Lampard was restored to England’s starting line-up for Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Wales at Wembley just three days after being axed by Capello for the 3-0 win against Bulgaria.

Capello’s decision to leave the 33-year-old on the bench in Sofia was widely regarded as the end of Lampard’s time on the international stage.

Lampard won’t have silenced the critics with his tepid display against Wales, which included a bad miss in the second half and ended with his substitution after 73 minutes.

At least the former West Ham star has grown used to dealing with the vitriol of fans and pundits throughout an international career that has seen him labelled as the leading flop of England’s so-called golden generation.

He concedes the criticism has irked him this time because it is too early in the campaign to make a definitive judgement on his form and he would love to made the experts eat their words by helping England shine at Euro 2012.

“I’ll tell you the one reason it (criticism of his form) does irritate me is I’ve had slow starts to seasons before,” Lampard said.

“When I was 25 or 26 I had a World Cup that didn’t go well and I  was told I was rubbish rather than old. Now people say I’m too old.

“People can talk about my age all they like. There is nothing better in football than proving people wrong. That is something that will drive me on.

“It’s actually been alright over the last week. I’ve seen bits and pieces of what people said but I’m at an age now where I’ve been in these situations before.

“It’s easier to take when you get that bit more mature about things.

“I’ve never expected to play for England. I’m very proud to play  for England but if your form is good the manager will pick you. It is a simple as that.”  

Lampard is adamant he never takes his place for granted and would never cause problems for Capello by complaining about being dropped.

Instead he simply redoubles his efforts in training in a bid to underline his worth.

“It didn’t surprise me to be dropped,” he said. “I’ve got to be honest, and I’m sure it’s the same with a lot of players, you never come into the squad with this manager, whoever you are, you never take anything for granted until you see your name on that teamsheet.

“I’d never be thinking I’m going to play because there is too much quality in the squad.

“I’ll always want to play. That is what drives you on. If you come here and are happy just to sit on the bench, there’s no point in coming.

“If you don’t play you have to deal with it in the right way. You have to be professional, train hard in the week and that’s what  I tried to do.

“It’s part of being a footballer. I’d rather think I gave it everything every time I was called up rather than ducking out.” 

Lampard’s appearance against Wales was his 88th in an England career marred by the team’s failure to deliver on their potential in major tournaments.

By his age Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes had long since given up international duty to focus on their clubs and Lampard admits that could cross his mind in the future.

“There is only two ways I won’t play for England; If I don’t get  picked, which is fair enough, and if I find it is better for my long-term career with Chelsea like other people have done,” he said.