In what must feel like a previous life, one in which he was synonymous with immaturity and underachievement, David James might have struggled to conform to the demands of Fabio Capello. The England manager is notorious for his dislike of the kind of mindless video games that James once blamed for erratic performances in his youth, but these days, at the age of 37, the only games he is interested in, are what he calls “brain training”.

James is more likely to be found playing Su Doku than Super Mario and it is the mental side of his game, once a flaw in his make-up, that he now considers his greatest strength.

“I've changed as a player,” the Portsmouth goalkeeper said. “It's the mental stuff. My training is tailored to that these days. I'm happy now, having spent years not being happy about football. I was striving for perfection and I know now that that was an impossible dream. I would be playing games, winning 3-1, and I would be in a strop because I had conceded a penalty. That wasn't the right way to go.”

Successive England managers have had concerns about James's mental strength, but he is confident of establishing himself under Capello and of playing for his country at the 2010 World Cup finals. “That's the goal,” James said yesterday. “If I didn't feel I could do that, I wouldn't be here.

“When Steve McClaren took over he gave me the phone call and said I wouldn't be needed and the question I asked myself was, ‘What was going to happen?' But the environment I have at Portsmouth is very good. If I did well, I'd be in the frame. When Mr Capello came in, there was an opportunity for him to bring in a new regime, but I appreciated playing 90 minutes and coming back. I'm enjoying life, I really am.”

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