Carroll: This is my chance
Andy Carroll is confident of showing Europe what he is about next month.
The 23-year-old was given an opportunity to impress in Roy Hodgson's first game in charge of England this weekend - and he rewarded his new boss by providing the assist for Ashley Young's goal in a 1-0 victory over Norway.
Carroll believes his attributes fit with the way Hodgson wants to play football and thinks he has found form at the right time ahead of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.
He told reporters: "It's a great honour to be involved with England. This is what I want to be involved in during my career.
"Now I've got a chance to show what I'm about. I thought I did well. We've got a big squad and loads of quality players but I gave it my best shot and we'll see what happens.
"The season is over for everyone not involved in this (Euro 2012) and it's great for me to carry it on and I want to do well if given the chance.
"The way Roy Hodgson has played at his clubs, he wants a big man up front and he has picked me, so that is great."
Carroll grew into his role at Liverpool as last season progressed, winning four consecutive man of the match votes on Liverpoolfc.tv as the campaign reached its conclusion.
But even when things were not going quite so well following his record transfer from Newcastle, the No.9 always had faith in his ability.
"I always believed in myself but things weren't going too well for me," he said.
"The price tag meant nothing to me. I just signed for a new club and it was hard to fit in straight away.
"I came into Liverpool when injured and it was hard for me to get my fitness back but I didn't think about the price at all.
"I don't think about those sorts of things. I know what I'm about and, as soon as I got my fitness up, I've started to show it.
"Towards the end of the season, I got a run of games and did well - and now I'm here.
"Training and playing gets your confidence up, certainly after a good game, and I carried on from there.
"I feel a lot fitter now than I did at the start and halfway through the season.
"I'm feeling good, feeling fresh. From the end of the season, I felt good, felt like I was moving a lot better and getting involved in games more than earlier in the season."