Rickie Lambert: West Brom can get me back in England squad

The 33-year-old joined West Brom from Liverpool on a two-year deal on Friday, becoming the Baggies' third signing of the close season after James Chester and James McClean.

He fell off Roy Hodgson's radar soon after moving to boyhood club Liverpool last season, where he found his opportunities limited to just seven Premier League starts under Reds manager Brendan Rodgers.

"It is only two years ago that I scored against Scotland. I scored 15 goals and then 13 goals for Southampton and obviously it is over a year since I did that but I have just got to get back to that now," the Birmingham Mail quoted him as saying.

He made the last of his 11 international appearances as an 80th minute substitute in England's 3-1 win against Scotland at Celtic Park in November 2014.

Lambert scored two goals in his West Brom debut against Bristol Rovers on Friday night, helping his new club win the match 4-0.

He refused to elaborate on a frustrating 12 months at Liverpool.

"I've got a lot of feeling, to be honest. I'm not going to get into it right now," he said, adding that striving for a national team return was something he would "never give up".

"I feel as if I've got a point to prove to myself. That's always the biggest drive, yourself. And it will carry on being that way."

West Brom manager Tony Pulis believes Lambert will have a positive influence on the younger members of his squad, especially 21-year-old striker Saido Berahino.

"He is a great lad and in Saido we've got a wonderful young talent and you're just hoping that a little bit of that experience and the way he conducts himself, the way he works, the way he does things will rub off on Saido as well," Pulis said.

It's great to hear such optimism from Lambert, whose disastrous switch to Liverpool sent him off the rails after he had found a brilliant seam of form at Southampton. And with few obvious striking options available to Roy Hodgson, this is not so far-fetched as it might originally seem. After all, Germany had Miroslav Klose banging goals in at the 2014 World Cup at an age when most footballers have opened pubs in Marbella. And while Lambert isn't close to Klose in terms of talent, there seems no reason he shouldn't enjoy a last hurrah.