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The Tottenham winger still believes he is capable of playing for the Three Lions again if he can manage to impress on loan at Russian Premier League club FC Rostov

Tottenham winger David Bentley has claimed that he is still good enough to play for England, provided he can impress during his loan spell with Russian Premier League club FC Rostov.

The 28-year-old winger has moved to the Selmashi after falling down the pecking order at White Hart Lane following his €19 million move from Blackburn Rovers in 2008.

The wide-man has made just 48 appearances for Spurs - scoring three times - and has also endured unsuccessful loan spells with Birmingham City and West Ham.

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Bentley was sidelined for six months during his time at Upton Park after undergoing knee surgery and was hopeful of re-establishing himself at Tottenham following the arrival of Andre Villas-Boas.

The ex-Arsenal trainee, who last played for his country way back in 2008, believes he is still good enough to play for the Three Lions after some of Roy Hodgson's recent call-ups.

“I thought the new manager might give me a chance but there’s probably been too much water under the bridge already," he told the Daily Mirror.

“England was another thing that came tumbling down at Tottenham. I still believe I can play at that level but I’ve just got to be given the chance to play regularly again.

“I looked at the call-ups this week and felt I’ve still got a chance. I don’t think what happened was over hype or anything. I handled it, but suddenly the spotlight is on you. You’ve got to be able to handle it. I always felt I did."

Bentley has been capped seven times for the senior squad, after scoring four goals in eight games for the Under-21s.

He made his debut against Switzerland four years ago but following the emergence of Theo Walcott, James Milner, Ashley Young and Spurs team-mate Aaron Lennon, Bentley was overlooked by Fabio Capello and Hodgson for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 respectively.

But the 29-year-old is also frustrated with the perception of him having a bad-boy image.

“I really regret leaving Blackburn the way I did," he added.

"Coming out publicly saying I wanted to leave was a mistake, but so much has been said about me which is wrong.

“It got put about that I’m a party boy. I’ve got a restaurant business in Spain - it’s an investment with my agent. Harry Redknapp said I should concentrate on playing football rather than running that.

"The truth is, I never even go there."