BACK in the chilly North-East for a week, then it's off to South Africa for globetrotting Shotley Bridge lad Paul Collingwood.

Not that Durham cricket fans need worry about him getting itchy feet. The fact that he added one more year to the remaining year on his contract at the end of last season does not mean he is keeping his options open.

"I was happy with what the club offered me, and I see so much potential here I want to play here as long as possible," said the 25-year-old winner of three Man of the Match awards in England's winter one-day programme.

"If we keep all these players together at Durham we can become a big force in the game.

"You hear talk among the England players about what happens at other counties and how much they are earning, but I just see it as general banter. I'm perfectly happy where I am."

Collingwood admits to feeling physically and mentally tired after playing in all 11 one-day internationals in India and New Zealand, and he's off to South Africa for a holiday with his girlfriend before teaming up with the Durham squad in Cape Town on March 20 for their two-week tour.

While he would welcome the chance to be vice-captain if it was offered, he will not be trying to impose what he has learned with England on his Durham team-mates.

"I'm sure they will see a change in my training techniques and I hope some of it will filter down to the younger lads," he said. "The lads who have been at the National Academy will have things to pass on as well.

"Whether I have more responsibility or not, I'm still going to take the same approach. I reckon there's still 20 per cent improvement in me and I know what I have to work on.

"We did a lot of work on my bowling in India and New Zealand. They used a computer to analyse my action and work out why Craig White bowls much faster than me when we're a similar build.

"I have a very strong arm when I throw, so it's nothing to do with muscle strength. My action's not that bad and I have a good front leg brace, but there's a slight worry about my front arm. I'm trying to keep it nice and tight and keep my front elbow into my chest."

After going 2-0 down in New Zealand, Collingwood suddenly took four for 38 to win the third game, which he described as "quite a shock."

"I only had three one-day international wickets before that, and I don't think I'll win too many Man of the Match awards for my bowling," he said.

"But I'll keep working on it and hope to get an extra half a yard of pace. I'd like to bowl more in the County Championship, but my strike rate wasn't very good last season and unless I improve that it can be hard to get on when we have a good seam attack."

He also knows it's important to his World Cup place next year that the captain has enough confidence in his bowling to turn to him for at least a few overs.

"I'm not taking anything for granted," he said. "The World Cup is a massive goal, but I wouldn't say I'm well established in the team.

"It's no secret England are trying to keep a squad together. We have a great spirit and I think we can do well at the World Cup, but first we've got Sri Lanka and India this summer then Australia next winter, so a lot can still happen.

"This time last year I was returning from playing club cricket in Australia and I could not have foreseen how well things would go. I've had a fantastic year, but I still have to keep improving. Even my fielding needs work because I don't hit the stumps often enough.

"It was hard work in India and New Zealand. My only target was to play in all 11 games, and to do that and come through without any injuries was a big bonus.

"But my batting went downhill. I got 23 not out in the last match, but I wasn't striking the ball as well as I had been.

"Scoring enough runs in the last 15 overs of the innings is something we have talked about a lot. It's very difficult in one-day cricket going in at five, six or seven with no time to play yourself in.

"You can't go in with a set plan. You have to analyse the situation and adapt to it. There's not much experience in that middle order, so we are all learning together.

"Coming back from 3-1 down to draw the series in India was one of the greatest things I have been involved with, but we found it difficult to adapt to the different conditions in New Zealand. We had to bowl different lines and lengths."

Collingwood has no wish to be seen as a one-day specialist and aims to maintain his steady improvement in championship cricket in the hope of earning Test recognition.

But while he has talked to his Durham colleagues since returning and noted their enthusiasm for the coming season, he needs a couple of weeks' rest before getting back to work in South Africa.

There's also the small matter of a visit to the Stadium of Light to fit in tonight in the hope of witnessing a much-needed Sunderland win.

Much-needed not just for Sunderland, but for Paul Collingwood's stature among his mickey-taking England colleagues.