Shane Long knows he will have to 'perform week in, week out' if he is to make it on to the Republic of Ireland squad for the Euro 2012 finals next summer.
Injured deprived Long of playing any part in the play-off victories over Estonia only to score on his return for West Brom in the 2-1 win over Bolton on Saturday.
The striker did not like having to watch the play-offs from the sidelines and he fears he could be left out of Giovanni Trapattoni's plans for the finals if he fails to impress over the next few months.
"The international squad will meet up a few times before the Euros. But to get your name on the team-sheet in the first place is down to how you are playing at club level," he said.
"There is stiff competition here at Albion and I know that I need to perform week in, week out to keep my name on the team sheets. And that is what I intend to do."
Despite being ruled out of the play-offs Long did make the trip to Dublin for the second leg at the Aviva Stadium and he joined in with the celebrations after the Boys In Green secured a 5-1 win on aggregate.
"When I heard that I would be out for six weeks I was devastated to know that I was going to miss the Ireland games," he is quoted as saying in the Irish Daily Star.
"I tried to push as hard as I could but the Ireland games were just a week too early for me. I knew it was a bad injury at the time as I had never felt anything like that.
"It was devastating as I felt that I was getting going. It got cut short and I was angry that I was going to be out for a while. I'm just delighted to be back."