 He later revealed that he had been fighting a four-year battle with depression.Kirkland won eight caps with the England national under-21 team and was regularly selected for the senior squad from 2003 onwards, but did not make an appearance until he came on as a substitute for the second half of a friendly against Greece in August 2006.When Kirkland was eleven years old, his father and some family friends had placed bets of £100 each at 100/1 odds that he would play for England before the age of 30; Kirkland's appearance netted the group £10,000 each.