If I go half a dozen games without a goal it's a serious crisis and they start to ask: Has he lost his goal-scoring touch?

Positive

Now there's a new England manager and I get left in the subs'bench and the debate is: Is this the beginning of the end of Owen's international career?

I know that when you are a high-profile player you are always going to be put under the microscope and it is something I have learned to live with and to cope with. It comes with the job.

Fortunately over the last 10 years or more I have always been able to answer those people who are quick to write me off. I have done it in a positive way and proved them wrong time and again - not with words but with my performances on the pitch. And I am certain I will do so this time as well.

I can see why this all cropped up last week. Fabio Capello did not pick me for his first match in charge and I spent last Wednesday night on the bench watching our win over Switzerland.

I think it was the first time that has happened to me since the build up to the Euro 2000 finals. It was a strange experience for me and I cannot pretend it was one that I enjoyed.

Formation

If anybody thought it was going to dent or damage my confidence, though, they only had to see how I responded against Villa yesterday.

I thought my performance - and especially my goal - proved that it takes an awful lot more to get me down.

I know people are already saying I don't figure in the manager's future plans and I have to accept that if he continues to use a formation with only one striker up front, I might have to wait for my chance.

It's easy to forget I've played that lone role before - and scored. Nothing ever changes in my mind, if the chances come, I'll back myself to put them away.

I know I am best suited to a 4-4-2 system where I can feed off a partner in and around the penalty area. That's how I have scored the vast majority of my goals.

But if the manager feels Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch or anybody else is more effective in that solo role, there's nothing much I can do. I'll just stay patient, work hard and show the manager what I can do.

I feel like I'm coming back into form and was delighted to score for the second game running against Villa.

Campaign

Some people are going over the top and jumping to too many conclusions about England after just one game. After all, it was only a friendly and the first game under a new regime.

Let's wait until the World Cup games come around before making any long-term judgments. I would be far more disappointed if I had been left out of a qualifying game.

I think if you look back to Sven Goran Eriksson's first selection in a friendly against Spain at Villa Park it didn't show too much resemblance to the one he eventually used in the World Cup. Let's see what happens later this year when the 2010 campaign begins.

If Fabio Capello had seen the videos of my last few England performances in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, he would have seen I scored in the away game against Estonia, and one against Israel and two against Russia at Wembley.

I was very happy with my displays for my country and am more than satisfied with an international record which has brought me 40 goals from 88 appearances.

I know I cannot ever take my place in any team for granted. Ever since I was a little kid, I have fought hard to get where I wanted to be. No-one has ever given me something for nothing.

Automatic

It has meant a lot of hard graft, determination and refusal to accept defeat. From my first England manager Glenn Hoddle, to Kevin Keegan, to Sven Goran Eriksson to Steve McClaren I have continually had to convince them that I am worth a place in the team.

It's been the same at club level, especially when I went to Spain. In my one season with Real Madrid I had three different coaches and with each appointment I found myself back to square one, trying to establish myself in the first team.

Despite being in and out of the side I still got 16 goals from 29 starts including five from seven matches in one run. That should tell you I don't get discouraged after being overlooked by my managers.

I didn't expect to be an automatic choice for Madrid and I think I came through that tough time of my career pretty well. There is a real lesson for me to learn from that experience.

I am confident I will finish the season well for Newcastle now that I have a few games under my belt. My goals tend to come in bursts and if I can get on a run then I am confident I will keep on scoring.

As for England, I am not going to be despondent and start complaining that I have been given a raw deal. I have never done that, no matter what setbacks I have had to face and I won't start now.

I will deal with this latest so-called crisis in my usual way – by playing well and scoring goals.