MARTIN O’NEILL last night insisted that Emile Heskey will get plenty of opportunities at club level this season despite being dropped for the past two Premier League matches but the Aston Villa manager has urged the England striker to become “more selfish” in front of goal in order to cement his place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.

Heskey has found himself in the unusual situation of being a first-choice for his country but unable to hold down a starting berth for his club, prompting suggestions that his England place could be at risk in the long term.

O’Neill, however, maintains that the forward will “play a lot of games” between now and the end of the season and also believes that when Capello picks his squad for South Africa the England manager will not overlook the contribution Heskey made during the qualifying fixtures. The striker was again preferred to Jermain Defoe against Croatia on Wednesday despite his inferior scoring record.

“I think that Emile Heskey can take a lot of confidence from the fact that he’s helped England qualify for the World Cup and that if he continues and adds a few more goals to his game, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be on the plane,” the Villa manager said. “And I think he has already pushed a decent case, I don’t think that the England manager will have forgotten those things.

“He’s helped England fantastically. They’ve won eight games and he’s played a big part in that. He’s getting a reputation as being a provider. Sometimes when you get that, you start to miss out on a part of the game that you can definitely improve on, and that’s scoring goals.

“But I think he can do a bit of both. And that’s something that I would be wanting to encourage him to do – get a wee bit more selfish; get attempts on goal and consequently from that you will definitely add to your goal tally.”

Heskey has managed only two goals in 18 appearances since arriving from Wigan Athletic for €4million in January and is expected to be on the bench again tomorrow when Villa make the short trip to St Andrew’s to play Birmingham City.

O’Neill, however, believes the 31-year-old will “prove to be excellent value for money once he settles down” and has no doubt that he will be playing regular first-team football during the next nine months.

“If you’re talking about getting on the plane to go to South Africa, I think it’s a long season ahead,” he said.