Manchester United striker Michael Owen insists he is not writing off his England career.
Owen, 30, was once again overlooked by England boss Fabio Capello as Bolton's Kevin Davies earned a shock international call-up for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro.
After Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora and Gabriel Agbonlahor were all ruled out due to injury, Owen's England exile appeared to be over, only for Capello to ignore him in favour of Davies.
But despite his latest setback, Owen, who has netted 40 times in 89 appearances for his country, is not about to bring an end to his international career.
"I haven't resigned myself to never playing for England again," he told the Daily Mirror, "but I'm not stupid enough to get myself worked up before every squad is announced and then go, 'Oh no, the world's caved in and I'm not in it again'.
"Everyone deals with things in different ways. The first time I wasn't named in the squad I was really gutted. The second time I was pretty gutted, the next time I was just gutted and so on. People deal with knockbacks in life, whatever they may be, in different ways. You build up a protective mechanism so it won't hurt you, but that doesn't mean I've given up."
Owen last donned the Three Lions as a substitute during a 1-0 defeat to France in March 2008, but he believes he is too long in the tooth to vent his frustrations about being omitted.
"I really haven't thought about reasons why I've not been picked. I'd love to play for my country again, but I don't look out for the squad expecting my name to be in it, unless someone phones me to tell me otherwise. Unfortunately you can't say a lot of the things you believe, because it will come out the wrong way and be misinterpreted.
"I still watch England, of course. I still have a lot of friends in the team and you can't play for your country as long as I did and not be interested in how they're doing."
Chances have been at a premium at club level for the former Liverpool star. Owen has started just two of United's ten games this season - though he showed he still possesses an eye for goal with a brace in the Carling Cup win over Scunthorpe.
With so few opportunities to impress Sir Alex Ferguson, Owen admits there is huge pressure to perform when he is called upon.