Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton feels he's the form midfielder of the Premier League.
Barton faces Sunderland today in the Wear-Tyne derby.
When asked on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports HD whether he was in the best form of his career, Barton replied: "Yeah, probably. I think I'm a better payer now than I was when I signed for the football club.
"At the end of the day I don't think anyone's playing better than me in this country. That's an honest answer, that's not a big-headed answer."
But Barton pulled no punches on the reasons behind his failures to win a call-up to Capello's England team.
He said: "I'm a keen football fan and watch football and there's probably six or seven midfielders getting in the squad for an England game and I certainly don't think there's two players playing better than me - English players - at the minute.
"But obviously with me it's not all about football is it? When Fabio Capello came in he said he was going to pick form players and I don't think he's done that.
"Some of the players that have been picked haven't been form players. If the selection policy is form players there's not 21 better players than me in this country."