After 11 years of false dawns and disappointments, Michael Carrick is determined to finally play a major part in an international tournament with England.
Having made his debut way back in 2004, Carrick is the second-longest serving member of the England squad behind Wayne Rooney. But unlike Rooney, who has 101 caps, Carrick has rarely pulled on the famous white shirt.
If he turns out against Lithuania on Friday, it will be just the 32nd time Carrick has played for England.
The 33-year-old has, remarkably, played just one game in a tournament for England -- and that came under Sven-Goran Eriksson at the 2006 World Cup.
Roy Hodgson omitted the midfielder from his squads for Euro 2012 and last year's World Cup, but Carrick is now regarded as a key member of the squad and has his eyes on next year's European Championship in France.
"That's definitely what I'm striving towards," he said. "As a team there's really good signs. It's important not to get carried away.
"But for me to have another crack and try to have a bigger influence in the team and the squad is the target. There is plenty left for me to achieve."
After missing out on Euro 2012 squad and deemed good enough only for a place on the standby list for the World Cup last year. Carrick never gave up on his country despite the double-snub, though.
"It was a big blow," Carrick said of not being picked for the World Cup. "But I just wanted to get back playing well for United and if the opportunity came along again then great, if it didn't then it is just something you have to deal with. Now it's not so bad.
"When you have setbacks in your career when you come through them and you are better for it.
"You appreciate where you are, what you have got. You are in a better state to deal with it and move forward and I have done that throughout my career from the start and that is what has shaped me into the way I am now."
Carrick said he is happy to embrace his role as the elder statesman of the England squad.
"I am the older one and that is just something I am used to now," said the midfielder. "I have a new lease of life. I am just enjoying my football. You get to a certain age and you don't actually know how long you have left.
"I feel great at the moment and I've certainly got another year left in me and I am just happy to be part of it, and make the most of it because it's a special thing to be involved in and I am very grateful for that.
"I love seeing the younger lads come in but it's important to have experience."
The fact that Chris Powell, Danny Mills and Alan Smith were on the pitch when Carrick came off the bench to make his England debut in a 4-0 win over Mexico shows just how long he has been involved with the England set-up.
He played seven times each under Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello while Hodgson has fielded the former Spurs man on nine occasions.
The midfielder refuses to criticise any of those coaches and says he is the one to blame for the fact that he has played so little for his country.
He said: "There were times when I felt I could have had more of a chance it didn't go so well for whatever reason.
"But I'm not complaining. I feel fortunate to have been able to play for England to start with. To play that many times in some ways is a good achievement. When you compare it with others and ask 'is it enough?', I obviously feel I should have had more.
"That's not blaming any managers, that's down to me as well. At certain times I could have done better.
"I should have had more caps but it's not something I'm sitting here regretting at this stage. There is still more to come."
Although he will not acknowledge it himself, Carrick's talents have been appreciated more by the public as his career has progressed.
His role inevitably fell into the shadows at United when he was playing alongside the mesmeric Scholes. Now he runs the midfield at United -- a fact acknowledged last week when the club exercised their option to extend Carrick's contract for another year.
The former Newcastle midfielder thinks his quiet personality has sometimes counted against him in terms of public acceptance.
"It is a lot on your personality how you are, as a person, as a player, that is how I am really, quite quiet and understated, it suits me," he said. "What makes me happy is going home spending time with the family, getting away from the game sometimes.
"We had a day at Cheltenham [races]. People said: 'What are you doing, you've got a big game at the weekend? You've got to be focused on that' but you say to yourself: 'I've got to pull myself away from that because it's a crazy world sometimes that we live in.'"
United have lost just once when Carrick has started under Louis van Gaal -- a manager he rates among the best in the game.
Most of the season Carrick has played at the bottom of a diamond and that is where he is expected to fit in for England's games against Lithuania and Italy.
"It's not the only position I can play, but it's a formation that would probably suit me," Carrick said.