GARETH Barry feels England are reaping the benefits of having a settled midfield combination and is relishing the deeper role he plays on the international stage compared to club level.

Barry and Frank Lampard are working up an understanding as the central duo while Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are interchanging effectively with one of them filling in the hole as the second striker.

Manchester City’s new £12 million capture is aware England will have sterner tests ahead than the 4-0 win over Kazakhstan.

But the ex-Aston Villa player, who scored his first competitive goal for his country, is taking encouragement from how things are starting to gel and England’s ability to win when not firing on all cylinders.

Barry said: ‘‘The more we do play together, that midfield, the more we are going to get used to the role.

‘‘Steven and Wayne are mixing in and out, they are linking up well, and myself and Frank are working as a two in the middle, so the more we keep playing together the better.

‘‘We know there are tougher games ahead but we are going to learn from each other.

‘‘Does my role suit my game?

I think so. International football is slightly different to the Premier League and that deeper role probably does suit me a little bit more.

‘‘They are always tough games, so you don’t get as much space as you like, but the second half against Kazakhstan opened up and gave me a bit more.

‘‘When you are winning games, you do gain confidence and you do become settled. It is all about keeping the run going throughout the campaign and taking it from there.’’ Barry put the seal on a hectic week in which he ended his 12- year spell at Aston Villa and made the move to Eastlands.

The only downside was collecting a second yellow card of the campaign which rules him out of Wednesday’s game with Andorra at Wembley.

Barry said: ‘‘It was nice to f i n i s h off the s e a s o n with a goal. I was disap p o i n ted to get a second booking so I’ll miss Wednesday but to finish my summer with a goal and three points, is a good way to finish.

‘‘The start was everything we expected. We knew it would be 100 miles an hour, with them making it difficult.

‘‘We had a couple of scary moments but the first goal settled us down a bit.

‘‘For myself, it has been a different week but once all that was done (the transfer) my mind was focused on the England game and that was the most important thing this week.

‘‘Once everything was sorted, it was a case of being professional and getting the job done.

My mind was focused fully on that for four days before the game.’’ Skipper Terry has stressed the need for England to peak at the right time – during the 2010 World Cup finals – but is confident the team ‘‘are getting to where the manager wants us to be’’.

The Chelsea star said: ‘‘We are playing really well.

‘‘But there is no point in us being at the very top now and in a year’s time from now not being where we want to be.

‘‘We are slowly progressing in terms of our fitness, our tactical play, our awareness of each other and what we are doing collectively as a team.

‘‘We are getting to where the manager (Fabio Capello) wants us to be. There are still improvements to be made. The manager wants improvements and the players can see little bits that need tweaking as well.

‘‘But, although everyone says about Spain being a lot more technical, we can play as well.

We are playing in one of the best leagues in the world anyway.

People like Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry dictate the pace and speed of games.

They can really play and make things happen.’’ Terry believes Capello has helped to remove the fear factor from England’s play.

The occasions such as when the players and the then coach Steve McClaren were booed relentlessly seem a distant memory.

Terry said: ‘‘The players are now really relishing getting on the ball and playing and having confidence and trusting each other again.

“There were times when people were on our backs a little bit and certain players didn’t want the ball in certain areas.

‘‘But if you look at everyone in this game, they all wanted the ball and were all making angles for each other.

‘‘Since the manager has come in, that has been a big part of it, to play right from the back and work hard for the team.’’