Blackburn’s new midfield general Stephen Warnock is happy to sacrifice any England ambitions for the good of his club-mates.

The former Liverpool player has carved out a solid reputation as an attack-minded left-back since breaking into Rafael Benitez’s Reds team in 2004-05, but has recently been used as a ball-winner in the heart of manager Paul Ince’s midfield.

Following his switch from Anfield to Ewood Park in January 2007, Warnock’s form at full-back was good enough to see him handed a first England cap in June’s friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago.

With the likes of former team-mate Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry ahead of him in the queue, Warnock knows he is unlikely to ever make Fabio Capello’s squad as a midfielder.

But he insists he is willing to put his international career on ice if it benefits Rovers.

Asked if his change of position could jeopardise his England hopes, Warnock said: “It’s a possibility, but if it’s something I have to sacrifice, it’s just one of those things.

”We’ll have to wait and see because it’s not definite that I’ll be staying in midfield anyway, you’d have to ask the manager where he sees me playing in the long term.

”But at the moment he sees me as a midfielder and I’m happy to do that.”

With young Swede Martin Olsson filling in capably at left-back so far this term, Warnock may be asked to take up a more advanced role once again in tonight’s daunting trip to face Aston Villa.

But after spending most of his formative years in the position, it is not a prospect that fazes the 26-year-old.

”I grew up playing left and centre midfield, and it was only at about 19, after I’d broken my leg a couple of times, that at Liverpool they decided to move me to left-back,” he revealed.

”When I broke into the first team I broke in as a left midfielder, and then one of our players got injured and I played there (left-back) for one game, had an okay match, and it carried on from there.

”So I’ve only really been a left-back for four years.”

Of his role under Ince, Warnock added: “The manager sees me in there to break the play up a bit and give the ball to Tugay, and let him do what he does best.

”With Vince (Grella) coming into the team against Boro, he asked me to play a little bit more of an advanced role and hopefully I did that okay.”

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