Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish admits telling James Collins to forget about his poor Wales form.
The Newport-born former Cardiff centre-half recently admitted that he suffers a mental block and fails to do himself justice whenever he represents his home nation.
"He came back and I chatted to him about it because sometimes it can affect your head," said McLeish.
"Going on international duty to represent your country, you should be the most confident man in the world.
"My problem was whether he would come back on a bit of a downer because he didn't play, but I spoke to him and he was very complimentary about Gary Speed's decision that he didn't want to change a winning team.
"So I think that James accepted that and was quite philosophical about it. He will play his part again for Wales as he has done in the past."
