SCOTT Parker has pledged to do everything in his power to win back his England place after his dreams of ending his international exile were dashed by Steve McClaren.

Despite predictions to the contrary, Parker was unexpectedly excluded from McClaren's first squad as England manager yesterday.

The Magpies midfielder had been tipped to join the likes of Dean Ashton, Jermain Defoe and Shaun-Wright Phillips, all players who were named in the squad to face Greece next Wednesday despite missing out on this summer's World Cup finals.

Instead, McClaren's decision not to re-introduce Parker into the international fold has extended an England exile that stretches back to the 1-0 friendly defeat in Sweden in March 2004.

After being hailed as one of the most consistent central midfielders in the Premiership last season, there is little more that the 25-year-old could have done to end his two-and-a-half-year spell in the international wilderness.

But after helping Newcastle grind out a valuable UEFA Cup win over FK Ventspils on Thursday night, Parker has promised to redouble his efforts on the domestic stage in an attempt to win McClaren round.

"I don't know what to think about it all to be honest," said the Magpies skipper, who performed in front of the England boss during last weekend's pre-season friendly with Villarreal.

"It's been a while now and every time it pops up, there seems to be little whispers about me and a place in the squad.

"Sadly, in the past, it's never really lived up to what people have been saying. There have been times when people have said I'm going to be in and, for whatever reason, it just hasn't happened.

"I get asked about England all the time and I try to come up with different ways of responding to what is effectively the same question.

"But all I can do is say the same thing whenever I'm asked to be honest. All I can do is try my best and play as well as I can for Newcastle. If I can get England recognition from that, I'll be ecstatic."

McClaren refused to close the door on any player who failed to make his first squad since replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson, but the former Middlesbrough manager clearly prefers both Owen Hargreaves and Jermaine Jenas as alternatives to the more established Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

With Michael Carrick also likely to return to the fray after September's European Championship qualifiers against Andorra and Macedonia, Parker faces intense competition as he attempts to resurrect his international career.

But after experiencing life in the England camp twice in the past, the Londoner is determined to ensure he is in back in the fold by the time Euro 2008 arrives in two years time.

"It's hard to be original about it and, to be honest, I don't think I can be," said Parker. "It really is just a case of doing what you can with Newcastle and then waiting to let everything else take care of itself. There have been disappointments in the past, so I've stopped setting myself up for another one.

"But I've tasted the England thing before and that just makes you want it even more. It was a dream of mine when I was a kid and the dream only gets stronger once you've had a little taste of it in the past."

As if pulling on an England shirt again was not incentive enough, Parker is also hoping to win an international recall so he rekindle his relationship with former Chelsea team-mate John Terry.

The defender was named as David Beckham's successor as England captain earlier this week, a move that Parker was quick to support.

The pair played against each other as schoolboys and, even at that stage, it was possible to detect the leadership qualities that have earned Terry the captain's armband.

"I played against JT a number of times as a kid in London," said Parker. "I seemed to spend the whole of my childhood days playing against him, so it would be nice to be back on the same team as him again.

"I used to play for Valley Valiants so my district was Blackheath and he would be playing for one of our biggest rivals, Tower Hamlets.

"He was a central midfield player as well then so he used to boot me all over the park. We had a few run-ins in days gone by but, even at that stage, you could tell what kind of a leader he was going to be.

"He's a real leader of men. He's very popular in the changing room and I think that can only help, but I also think he's very popular amongst football supporters in general.

"I certainly learned an awful lot from him during my time at Chelsea and I'm still putting some of it into practice today.

"He's a good lad and a caring lad and I think he genuinely wants the best for his team-mates. I don't think you can ask for much more than that from your skipper.

"He can certainly get the best out of his team and I think Steve McClaren has made a really wise decision by handing him the armband."

Similarly, Glenn Roeder appears to have made an equally wise choice by appointing Parker as captain of Newcastle.

The all-action midfielder boasts an unbeaten record in his three competitive matches since replacing Alan Shearer, a run that was extended in Riga on Thursday night.

Newcastle's 1-0 win over Ventspils might not have been the most convincing result ever, but it was enough to all but assure the Magpies of a place in the UEFA Cup proper.

"We got the job done," said Parker. "They had a couple of chances I suppose but, in general, I thought we controlled things fairly well. We never really looked in danger and I thought we were quite strong.''