IT'S D-day for me in more ways than one when he head to Fulham tomorrow for another vital Premiership clash.

Sven Goran Eriksson names his squad tomorrow night for England's friendly with Holland next week and I'd love to be included.

But there's far more riding on my performance at the Cottage than my immediate international prospects.

I'm well aware that a booking against the Londoners would spell the end of my Worthington Cup dream as I'm currently just one yellow card away from a one-match ban.

But, though I'll be looking to tred carefully in the capital, we can't afford to take our foot off the pedal even a fraction as we face a scrap for our Premiership lives.

If I was to miss out on an appearance at Cardiff, I'd be absolutely gutted, I can't deny it.

But there's no way either myself or the team can afford to hold back because our whole future as a Premiership club is firmly on the line.

Last week's defeat at West Ham came as another crushing blow in a season which seems to be going from bad to worse at the minute.

That's nine defeats now from the last 11 and if the alarm bells weren't ringing before, then they certainly are now.

However, before we start to feel sorry for ourselves, I think we need to keep positive.

There's still plenty of quality within the squad and I firmly believe we are more than equipped to turn the current situation around.

I know people once said that Nottingham Forrest were too good to go down and then they promptly got relegated at the end of the season.

However, I genuinely believe we've got far too many good players at this club to get sucked into a dog-fight.

I don't think anyone can deny we've been a bit unlucky in certain games over the last couple of months but we can't afford to start licking our wounds -- the only way to improve the situation is by putting the performances in on the pitch.

The team spirit is still rock solid and it was that which helped us through some difficult times last season.

So, as long as we stick together, then it won't be long before our luck starts to change.

Yes, we could probably defend better as a team and that's something the gaffer has stressed to us in training all this week.

But once we cross that white line he has no control over what we do on the pitch so it's only the players who can ultimately put things right.

As for England, it's not at the forefront of my mind right now.

Of course I'd love to get a call-up this weekend because playing for your country is everyone's dream.

If it doesn't happen, though, I won't be devastated because there may be other opportunities further down the line.

For the time being at least, my number one goal has got to be to help Rovers avoid relegation.