ALAN Smith last night vowed to revive his England career at the tender age of 21 after deciding to shed the badboy image that ruined his World Cup dream.

The Leeds United striker made a resolution to rein in his hair-trigger temperament when he was excluded from Sven-Goran Eriksson's plans for the Far East.

Smith, sent off twice last season, knew he stood no chance of forcing his way into the World Cup squad after a welter of suspensions prevented Eriksson from picking him for the friendlies that preceded England's departure for Asia.

It was a wake-up call; a sharp reminder that, for all his talent, his failure to stay on the right side of footballing law was jeopardising his glittering future.

But as one of only three strikers in the England squad for Saturday's game with Portugal, with Robbie Fowler and Darius Vassell injured, Smith knows he has a glorious opportunity to display his international credentials at Villa Park and show he is a reformed character.

Smith's ability is beyond reproach; now he is determined to prove he has the temperament to match as he looks to add to his three caps to date.

He said: "The time I knew I had to change was when the England squad for the World Cup was announced. I knew deep down I wouldn't be in it and that it was my fault.

"I missed all the friendlies through suspension and other people, including Darius Vassell, did very well while I was out. I gave Sven no opportunity to see me play.

"You always have to believe that you're good enough to get in the squad - but I knew the real reason why I wouldn't be in it.

"I had to stand up to the fact that I didn't stay on the pitch long enough last season. I had only myself to blame.

"But I'm lucky that this has happened early in my career. I've got the chance to put it right.

"There was an incident at Birmingham on Saturday where I stayed calm, whereas last season I would have gone over the top and got a card.

"David Platt put a lot of responsibility on me during the Under-21 European Championship during the summer. He told me I had to be a leader, and I wanted to show him and everyone that I could handle that responsibility.

"I don't want to lose my aggression but it's the silly stuff I have to cut out, like when I elbowed Alpay against Aston Villa last season and got sent off.

"When I've got into trouble, I've thought to myself, 'Why have I done that?' But the main thing is that you learn from something like that. Everyone makes mistakes and I believe I've learnt from mine."

Smith has taken his lead from Leeds teammate Danny Mills, who went into the World Cup with a reputation as a firebrand but headed home having been booked just once and having arguably become England's first-choice right-back.

Now he insists he has his temper in check, however, Smith needs to convince his critics that he can become a proven international goalscorer.

His three appearances for England thus far, the last of which was against Holland in August 2001, have all been as a substitute and he is yet to score for his country.

He said: "If you're playing up front week in, week out, you've got to score goals. And in the season where I played alongside Mark Viduka all the time, I got 18 goals, which isn't a bad record.

"Last season, I was suspended and injured a lot, and I also played on the right-hand side of midfield, and I only scored four league goals.

"It's natural that people look at my goals to games ratio, and when they do that they might say that I don't score enough goals.

"But they don't realise that I've played out of position a lot. My best position is as a striker."