Crocked England striker Michael Owen is on the verge of his comeback having played just two months of the last 14 - and he's issued a stern message for his international team-mates.

"We have got to perform better or there is no point," admits the Three Lions hit-man. "You can't play a game poorly, scrape a win, then think everything is fine because you won."

Michael, like the rest of the England squad at the World Cup Finals last year, was gutted at the side's early exit after so much hope in the build up to Germany 2006.

But England's fourth top scorer of all-time is convinced that he knows the answer to solving the International side's problems. "We need to play better and transfer the Premiership form to International level. Sometimes its not the manager's problem, maybe the players have to change something.

"Its frustrating because we don't play often enough to our potential as we do for our clubs. We did that in the first few games of the World Cup, but when you play against top teams you have to perform well. Unfortunately this has not just gone on for six months - its been for many a year. I can count on one hand how many times I can say " We were absolutely brilliant today".

"Germany away we were very good [2001, Michael hit a hat-trick as the team won 5-1]; we beat Argentina 3-2 [friendly, 2005] we were very good that day...we beat them in the World Cup in Japan too, but if the truth be told they dominated for the last hour and we just defended really well and David Seaman pulled off a great save."

The nations hopes will be higher once again as England's regular No.10 gets ready for a much awaited return for both club and country. But fans will have to wait just a little while longer for Michael to take part in Euro 2008 qualifiers....

Hows the injury?

"I've got a few scars, nice little holes. I've been doing all the base training work for months - rowing, swimming, bike, walking on the treadmill...and now I have started jogging and kicking a ball."

Steve McClaren's watched your progress, hasn't he?

"I've spoken to Steve a couple of times - but of course I have known him for many years because of his previous England role - and I was at the hotel in Manchester recently with the squad. Everything has had continuity with the backroom staff and the lads speak well of the England set up still."

How do you rate the boss?

" Steve has done well as a manager and is well respected and knows the players better than anyone. Regardless of who the manager is though, you have to have form and prove yourself in every game to be in his team."

Has he had a rough ride in the media?

"I think the England manager has a rough ride, full stop, whoever he is. It is like that, but off the back of the World Cup and Steve being in the set up before he took over the job, it is easier for the press to have a go a bit earlier than they normally would.

"But he would be the first one to say that being the England manager means you are almost standing there to be shot at. Its a difficult job, but I feel it is a very good job, especially when you have got a passionate country behind you and top, top players. If you can get the mixture right we could be one of the top teams in the world."

READY TO RUMBLE.....

Pencil in the date....April 9, Newcastle home to Arsenal. It could just mark Michael Owen's return to action.

Some pessimists have written off his chances of appearing again this term, but the striker's a lot more confident: "I'd love to play this season - that is my aim. Thats why I have been in the gym everyday.

"It is impossible to say exactly when, but if I am going to play again this season it will be in April. There is no point in rushing back to play in May jut for one game."

As Michael hit the deck on June 20 last year in the World Cup game against Sweden, many fans couldn't believe it when he stayed down and had to be stretchered off the pitch. But in the following 30 minutes the player knew he was in big trouble.

"I had said to myself  'You are out for nine months here, you won't play again in the World Cup, you're not going to do this, not going to do that - and won't even be allowed to play golf for a while!'"

The World Cup injury came just six months after Michael had been injured at Tottenham on New Years Eve after a clash with England colleague Paul Robinson. He returned from that set-up to play just half an hour for Newcastle before going to Germany.

"I hadn't had an operation in my life and then I had four in a year. I've probably got as many pins in my right leg now as Alan Shearer," smiles Michael.

"I played in the first two World Cup games and trained everyday no problem. It was a freak injury. The worst ones are always the innocuous looking ones. If there is no one near you and you are down you  always know you've got a pretty big problem."

That injury resulted in two operations on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. But super-surgeon Richard Steadman - who had already saved the career of Alan Shearer - reckons Michael will return stronger.

FIT TO GO

Already resigned to losing their £17m record buy for the season, Newcastle have had a crippling list of injuries this term. The treatment room at St. James' Park has been busier that Newcastle Central Station at the end of a home game and at one stage a staggering 15 first-teamers were laid up. As the man with the most appointments in the physio's diary, Michael has a grandstand view of the walking wounded.

Its been like an episode of Casualty at Gallowgate...

"Its be unbelievable. Look at Kieron Dyer, he has worked so hard for a number of months and he was on the verge of his first game back and a pole hit him in the eye and he couldn't see for a few days. Then he came back for one game and crashed into an advertising board and nearly severed half of his leg off.

"It just doesn't happen to anyone else. We get freak injuries as well as run of the mill injuries. I can believe any club has suffered the amount of injuries Newcastle have had. Even when I had my very first injury they all said 'thats the curse of Newcastle, we alway get bad injuries here'."

Whats it been like in the treatment room?

"We have a white board in there that shows the injuries and what physios are looking after which players. We actually put together a team of all the injured players with five subs and it was a very strong Premiership side! Someone said the other day that of the players out injured, none of them were vitual certainties for the first team."

On the bright side, it has given the youngsters a chance...

"It is good for the lads, for the team in general even, but you can't have too many top players out. You can get away with the odd youngster or two coming in but in general we need our best players out there. A lot of the players who are on the bench I have never seen before. They just appeared from the academy. Everyone's been doing a great job but its an awkward situation."

Glenn Roeder's not moaned about the problem though....

"The manager doesn't want to use this as a negative or give anyone an excuse that we have loads of injuries and we can't win games. You don't hear any negativity coming from the players or the manager, but it is an unbelievable situation."

Whats Glenn like as a boss?

"He gets small messages across without really saying anything. It's like the lads picking up the newspaper in the morning and not reading about Glenn Roeder bemoaning his luck. Little things like that help because if you give footballers an excuse to run a yard less they will, they'll run inside the cone instead of the outside in pre-season training...but if you don't give anyone an excuse to throw in the towel then they won't."

How do you rate him?

"I've only played 30 minutes under him so it is hard to say! I know what he is like inside the dressing rooms and on the training pitch - but seriously, for an injured player he is a great manager to have. Glenn is patient and he leaves the physios to do their jobs as they know best. They will tell him when they think a player's ready to come back. Theres nothing worse that seeing a manager walk into the gym in the morning and saying something like 'How long until you are fit?' Thats the last thing you need with a long-term injury. He tells you that he looks forward to having you back but doesn't keep asking when that will be."

You must be looking forward to linking up with Obafemi Martins...

"Its obviously still fairly early days for him. Certain foreign players obviously take time, but some adapt straight away. Oba has taken a bit of time but he has started to score a few goals and he has been playing well. If he can keep the goals and performances up he'll prove to be a good buy, so we all hope he does well. A lot of the lads were surprised because we knew he was quick and thought he would be running behind defences all the time, but he tends to work to feet more. Everyone is saying he is as quick as anything, but he also has a nice touch, can hit a ball from outside the box and has two good feet, so if he keeps improving he will be a big asset for us."