It's absolute rubbish to suggest my England career is over and that I've decided to call it a day on the international scene.

I'm not giving up my international career just yet as Kevin Keegan has said publicly that all the players, even those like me the wrong side of 30, have a part to play in the England set-up.

So the chances are I'll be around for a little while longer.

I'm taking a family holiday and will discuss the future with my wife, Claire. I understand Kevin is also taking a break and after we return it will be important for us to get together for a chat.

I understand Kevin has already indicated he sees me as part of his plans for the World Cup qualifying campaign, which starts early next season. His public statement has given me great encouragement but I'd still rather receive his opinion firsthand in the next couple of weeks.

But Kevin's will not be the only advice I'll be seeking. I want to talk to my Middlesbrough manager, Bryan Robson, and there's no way I'll carry on if it doesn't fit in with my family plans.

It would've been easy to quit if I'd had a nightmare at Euro 2000 but I don't think I did. Now I'm more inclined to think I can do a job for England for a little longer.

It's not a decision I'm going to make right away. I'm not going to be hasty or rush into saying something I might regret. I've been back in England for only a few days and I haven't had the chance to speak to anybody.

The bottom line is I've loved and felt very proud representing my country ever since Graham Taylor gave me my first cap against Spain eight years ago. I don't want to cut short my international career a day before necessary and I still believe there's good reason for me to believe I can keep going.

I wouldn't like to go out on the disappointing note that Alan Shearer suffered in Charleroi last Tuesday. But you have to be strong enough to stand by your convictions. Alan has demonstrated immense strength of character and I'll do the same when the time comes.

It was important for me to see how the European Championship went. I know there are people saying my legs have gone but I think they're wrong. There was a lot of pressure on me against Portugal but I don't think it would've made any difference whether I was 19 or 32. It was so difficult to cope.

I don't think I let anybody down in the Germany game and I was quite pleased with the way I played against Romania. To put it in a nutshell, I don't feel comfortable saying I'm going to call it a day.

It's been difficult settling back into the family routine since I came back last Wednesday. The consolationwasthat Iwasbackwith Claire and the children. But I know it meant as much to them as it did to me that we did better than we did.

It'll take me a long time to get over the disappointment of the Romania game. It ranks alongside my worst moments for England. We'd given ourselves a great opportunity of reaching the last eight and anything could have happened after that.

We thought we'd done the spadework by beating the Germans but then to fail as miserably as we did on Tuesday night, letting down ourselves, the coaches, the fans who were in the stadium and the millions who weren't, has been hard to stomach.

We'd done well to get back into it from a goal down. I was fouled for the penalty and the way Alan put the spot-kick away was magnificent. England will miss him.

Then Michael Owen did the business and I sensed when we went in at half-time 2-1 up that the Romanians had gone. I honestly felt we were going to win by three or four.

Unfortunately, we gave away a ridiculous equaliser after a couple of minutes of the second half which put us on the back foot again and gave them an unbelievable lift. That stupid goal changed the face of the match. That's what annoyed me more than anything.

Nobody is blaming any individuals. It was a team failure - we were all in it together. It was cruel for Phil Neville, who has been pilloried for commiting the foul that gave Romania that crucial penalty.

Phil was inconsolable. But we lost it as much when we conceded the equaliser as we did in the last few minutes of that game. Playing well for Middlesbrough will be the main item on my early agenda and England will have to take a back seat for a while.

Whether that becomes permanent we'll have to wait and see but I've never been one to shirk a challenge. If Kevin still wants me, it might be difficult to disappoint him.