Cup despair spurs Lescott to country pursuits

The Everton defender Joleon Lescott wants to erase the memory of last weekend's FA Cup final defeat by helping England take a huge step towards the World Cup finals.

Lescott was in the Everton side that lost to Chelsea despite taking the lead within 25 seconds of kick-off at Wembley, but is now focused on the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra.

With maximum points putting the finals in South Africa within sight, Lescott has the perfect opportunity to forget about the Wembley defeat. "It's definitely a chance to do that," he said. "I was disappointed at losing at the weekend but I'm fully focused."

Lescott is still proud of his season, with Everton finishing fifth in the Premier League under David Moyes. "It's great working with David Moyes," he said. "He's defensive-minded and that helps me improve my game. We're a well organised team and that helps me as well."

One of Lescott's early England appearances was a nervous display in the defeat to Russia during qualifying for the 2008 European Championship but he feels he has improved. "I'd like to think I've progressed and got better since that," he said. "For me, I was playing out of position at the time, at left-back, and I had never played there before. I always see myself as a centre-back and now I'm playing there I'm enjoying it a lot more."