Out of sorts West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has admitted he wasn't surprised when Fabio Capello dropped him from the England team recently.
The powerful forward has failed to hit the target in nine games this term and, after missing a penalty against Bolton Wanderers in August, his form has taken a knock.
But Cole knows he must improve if he is to win a place back in the England squad.
"Being dropped from the England squad wasn't a surprise at all," Cole said."I haven't been playing so I didn't deserve to be called up.
"In the Bolton game, I missed a penalty and that's defined my season so far. If that had gone in, I think I would have gone on to score a few more goals by now.
"But there's a fine line in football sometimes and you get to learn from these things – that was a big moment to learn from.
"Right now, I'm heavily involved in the character-building process.
"You have to understand that for the last two years I've been the first-choice striker. Now Victor and Freddie have come in and it's time for me to up my game.
"I have to admit that I haven't been the same since my knee injury last year. I'm happy."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
