Rickie Lambert is hopeful his move to West Bromwich Albion will help him win back a place in Roy Hodgson’s England set-up, and says he will “never give up” on an international recall.
The 33-year-old forward joined West Brom from Liverpool on a two-year deal last week, becoming the Baggies’ third signing of the close season after James Chester and James McClean.
Having established himself in the England side while at Southampton, limited opportunities at his boyhood club Liverpool saw him fall out of favour at international level. Having signed the club’s former academy player for £4.5m, Brendan Rodgers started Lambert in just seven Premier League games, where he scored two goals.
Lambert, speaking to the Birmingham Mail, said: “It is only two years ago that I scored against Scotland. I scored 15 goals and then 13 goals for Southampton and obviously it is over a year since I did that but I have just got to get back to that now.”
He made the last of his 11 international appearances as an 80th minute substitute in England’s 3-1 win against Scotland at Celtic Park in November 2014.
Lambert scored two goals on his West Bromwich debut against Bristol Rovers on Friday, helping them win the match 4-0.
However, he refused to elaborate on a frustrating 12 months at Liverpool: “I’ve got a lot of feeling, to be honest. I’m not going to get into it right now. I feel as if I’ve got a point to prove to myself. That’s always the biggest drive – yourself – and it will carry on being that way.”
The West Bromwich manager Tony Pulis believes Lambert will have a positive influence on the younger members of his squad, especially the 21-year-old striker Saido Berahino.
Pulis said: “He is a great lad and in Saido we’ve got a wonderful young talent and you’re just hoping that a little bit of that experience and the way he conducts himself, the way he works, the way he does things, will rub off on Saido as well.”
