Redmond eyeing World Cup berth

The former Norwich man missed the decisive penalty in the shootout as England U21s lost against Germany in the U21 European Championship semi finals during the summer but is hoping that senior honours will go some way to helping him forget that moment.

The 23-year-old made his full England debut back in March and is hoping to use it as a springboard to further involvement this summer.

'I had a tough summer with England, a bit of a personal thing there with missing the penalty,' he said.

'So I had some things to overcome in the summer, coming up late to pre-season I had a lot of catching up to do with fitness and work and getting to know the manager. 

'It has been one of those with a new manager, new environment, new way of working and in those respects it has been quite tough but it is something that I'm learning through.

'I've felt a bit better recently but football is about confidence for a lot of players and I'm certainly one of them.

'Ever since me and Prowsey (James Ward-Prowse) got called up by England it has given me that extra motivation to do that (make the World Cup) but that isn't going to happen unless my performances for Southampton improve. That is the first thing that needs to happen.'

The appointment of former England U21 boss Gareth Southgate as the England manager has given more young players a path to full national honours and Redmond is hoping that he can be the latest youthful face in the squad.

'It is a weird feeling playing with the seniors. It's the team you have watched your whole life but then again I've played with lots of players in the younger age groups,' he said.

'Guys like Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Jack Butland - there are so many players I have played with in the younger ages so to see how they've done it, it just makes me go 'wow, they're actually doing it' and there is that same hope and chance for me so that has spurred me on. How I do for Southampton will determine that.'