Newcastle United player Jonjo Shelvey has insisted that his disciplinary issues are in the past and that he is dreaming of a World Cup spot.
The former Liverpool and Swansea City midfielder was sent off in his side's first game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur for a stamp on Dele Alli.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has completed more passes than any of his teammates this season, and the Magpies midfielder is now eyeing a place on the plane to Russia this summer.
"I'd love to go to the World Cup. It'd be such an amazing achievement and every kid's dream is to go to the World Cup and play for your country," Shelvey told Sky Sports News.
"But there's only so much I can do in terms of on the pitch and off it to get into that squad, and then it's down to the manager to select you. You can say anything about disciplinary issues but I had two red cards this season, the first one (a stamp on Alli) was very stupid and I feel like I've learned from it, but the second one I had to make the foul to stop the geezer from going through and scoring. That's just part-and-parcel of what happens in football. Look at the yellow card situation, and I'm probably one of the lower ones in the Premier League. I wouldn't say it's a discipline thing, I think it's from the past and obviously that's the reputation I've got, but I think I've done a lot to iron that out.
"I speak for probably every English player out there that you want to go. You can have six weeks off, lying in the sun, but you don't want that. It's nice that a lot of the pundits are coming out and saying I deserve a chance to be selected. I think that's down to what I've been doing on the pitch. Everyone knows I can pass the ball and that I've got a good footballing ability. You want to go to the World Cup, to keep playing football. I booked my holidays probably 3-4 months ago when I was miles away from a call-up, but I'd lose all that money just to get a chance to go.
"I've been playing very well, but I owe a lot to the manager and my teammates. It's quite easy to come in and play the way I have been because of how we all work together and the team spirit. I think the Championship season was good to drop down and get that confidence back, and the run of games to show I can be consistent, and I feel like I've taken that into this season as well. Rafa is very tactical. He's a very detailed coach, yesterday he kept the four midfielders after training to do a passing thing where you're looking over your shoulder to see if the opponent is coming. It was weird, he was using bibs up in the air and you had to shout out the colour of the bibs. It's something I'd never done before, but you can tell it's paying off. He pushes us every day. He's always on to us in training about stepping up a gear, and you'd think being on 38 points it would come down a notch but the tackles are still flying in and everyone still wants to win, which is good. I think he's been good for my career. He's made me understand the game a lot better, and tactically. I owe that to him."
Shelvey's Newcastle are 10th in the Premier League table, having won all of their last three games.
Matthew Jones
