Glen Johnson has come full circle since the start of his England career six years ago - and the Liverpool full-back is ready to show his maturity in a huge year for club and country.

The weight of expectation was on Johnson's shoulders when he joined Chelsea in 2003 and just a few months later he made his international debut when Gary Neville picked up an injury against Denmark. England threw away a two-goal lead that evening and it got even worse when Sven-Goran Eriksson's men were thrashed in Copenhagen two years later, with Johnson starting on that occasion.

Johnson was frozen out under Steve McClaren but has made ten appearances under Fabio Capello, with the 24-year-old growing in confidence with regular football following his move to Portsmouth. "I wasn't playing much club football those days so it's hard to have any momentum in performances," he said.

"Over the last season I've been playing week-in week-out and you go into games feeling a different person. At the time I just turned 18 so I didn't batter myself too much because I was a kid. I wasn't picked much when McClaren was involved but that is all history now. Going through things like that has made me the person I am."

Over the last season I've been playing week-in week-out and you go into games feeling a different person,
Glen Johnson.

It is what Johnson calls "turning into a man", which he was able to do with the help of Harry Redknapp and Paul Hart at Pompey, with Rafael Benitez now looking to reap the benefits of his maturity. Johnson has been painted as a scapegoat for the Denmark defeat and after failing to live up to his billing at Stamford Bridge rebuilt his career at Fratton Park.

"That is the difference between the top teams and the top players," he added. "There are some top players in the world but sometimes it boils down to how they treat themselves off the pitch and that comes with age. It's just through age and turning into a man."

There are some top players in the world but sometimes it boils down to how they treat themselves off the pitch,
Glen Johnson.

He was not helped by a bizarre incident when he was given an on-the-spot fine for stealing bathroom fittings in 2007. Johnson is happy to clear up the episode, explaining that his best friend wanted to change toilet seats on a bathroom set but did not realise there was a difference in price. "We told them we did not know there was a difference and offered to pay for the other seat," Johnson said.

"They said no they would not let us do that because the police were already on their way. The police turned up and said we could go to court and fight it out, which we could not be bothered to do, or pay a £70 fine. So we paid the fine and it made us look guilty." It was Johnson's bad luck that the item was a toilet seat - sparking plenty of banter with his Pompey team-mates.

The serious side to the matter was his reputation suffering - but a regular run in the side has seen him edge ahead of Wes Brown as Capello's first choice right-back. Micah Richards is still in the under-21s and Neville's recent call-up was seen as a huge shock. "I've aged," Johnson said. "I'm improving all the time and that has been a key factor. Before I didn't play so it's impossible to put in performances if you don't play."

He offers Benitez and Capello an attacking option going forward and took centre stage against Andorra at the end of last season. Fabio has been really positive with bombing on when we can but also picking our moments," he said. "You can't go gung-ho and start running all over the place, but he is more than keen about getting the full-backs to push on.

"Thankfully everyone was putting in their chances against Andorra. I was involved in the majority of the goals so it was a nice way to end the season."