The Italian surprised many observers when he selected Heskey ahead of Peter Crouch for last month's friendly with the Czech Republic and stunned even more by keeping faith with the Latics powerhouse in his World Cup squad when Michael Owen was not picked.

Similar sentiments were expressed last autumn when Heskey was called up for the home wins against Israel and Russia - but the forward responded with two outstanding performances in what is now seen as the high point of Steve McClaren's ill-fated time in charge.

And, no matter what the critics might say, Heskey - who won his 46th cap against the Czechs - will never turn his back on the Three Lions.

"I never gave up, and that was shown when I got back into the squad for the two qualifiers with Israel and Russia," he told the FA's website.

"You can never give up. You just have to hang in there and keep performing and hope that the manager comes knocking.

"And it is nice to see the manager still has faith in me and wants to put me in the squad."

At 30, Heskey is hardly in the first flush of youth and the chances are this qualifying campaign will be his last chance of appearing on the World Cup stage once more.

It should put an extra spring in his step as England begin their journey to South Africa 2010 in Saturday's encounter with Andorra in Barcelona and the far more important visit to Croatia four days later.

And, as England look to make up for the disappointment of missing Euro 2008, Heskey can sense a steely determination in the dressing room.

"We are very determined," Heskey admitted. "Obviously with us not going to the Euros, I think the tournament missed England a little bit, not just the team but more so the fans - they're brilliant when they travel.

"We're very professional and we go about every game the same, we want to win every game we play in.

"We just want to go out there and have a good performance and get the results we deserve."