Bertrand targets England place

Ryan Bertrand is hoping that a run of good performances for Chelsea will see Roy Hodgson award him more senior England games in the future.

The full-back broke into the Blues’ first team at the end of last season, making his European debut in the Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich.

He has enjoyed a run in the side at the start of this campaign, scoring in the Community Shield defeat and also starting against Wigan in the opening game of the Premier League.

The 23-year-old received his first senior England call-up for the friendly match against Italy last week, replacing Leighton Baines in the second half.

“I managed to get on the pitch for 15 minutes the other night in the senior England team so I just have to concentrate on my club football and hopefully that will come with it,” Bertrand told reporters.

Roberto Di Matteo’s side has been strengthened with a number of big-money signings over the summer, including Belgian attacker Eden Hazard from Lille and Brazilian playmaker Oscar from Internacional, who both made their debuts in the 2-0 victory over Wigan.

And Bertrand was delighted to play the whole game, especially when the manager has such big names at his disposal.

“It’s good to get back out there again and thankfully we managed to get the three points as well,” he added.

“We started off really well, the anticipation had built up and we just couldn’t wait to get out there, and we managed to win the game there and then.

“For me personally it was great to get that start. I said at the start of the season that I wanted to increase the amount of games I played from last season so it’s really positive.

“With the big-money signings there have been, to retain my place is great for me. I really appreciate it and we managed to repay the manager with a win.”

Chelsea’s next clash is against newly promoted Reading, a team that Bertrand spent the 2009/10 season on loan with.