Ashton aiming for England
Northampton winger Chris Ashton says one of his main aims for this season is to play for England during the autumn Test matches with New Zealand.
Ashton was named as the player of the season last year and has said that he will do whatever it takes to improve on the three caps he has already won for his country.
Ashton has already said it will be a massive year for Northampton this season because the club has to try and do more to win the league. He will have a huge role to play if the club is going to achieve a title win and this will ultimately increase his chances of being picked for England.
Ashton has many proven skills and qualities that will give him the best possible chance of making it back into the England set-up. However, he can not think too far ahead and has to remain a club man before anything else.
A proven player
One of the aspects that will work in Ashton's favour is the fact that he's a proven player. He already has a player of the season award in the bank and he's only 23 years old.
He looks a little bigger and stronger this season and this is due to the intense physical and fitness training program that Northampton rolled out during the pre-season. This means he could have an even bigger impact this season than he had last season.
He's already played at international level and this ensures that he will be a name on the mind of England head coach Martin Johnson. Johnson will have people watching him throughout the season so all he has to do is start playing well for his club side.
Ashton said: "My main aim is to get the Saints where we want to be and where we were last year. Then in autumn my aim is to stay in the England set-up and get my name included in that team every week. There's a lot more people in our team for people to be worried about than me in our team."
A club man first
Ashton has to stay a club man ahead of anything else because his performances will suffer if he starts to think too far ahead. This means his only focus at the moment should be Northampton because he knows England will follow if he plays well.
He will also lose a great deal of respect from fans, staff and fellow players if he makes it obvious that he is putting something else before Northampton. This would mean he loses vital support that is imperative over a long season.
He added: "I'm just a winger stood on the outside waiting for a few passes. Hopefully I can do the same again this year and hopefully they'll be marking Ben Foden and not me. Last season we just fell short so I don't see why we can't go one better and improve on what we did."
Betting advice
The Saints are one of the three or four teams that have a very strong chance of winning the Premiership this season. They showed in the opening day win over Leicester that they are more than capable of beating other bigger sides.
Ashton will have a very big role to play over the course of the season for both club and country. He can score the most tries at Northampton this season and will also be a good bet to score in any game at international level. You will get good odds on him scoring if he plays against New Zealand because the Kiwis are in fine form.
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