Gareth Barry was arguably England's best performer in the wins over Israel and Russia last month that put the country's UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying campaign back on track.

But the Aston Villa midfielder admitted on Wednesday that he had been given no guarantees about retaining his place alongside Steven Gerrard now that Chelsea's Frank Lampard is fit and back in the squad.

"Players like Frank and Stevie are the reason you have to wait so long for a chance to play for your country," Barry said. "There are great players, especially in that central midfield role, and chances don't come around too often so when they do you have got to try and take them.

"There is competition everywhere, so it's nice to put my name in among the players you've been talking about."

Barry admits he would love another chance to impress against Estonia on Saturday after winning plaudits for the way he dovetailed with Gerrard last month.

"It's always great to be selected to play for your country," he said. To play the last two games was a bit of a surprise but it was nice to put in two good performances and for people to talk about the way I played.

"The last two games were brilliant for me but it was the good 40 minutes I got in the Germany friendly in August that gave me the confidence and set me up for the qualifiers."

Thanks in no small part to Barry's tidy displays, England have put themselves in a strong position to qualify for EURO 2008, provided they beat Estonia and avoid defeat in Russia next week.

"You only have to look at the league table before the last two games, and it probably wasn't easy reading," Barry said. "But now it's all in our own hands."