ENGLAND new-boy David Thompson today set his sights on providing the cure to Sven Goran Eriksson's biggest headache after celebrating a shock international call-up last night.

Eriksson has spent the last two years searching for the answer to a problem which has perplexed a number of his predecessors.

But, after a host of candidates have tried and failed to fill the void on the left hand side of England's midfield, Thompson looks set to be the latest player to be given the chance to provide the solution.

And that's a challenge which certainly holds no fears for the versatile Blackburn midfielder who is ready to perform any role he is asked in his quest to prove he can have a long-term international future.

"I'll play anywhere -- I'm not bothered," said Thompson, who described his call-up yesterday as the proudest moment of his career.

"I'm not going to say it's easy getting here but the easiest part is getting into the squad. "The hardest part is actually staying there and trying to establish yourself by doing a good job.

"There's some good players there and if you are not performing then there's always someone else who can come in and do a job.

"So all I want to do when I get down there is try and impress the manager.

"Looking at the team as a whole, playing on the left is probably my best hope of getting in there.

"But I'm just grateful to be given a chance at all."

Thompson took a calculated gamble three seasons ago when he decided to quit Liverpool for Coventry in his quest for regular first team football.

Within 12 months, the Sky Blues suddenly found themselves in the Nationwide abyss after suffering the ignominy of relegation.

And an England call seemed little more than a distant pipe-dream as he paid the price for having to ply his trade outside the bounds of the Premiership.

However, unbeknown to Thompson, his Coventry boss at the time, Roland Nilsson, was keeping fellow Swedes Sven Goran Eriksson and Tord Grip regularly updated as to the 25-year-old's progress.

But it was only when Blackburn manager Graeme Souness gave him the chance to showcase his talents on a Premiership platform once again that everything came together.

"That's a nice surprise to hear about Roland," said Thompson.

"I did enjoy it when I was playing under him so it's good to hear he's been saying nice things about me.

"That gives me a little bit of a boost to know they might have been thinking about me before.

"But, in saying that, this wouldn't have happened if I'd have stayed at Coventry and that's why I've got to say a big thank-you to Graeme Souness for giving me this chance because I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for him.

"When I was at Coventry there was a bit more pressure on me to perform but I've come here to Blackburn and it's been easy for me because I've joined such a great squad of players, which has allowed me to just go out and play the way I normally play.

"So it's not just Graeme, it's the whole staff and the players who have made it so easy for me since I came here.

"I already feel like I've been here two years because of the way I've just gelled and settled in so I want to say a big thank-you to them as well."

Things could hardly have turned out better for Thompson since his £1.5 million move from Coventry.

In just five short weeks, he has already become a firm favourite with Rovers fans after a string of man-of-the-match awards and three stunning goals in his seven appearances to date.

That kind of form prompted Souness to champion his England cause from day one but Thompson was determined not to get carried away by all the hype.

"I didn't want any distractions to be honest with you," said the Birkenhead-born midfielder.

"It was nice to be linked with the England squad but I just wanted to carry on playing my football because, if people start talking about England then you start looking at the squad hoping that you are going to be in there, and then it's a little bit of a kick in the teeth when you're not.

"That happened to a certain extent on Sunday. But I didn't want to start looking at the squads and start getting distracted.

"It turned out well in the end, though. When Graeme Souness rang me yesterday and told me that I was in, I was absolutely made up.

"It's been a fantastic month for me."

Now he has made his first squad, his focus will switch to winning his first senior cap, either in Slovakia on Saturday or against Macedonia next week in the first ever full international to be played at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium.

But whatever Eriksson has in store for him over the next seven days, he's just happy to be involved at all, particularly when there's something other than his own reputation at stake in both games.

"Obviously, it's even better that it's a qualifier but I would have been over the moon to get called into any squad, to be honest," added Thompson, who has represented his country before at Youth and Under 21 level.

"At the end of the day, I would have gone down there just to carry the bags because this is a dream come true for me."

Life, quite simply, couldn't get any better for Thompson at present.

"I think I'll have a go at the Lottery on Saturday but I don't want to push my luck too far."