JAMES BEATTIE insists he must keep on plundering the goals for Saints in a bid to hang on to his England place.

The St Mary's favourite was unable to cap his first competitive start for his country with a goal against minnows Liechtenstein at Old Trafford last night.

Beattie was handed a dream place alongside Michael Owen in attack with Wayne Rooney playing just behind the front two in the Euro 2004 qualifier against the part-timers.

But, despite a good performance from the Saints man which included smashing the underside of the bar in the first half, it was Owen and the amazing Rooney who wrapped up the victory.

England now travel to Turkey next month knowing that a point would be enough to seal qualification to the European Championships final in Portugal next year.

And Beattie, who has already netted twice in four games for Saints this season, knows he must carry on hitting the target if he is to stand a chance of playing in Istanbul.

Beattie said: "It was a great experience and I'd like to play for England more often.

"But that is up to myself to keep on scoring goals and up to Mr Eriksson.

"I felt I did alright and almost scored with the one that hit the bar.

"It's now a massive game for us in Turkey and I'd love to play in it.

"So between now and that game I've got to make sure I'm in the squad - these games are a great stage to play on and it's very enjoyable."

Beattie's performance - his first 90 minutes for England - was overshadowed by another starring role from Rooney.

Even coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was drooling over the 17-year-old's performance and said: "In that role he's doing very well.

"He's clever, he plays people in, he scores goals. For a 17-year-old boy he has started international football in an excellent way. It would be very difficult to leave him out if he plays like that."

The most encouraging thing for Beattie would be if that comment suggested that Eriksson would persist with Rooney playing in behind the front two.

If he just plays two up front from now on it will be Owen and Rooney. But if there is a space available next to Owen there is no reason Beattie couldn't fill it.