PHIL JAGIELKA has shrugged off the early-season criticism that was hurled in his direction and spelled out his determination to retain his place at the heart of England’s back four.

Jagielka was one of the players whose reputation took a significant battering during this summer’s World Cup, with England’s defensive deficiencies leading to a questioning of his ability to cope with the pace and movement displayed by the leading attackers at international level.

A patchy start to the domestic season with Everton resulted in further discussion about his perceived shortcomings, and the 32-year-old found himself on the bench when Roy Hodgson selected his side for September’s friendly with Norway and opening Euro 2016 qualifier with Switzerland.

Since then, however, Phil Jones has lost his form and fitness, Chris Smalling has failed to establish himself in the Manchester United side and Calum Chambers has been moved out of the centre-half berth at Arsenal, and as a result, Jagielka was recalled to England’s starting line-up for last month’s wins over San Marino and Estonia.

He is likely to be alongside Gary Cahill again when Hodgson’s side resume their qualifying campaign with a home game against Slovenia on Saturday, and is happy to have silenced those who were doubting him in the early weeks of the season.

“People were quick to point out how bad they thought things were earlier in the season, but I’ve not looked too much into that and I’ve not paid any attention to what people have written or said about me,” said Jagielka, who was one of Everton’s stand-out performers during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

“I’ve got good friends and family, and a good support network around me. I’m happy with the way things are going. I’m happy with my form for my club, and obviously I got to play for England last time and that was good.”

As well as taking on Slovenia at the weekend, with England looking to make it four wins out of four in European Championships qualifying, Jagielka is also hoping to be involved in next Tuesday’s eagerly-awaited friendly with Scotland.

It is 15 years since England last played at Hampden Park – a play-off game ahead of Euro 2000 that saw Paul Scholes score twice in a 2-0 win – and while Scotland have slipped down the international rankings in the last decade or so, former Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan has overseen something of a renaissance since being appointed as the national boss north of the border in January.

Scotland’s only defeat in their last nine matches was a narrow 2-1 reverse to World Cup winners Germany, and next week’s match should provide a better test of England’s post-World Cup rebuilding than their recent qualifying games.

“We’ve got two massive games coming up, for two slightly different reasons,” said Jagielka. “With the first game being a qualifier, it’s important we hit the ground running there and stay at the top of the group.

“We want to keep our 100 per cent record going. Then after that we’ve got the local derby up in Glasgow and that’s certainly going to be interesting. They’re two massive games, and they’re both very important to us. Hopefully, I’ll get to play as many minutes as possible in those two games.

“I could be up against Steven Fletcher again, and obviously with Steven Naismith as well, they’ve got some very good attacking players. It’ll be interesting to play an international game against players you’re used to facing in the Premier League, or even on your own training ground. It’s nice to see them (Scotland) doing well again – although not too well obviously!”

Jagielka signed off ahead of the international break with a typically composed defensive display against Sunderland, although he admitted the Black Cats deserved to take a point for their efforts on Sunday afternoon.

“It was a difficult game and we didn’t start the best, but I think once we got a bit of a foothold in the game, we controlled it for large periods,” he said. “Sunderland put us under pressure and put the ball in the box quite a lot, so a draw was probably a fair result.

“I think it probably summed up where we’re both at right now. They had a great win (at Crystal Palace) and they’ve started climbing the table, and we’re trying to do something similar too.

“It was always going to be a tough game. It was a strange one for the fans because there were some weird and wonderful decisions out there, but I think if Sunderland had come away with a loss that would probably have been a bit harsh.”