Kevin Doyle has revealed that his break from the Republic of Ireland squad made him determined to work harder to regain his place.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers striker was dropped by former Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, but was recalled by caretaker boss Noel King.
He was then retained as he was named in the squad for Martin O'Neill's first match in charge against Latvia, which Ireland won 3-0.
"You just put your head down, go again and get on with it, don't moan and try to get picked again," he told RTE.ie.
"I did in the last squad and this time, so I will try to do the same. I was out for seven or eight months and it's a nice opportunity to be back involved again."
However, despite his pleasure at being involved again, Doyle admits that he found his time away "very tough" and believes that Wolves' relegation from the Premier League and then Championship played a part in his absence.
"It was tough, it was very tough. Four of us from Wolves went to the Euros and three or four months later, none of us were in the Ireland squad," he added.
"The manager told us at the time he felt with the morale at Wolves, it wouldn't have been good for us to come into the squad and I accepted that, I had no problems. It's just nice to be involved again."
Doyle came on as a substitute in the win against Latvia.
Gary Peters
