Tottenham signing Scott Parker admits he had to leave West Ham United to keep his England place.
Parker, 30, admitted he turned his back on the Hammers after four years in a bid to keep his international career bubbling.
He said: "I had to move to maintain my chances of playing for England. I felt that at my age and the way my international career has gone over the last couple of years I needed to be playing in the Premier League.
"I stated that to the manager at West Ham and the owners were good enough not to make life hard for me and gave me the move I wanted.
"If I was in the Championship it would have been much more difficult to play in the European Championships.
"History tells you that. I'd like to see how many players outside of the top flight were picked.
"The Euros next summer were always a massive factor in deciding to move."
