James vows to fight for England spot

David James has warned Paul Robinson he will not walk away from the fight to be England’s number one.

James will be a frustrated spectator on the bench at Old Trafford tomorrow with Robinson set to retain the goalkeeping spot for the World Cup clash with Wales.

After spending two years as first choice following David Seaman’s retirement from the international scene, James lost his place amid a barrage of donkey jibes last month following the crass error that cost England a win in Austria.

Robinson stepped in for the victory against Poland four days later and at 23, is seen as the man for the future.

Yet James insists he will not slip away quietly and leave the younger man to it.

The Manchester City keeper will wish Robinson all the best before tomorrow’s game But if he does slip up, James is ready to reclaim his place.

“It would have been very easy for me to get injured every time a squad was announced and not face up to the battle,” admitted the former Liverpool man.

“Realistically though, it was never a serious consideration for me. Paul Robinson is in the position on merit. I accept that and I want him to do well tomorrow.

“But I am physically capable of performing and I love playing football. I will keep sitting on the bench for England but the next time I get a chance I intend to take it.”

The irony for James is that his blunder in Vienna came at a time when he was producing some of the most consistent form of his career.

City boss Kevin Keegan cites the 34-year-old’s penalty saves against Wolves and Leicester last season as the major reasons why the Eastlands outfit preserved their Premiership status and James reacted to his latest setback with a series of outstanding performances, including a fine display against Arsenal a fortnight ago.

James accepts however that having mistakes magnified comes with the goalkeeping territory. It is one of the reasons why the Welwyn-born player employs a psychologist to keep his mind positive and is also a major factor in the thick skin he has developed to help him ignore the taunts.

“The ironic thing about the Austria game is that I was quite pleased with my first-half performance,” he said. “That’s how black and white the goalkeeping situation can sometimes be.

“I know I am not a bad goalkeeper and feel it was just an isolated incident.

“I have been happy with my performances for Manchester City since then and all I can do now is continue to play well and wait for another opportunity.”

Even though he was a non-playing understudy to David Seaman during the last World Cup finals, James enjoyed the experienced and is eager to sample it again in Germany.

And, with four points from their opening two away games, he reckons England need only to win their home matches – starting against Wales tomorrow – to claim their place among the last 32.

“I feel very positive about the World Cup campaign,” he said.

“Having been on the sidelines for the last one and seen what went on, I recognise what a great experience it is and it would be fantastic to be part of that again.

“When I look around the squad, we have a lot of good players playing well and there is plenty of competition.

“We have four points now, so if we win our home games we should virtually be through.

“I know there is an added twist to tomorrow’s match and the Welsh lads will be buzzing but we are a very strong team and we expect to win the game.” end