Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry admits he thought his England career was over before making his comeback in Saturday's defeat of Israel.

"I felt I was good enough, and age was on my side too," he said. "So I never did really give up, but it does enter your head every now and again that your international career is probably over.

"It just goes to show that you can never give up. I knew I was still young enough and playing well enough.

"Sometimes you just have to wait around for your chance to come again."

Barry began his career as a central defender before moving to the left-hand side of midfield.

However, a switch to the heart of Martin O'Neill's side has galvanised the player to make his mark in the England set-up under Steve McClaren.

"I only finished about 10 or 15 games in there last season, and started this season, so I am not over-experienced in there, but I took it on well at the end of last season and now feel very comfortable," he said.

"I have been playing there for my club and came on against Germany for 35 minutes in a friendly, and did okay there, so I knew I was able to perform in that kind of role."

Barry added: "People will say that Israel were poor, but I got a lot of the ball and enjoyed it out there.

"That is all you can do, put your name in the frame and play as well as you can.

"So especially with the injuries at the moment, it does give the manager another option."