ENGLAND Under 18s coach Dick Bate has finally heeded the advice of Saints opposite number Georges Prost and picked Saints' pacy winger Nathan Dyer for his squad.

Dyer, 17, received his first international call-up after scoring Saints Under 18s' fourth goal in their 4-1 FA Youth Cup quarter-final win at West Ham last Tuesday.

He also netted the equaliser in a 2-1 win over Ipswich on Saturday that sealed the FA Premier Academy League Group A title.

He will join up with the England Under 18 squad in Accrington for a training camp this weekend with Dyer's Saints teammates Kyle Critchell and Sean Rudd also on stand-by.

Prost has been pushing for Dyer's selection for some time and, after the Ipswich game, the first year scholar said: "My mum always said to me good things come to those who wait, so I just kept working hard and performing.

"I hoped eventually it would come - and now it has.

"I got told they looked at me against West Ham and that they wanted me, so now I'm going away for a group get-together and I'm happy about that.

"I thought there would be scouts watching the FA Youth Cup games, so that's the time to perform.

"My first match in the FA Youth Cup against QPR, I thought I did really, really well - then the next two games I was a bit average, so in the West Ham game I was pleased to have a good game and get scouted."

Saints academy director Huw Jennings added: "We're very pleased for Nathan and it's a product of the hard work he's put in this year.

"He's a very determined and tenacious player and has learned to play fully as part of the team since joining us full-time at the start of this season."