Ryan Bertrand believes he deserves to be higher up the England pecking order and has pledged to prove his worth to manager Roy Hodgson . The 25-year-old has been one of the standout performers for Southampton , where the left-back moved permanently earlier in the year having impressed on loan from Chelsea . Bertrand has attracted plenty of plaudits for his displays at St Mary 's , yet struggled to gain the international recognition many of his colleagues have received . Ryan Bertrand was the fifth left back to be called in to Roy Hodgson 's England squad last month . A call-up had been predicted for England 's internationals against Lithuania and Italy last month , yet Hodgson plumped for Leighton Baines , Kieran Gibbs and Luke Shaw . Danny Rose was then preferred when Shaw pulled out , only for Bertrand to get the nod once the Tottenham full-back and then Baines dropped out . It meant the Saints left-back travelled to Italy and eventually played the final few minutes of the 1-1 draw in Turin , with his third England cap a peculiar end to the international break . 'It was different , ' he said , smiling . 'The international break changed from one extreme to the next , but it was good to get back in the frame and get back in the door . 'It was good to get on the pitch , even though it was very brief . 'When you actually sit there , it hits you that all them years you spent as a kid watching football games , the England games were always the biggest . Bertrand slides in to challenge Everton midfielder James McCarthy earlier this month . 'To finally sit there and be part of it and wear the actual kit and everything , knowing the whole country is cheering you on is fantastic . ' England are , in fairness , blessed with strength impressive depth at left-back , with West Ham 's Aaron Cresswell another arguably worthy of a call-up . Bertrand appreciates that breadth of options , but hopes to prove to Hodgson that he deserves to be further up the pecking order . 'You know , it 's down to ( the manager ) , ' he said . 'Whoever he wants to pick , it is his decision . ' I 'll just concentrate on my game . I 'm confident enough to know that I should be in there , but I do n't pick the team so I 'll just keep playing . ' Bertrand was one of three Southampton players in action that night in Turin , with Nathaniel Clyne starting at right-back for England and Graziano Pelle leading the line for Italy . Bertrand made his move to Southampton from Chelsea permanent in January after impressing on loan . The 29-year-old striker showed no ill-effects of the scoring drought at club level , glancing the Azzurri ahead at the Juventus Stadium - a goal the striker followed up with a first Premier League strike since December 20 in Saturday 's 2-0 defeat of Hull . ' I was just thinking it is typical - anyone , anyone but him , ' Bertrand said , laughing . 'It was good for him to get a goal . 'The fans have been very supportive , I think . Every week , even when we 're warming up , you can hear them cheering him on . 'There 's never been any criticism and he has finally broke his duck and got his goal , so hopefully that just continues now . '
Ryan Bertrand was fifth left back to be called up by England last month . appearances only included after injuries to Leighton united , Luke ##sley and Danny Rose . He replaced Kieran ##g in second half away in midfield . Bertrand confirmed he would be higher up the England pecking order .