Baines speaks out on England

Other than being highly-rated by his club side, not many people know too much about Everton's Leighton Baines. The left-back - who has now played twice for England - has been speaking out about his international career to date though.

Referring specifically to England's victory over Mexico on Monday evening, of which he played the full 90 minutes, Baines revealed he didn't exactly enjoy the experience. He said that despite the fact the team won, it "was very hard work" for him personally. Anyone with a betting system would have put a few black marks next England's name after the performance they put in.

Many have been critical of the young defender's performance, with suggestions that he could be out of his depth at international level. The player himself admits that he would have "liked to have done better", so at least he is aware there is room for improvement.

As for making the final 23-man squad, he says that it would be a "dream come true" and that he will keep "fighting" to ensure he does enough to impress Fabio Capello before it is decision time.

Should he get given a seat on the plane, there is another sub plot for the former Wigan man. Ever since he was a teenager, he has struggled with being away from home for any length of time and considering the World Cup could mean nearly two months in South Africa, this could be a problem.

However, Baines is looking positively at this situation, despite admitting that he has "always struggled" with time away from his home comforts. He says that he has begun to feel "part of everything" now that he has spent considerable time with the England squad and that this is helping matters.

He acknowledges that "everyone wants to be a part of England" and that he "doesn't feel out of the picture", but he will just have to keep his mind occupied should he make the final World Cup squad. The betting guide odds make England thirds favourites, so he won't want to miss out for personal reasons.

And anyway, considering the busy schedule in South Africa and the fact he will want to improve his England performances more and more, this shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.