Young still in Capello's thoughts

National coach Fabio Capello has written to Villa winger Ashley Young and revealed he is on the verge of an England recall.

Young, who has three senior caps, has been absent from the Three Lions' squad since the summer friendlies against USA and Trinidad and Tobago, despite an impressive start to the season which saw him named September's Barclays Premier League Player of the Month.

Team-mate Gareth Barry, currently Villa's only representative on England duty, revealed the coach has told Young he remains very much a part of his plans.

Barry said; "Time is definitely on Youngy's side and the manager (Fabio Capello) has told him that too. He (Young) knows he is playing well with a lot of confidence and he knows he is not too far off.

"He got a letter beforehand saying he is close to being in the squad. He knows he is not far away and just needs to keep doing what he is doing. His time will come.

"Every club gets a fax come through. It's good for him to know. If players like that are getting left out of the squad then the players currently in it know they really need to perform."

Barry was substituted at half-time in Saturday's 5-1 victory over Kazakhstan when the scores were still goalless but he put any personal disappointment to one side by insisting the result was all that mattered.

He said: "As an individual it is disappointing but you have to look past that and focus on the next game. We can look forward to that with nine from nine.

"There was no natural width so the manager decided to change it. It's a team game and I was the one to come off so there's no worries."