SCOTT Parker believes he can plan for his summer holidays without fear of a call from Sven Goran Eriksson.

The Newcastle United midfielder has all but written off his chances of making the England squad for the forthcoming World Cup, despite some consistent performances in the middle of the park this season.

On Saturday, Eriksson looked on as Parker launched himself into tackle after tackle against Aston Villa, contributing in a second victory on the bounce since the axing of Graeme Souness.

Parker has two England caps, gained in defeats to Denmark and Sweden, but he doesn't expect to add to them anytime soon.

"Of course it's nice to play well in front of the England manager. But all I'm concerned about is Newcastle and playing well for the club," he said. "If anything comes of it, it comes of it and it will be brilliant. But it's not something that is at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Players tend to sneak in at the end of the season but I don't know if I will.

"It's something which has followed me all season and the question has been asked many a time. I feel as though I have been performing well and I feel I have been performing consistently. The call hasn't come yet and time is running out.

"I'm pretty honest with myself and I think it is very unlikely that I will be at the World Cup.

"If that's what happens, I will be disappointed, of course I will. I'm disappointed every time I don't get in the squad. But I have to be realistic and it doesn't look as though it is going to happen for me now. There's not a lot I can do about it, that's why I'm concentrating everything I have on Newcastle."

Since Souness departed, Newcastle appear to have rediscovered their team spirit under Glenn Roeder.

But while Parker is enjoying the ride at the moment, he is realistic enough to know that a managerial change quite often results in an upturn in fortunes - the key is turning a temporary run of form into a permanent one.

"I can't explain how things have changed under Glenn. We have a great bunch of lads, some senior players, and we all know what we have to do. This often happens when a manager loses his job. We just have to make sure we can keep it going," he said.

"I think we're in safe hands at the moment. Glenn has been here before and managed in the Premier League."

"I think we can look upwards now. We are looking at the run of games we have as an opportunity to go and string a few wins together," he added.

"We have been known as an up-and-down side. We have been winning a game and then losing the next but now we have put back-to-back wins together.

"We have Southampton in the FA Cup this weekend and then Charlton at home so I hope we can continue this little run."

Read more about Newcastle United FC here.