Gary Cahill says playing for England at Euro 2016 this summer is his last chance to prevent the season from being one to forget.
The Chelsea defender has experienced contrasting fortunes with club and country this term.
Chelsea have no silverware to play for at this stage of a season for the first time in 23 years. But Cahill helped England qualify for Euro 2016 with a 100 per cent record.
The 30-year-old concedes that the prospect of competing at the European Championship in France is his main motivation now.
He said: “It’s been one of the toughest seasons at the club. It does feel like one you want to put behind you. It’s like you have two hats, a club hat with Chelsea and an England hat. You flip back to your England hat on international duty and things have gone well since the World Cup. Euro 2016 is a chance to finish the season on a high.”
Cahill must maintain a high level of performance with Chelsea in their remaining eight League games, with his place in the England starting line-up not guaranteed.
The centre-half, who is set to start against former club Aston Villa tomorrow, missed the last Euros through injury and then was part of England’s worst ever performance at a World Cup two years ago.
He added: “In terms of my career, it [playing in major tournaments with England] is unfinished business.”
