Shelvey retains World Cup hope

During a sparkling individual performance in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Newcastle, the former Liverpool midfielder highlighted the qualities which led Swansea to part with £5million to bring him to the Liberty Stadium in the summer.

His driving runs from midfield, range of passing and tenacious defensive work are hallmarks of Shelvey at his best, and they have been on show as he finds his feet after a mixed start at Swansea.

But the edge that exists in Shelvey's game was also on show against the Magpies as he motioned to headbutt Debuchy when the pair were involved in a heated exchange prior to the midfielder's goal.

He will face no disciplinary action over the incident, but has made it clear he will not back down from any on-field challenge.

"I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't mean to hurt another player or anything like that," he said.

"I just squared up to him. You would do the same if someone started on you in the street. It was nothing really.

"There are times when you have to be careful, but the way I've been brought up is to stand up for myself. Whether it's on the football pitch or out on the road, if someone comes up to you then I will square up to them.

"It's the type of player I am. If I took the aggression out of my game then I wouldn't be the same player."

Hodgson has previously said he does not expect to bring any new faces into his squad for the global gathering in Brazil, the draw for which takes place on Friday.

But Shelvey believes he has a chance if he can perform at a consistently high level, and has targeted a place in the senior squad when England return to action in March.

"The senior squad is where I want to be. There's nothing more that I would like to do than be on that plane to Brazil," said the 21-year-old.

"It's down to me. It's in my hands to go and prove myself to the England manager.

"If I can keep playing the way I have been in the last couple of games then who knows.

"I spoke to Roy Hodgson before the first game of the season. He said he would take me with the seniors, but there was no point because he could only offer me 10 or 15 minutes at the end of a game.

"He said he'd rather I played for the Under-21s. We played Scotland, I scored and he was the manager.

"Since then, nothing has really happened. I have changed my phone number though!"

Source: PA

Source: PA