Robert Green has waited so long for an opportunity to shine with England but he has been shielding his eyes in embarrassment of late. Overlooked when playing well during the past 18 months, his presence in the national squad comes at a time when the West Ham United goalkeeper has made a series of gaffes.

Green dropped a cross to hand Kevin Davies the opening goal in the 3-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers on Sunday and gave away a penalty during the 3-2 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion last month.

The 28-year-old has never hidden his disappointment at having only one international cap, which came more than three years ago in a friendly against Colombia. He once had “England’s No 6” stitched onto his gloves, mocking his position in the goalkeeping pecking order, and has claimed that he does not watch England when not named in the party. Such honesty might, in other situations, have been regarded as commendable, but could irritate the England management.

Green was recalled for the World Cup qualifying fixtures against Andorra and Croatia last month and is the understudy to David James for the matches against Kazakhstan on Saturday and Belarus four days later. “I want to play and I want to be involved,” Green said. “The squad is picked on form, but these things [mistakes] happen in life. It’s something to be worked on while I’m away with England.

“It’s an occupational hazard, making mistakes. I’ll be twice as determined to get things right. You get rewarded enough for good saves, so you have to deal with this.”

Green has never lacked confidence, but it cannot help him that West Ham have failed to keep a clean sheet in 19 league matches, during which he has conceded 40 goals. “Being responsible for the start of the downfall [the first league defeat under Gianfranco Zola, the new manager] is the biggest disappointment,” he said. “I’ll go back to the training ground and work on catching. If it had come after winning 5-0 and in the last minute, then you try and take it with a pinch of salt.”