Newcastle United defender Sol Campbell refuses to give up on an England recall.

Campbell, who made his first appearance for Newcastle in the reserves in midweek, believes he is still capable of performing at the highest level and if he impresses for the Magpies this season he can win a call-up from Fabio Capello.

"I think it all comes down to who is at the helm and the people behind the associations," Campbell said. "They are going to make all the decisions and it is also the mentality of the nation. You go to Italy and defenders and goalkeepers can go on and on and on really.

"You can roll the names off of the guys who have played well into their late 30s at international level so I think it sometimes goes down to mentality. It doesn't matter where you are at with your age, if you are fit and you are strong and you are physically there and you want it, then you have got the experience so I think there should be no problem really."

Asked if he still had what it takes to play for England again, Campbell added: "I think last season for sure. I have still got it. I still have the passion, the fire in my belly. I want to win. But you just can't do anything about it anymore.

"So I am not going to fight. I am going to fight on the pitch for Newcastle and if it comes to the stage where someone says can you fight for England then I will fight for England. But I am not going to go on about it. It is just not worth it.

"Last season I worked really hard and I think I showed to all the people that if you work hard then you are there. If you get an opportunity, you get an opportunity but it really comes down to the people behind the scenes and the manager. You can't do anything about it. I could have scored 10 goals in the first half of the season. It doesn't matter."