the European play-offs where St Ledger hopes his aerial ability can help his team qualify for South Africa 2010.

"I wanted to go forward but I think the boss (Giovanni Trapattoni) wanted a clean sheet," St Ledger said of the Montenegro game.

"Hopefully if it is 0-0 in the next couple of games I will get to go forward.

"But we will let the boss decide that. He knows best.

"Every time I go up for a corner, I believe I can score. There's no point going up if you don't have that belief.

"My record has not been too bad and, hopefully, I will continue."