The City defender was named amongst the substitutes for England's recent friendly win against Egypt but he feels that if he shows good form for the remainder of the league campaign then he has a good chance of being included in Fabio Capello's squad for the finals in South Africa in the summer.
"No-one enjoys being on the bench, whether for your country or your club," he told the clubs official website, www.mcfc.co.uk.
"If you do, then you deserve to be there. I was disappointed, but I didn't go there expecting to play.
"I know I've got to progress and improve at club level then hopefully when an opportunity comes, I can do a job. But I'm pleased with the way things are going since I came back.
"This is a massive opportunity for us at City and for me as an international - hopefully we can continue our form, get fourth place, and I can go off to South Africa with the England squad."
"He [Capello] obviously thinks I'm in the top 24 players in the country, so you've got to be pleased to a certain extent.
"But again, if you're there, you want to be playing. I'm no different to any other player in that respect.
"You get picked at international level on your club form, so that's going to be a massive part of the run-in.
"If we can progress and get to the Champions League, then I'm sure that can only help me."