'I Am Still Here,' Manchester United Striker Targets England Record

Manchester United striker Michael Owen insists he still harbours ambitions of playing for his country again and believes he could yet break England's goal scoring record.

Owen, 32, has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford this season, playing in just 79 minutes of Premier League football.

Injuries have taken their toll on the Manchester United striker but Sir Alex Ferguson's preference for youth has seen Danny Welbeck usurp Owen's role with the defending champions.

But, despite his bit-part role at Manchester United, Owen remains adamant he still has a role to play in the current England side and is confident he will get a chance to improve on his total of 40 goals, with Bobby Charlton's record of 49 within tantalising reach.

"I am proud of what I did for England and what I have done. Obviously Sir Bobby's records are in my sights. I am still here," Owen told the Daily Mirror.

Owen made his England debut in a 2-0 friendly loss to Chile in February 1998 and was a main-stay of the national side for the next nine years, scoring his 40 goals in 89 games.

However, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star fell out of favour when Fabio Capello took over in 2008 and in 2010 he described his chances of a recall as "probably a long shot in racing terms".

Nevertheless, Owen has not given up hope of representing his country in the future.

"As soon as Fabio Capello took over, that was it," he said. "I was on the bench for his first game in charge after having been an automatic starter for 10 years, and then after that I wasn't in the squad.

"The manager is the only man who will know the answer why.

"You have to accept it. If you get upset and angry to start with, if you will keep getting wound up. You have to let it go and that's that.

"I don't know why, that's something you have to ask the current manager.

"Once you make a decision then maybe you've made the decision. That's it, and even if I kept scoring I don't know what would have happened."