It was ‘easy’ deciding to play for England again, says Ben Foster

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster says it was simple making himself available again for England.

Foster, 31, opted to bring a temporary halt to his international career in May 2011 because of the demands it was making on both his club career, and his personal life as well.

However, the shot stopper always insisted at the time that he was not permanently closing the door on his country, with Foster putting his name back in the hat for selection in February 2013, before then earning a recall to the Three Lions squad two months later.

And now the Baggies No 1 has spoken about his joy at returning to the national setup.

“I have got to say that I absolutely love going (with England), I really do,” Foster said in an interview with Sky Sports.

“The steady three goallies that we have had now for the past few years, who are obviously me, Fraser [Forster] and Joe [Hart], just works really well.

“I think it is important that, no matter who you are, you know your role in the team and I think we have got it nailed on. We know that Joe is going to be playing, that me and Fraser are going to be there to support him and give him everything he needs.

“We are quite lucky in that we all get on well, do a lot of work together, whether that is on the training pitch or off it, so we get a lot of extra time together, we do a lot of gym work, we all absolutely love it and like I say, it works, but it is because we all know our roles.”

Change

And it has been a change in the keeper’s off-field life, with Foster’s previously newly born children now much older, that has enabled him to make his England return.

“At first I did have to think about coming back into the fold,” Foster explains. “The original reason (for making himself unavailable) was that my children were being born. I was just spending too much time away from them. I had a new born and a one-year-old, and it was just too hard to do being away from them for that amount of time.

“So once they had turned that bit older, I think they were four or five when I got back into the team, and obviously Roy was manager then so I knew what Roy was about from having worked with him at West Brom, it was just a very easy decision to make. And I am glad that I made that decision as well.”

And Foster also feels he is fit enough to still be playing for a good few more years yet.

“I am 31 now, and I’d like to play until I am 36 or 37, and I’ve never been as physically fit as I am now,” he said. “I absolute love it, West Brom are a great club, it’s a perfect fit for me being back home in the Midlands, so I’d like to play for as long as possible.”