ROVERS defender Henning Berg today tipped James Beattie for an England call-up - but then urged Sven Goran Eriksson to play to the striker's strengths.

Berg knows all about Beattie's strengths and weaknesses as a player after the pair were briefly team-mates at Ewood before Beattie then moved on to Southampton.

And the Norwegian international believes the 24-year-old deserves his England chance, although he insists it's vital Eriksson comes up with a plan designed to get the best out of the 6ft 1in hit-man.

"I remember him scoring lots of goals in the reserves, so he's a talented player but at the time we had Shearer and Sutton and it was always going to be very hard for him to break through at Blackburn," said Berg.

"However, since he made the move to Southampton he's been fantastic and he's probably the in-form striker in the Premiership at the moment.

"It's no surprise that he's been mentioned for the England team because Alan Shearer has said he doesn't want to play for England any more and there's not too many others doing what James Beattie is doing at the moment.

"But if he is going to play for England then I hope they play up to his strengths.

"If they expect him to come in and play like a continental player and be all flicks and tricks then I don't think that will bring the best out of him.

"He's better playing an English type of game where they can use his strength in the air, his pace and get crosses into the box.

"At the end of the day, any team who plays against him, whether it's an international game or a club game, will have a very difficult time against him.

"But you've got to play to his strengths in order to get the best out of him."