THE list of players who won a cap for England, then failed to wear the three lions again, stretches into the hundreds.

Neil Lennon does not believe Fraser Forster will extend this role of single honour - and the big keeper is determined he won't.

Having finally made the breakthrough in last week's friendly against Chile, the Celtic shotstopper is about to knuckle down even harder to ensure he is included in Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup finals.

Forster has a giant foot in the door.

But, if he is to oust Joe Hart - who Forster accepts is still No.1, despite his travails at Manchester City - he wants it to be because of how he is playing, not because of the poor form of the man who came back into the England side for the defeat to Germany on Tuesday.

The giant Geordie admits he wants to become England No.1 "at some point," and can use Tuesday's game against Milan to strengthen his claim.

He said: "It's nice to look forward and see the opportunity to get to the World Cup is there. But you need to concentrate on playing well for Celtic.

"It was brilliant to get my first cap, but there is plenty of hard work still to be done and I have to try to put performances in for the club.

"That will ask questions of other people, whether they decide to take you."

Forster has already answered a number of questions himself, most important of all: Can someone playing in the SPFL Premiership be deemed good enough for England?

Plenty of people assured him the answer was no when he was given the chance to move to Celtic.

"Thinking I was third choice at Newcastle to here, we've all worked hard," said Forster.

"People at Celtic have put in a lot of time with me and helped me progress my career, and I'm really grateful to them.

"Being at Celtic has been brilliant for me, as it has been for a lot of the lads.

"You come in when you're young, and with relatively little experience. This club gives you the opportunity to compete for trophies and play in Europe.

"It gives you great exposure and experience, which will be priceless as your career progresses."

Nowhere will that exposure be greater than in Brazil next summer, and Lennon can see both a short-term and long-term spin-off for the club to have so many players involved.

The presence of Georgios Samaras, Efe Ambrose, Emilio Izaguirre, Tom Rogic and Forster - Lennon has not given up hope Virgil van Dijk can join them - will raise the profile of Celtic.

It will also ensure they feel the need to be on the top of their form for the rest of the season, because nothing is guaranteed in football.

Lennon reckons Forster has done the hardest bit, winning his first cap, and said of the man who cost just £2million: "It's maybe a bit presumptuous, but I'd like to think he will be there on that plane.

"I'm sure he would have doubts in his mind whether his England career would have materialised playing here.

"But he has proved that can be possible.

"There are so many good aspects to come out of that, and now we hope he can keep going.

"What makes it even better is he was not in the England squad when he came here. He was third choice at Newcastle, and had offers to stay in England, and now he has gone on to break into the England team."

Lennon believes the taboo surrounding English players surrendering any hope of playing for their country when they cross the border has now been laid to rest.

Forster's rise is another useful tool the manager can use when working on players he tries to bring to the club, along with the exposure Champions League football can bring and the successful development and sell-on of players who arrived as relatively unknowns, like Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper, to the Barclays Premier League.

Lennon is astute enough to recognise having England on his CV will make Forster even more attractive to potential buyers, and accepts that's to be expected.

And, when asked if Forster's progression to England prominence will help in future signing sojourns, Lennon replied: "I hope so.

"The exposure the club is getting and the reputation the club is getting is a big carrot now for us to attract players.

"It's still hard to attract the quality, but having the Champions League is certainly a big plus for that."

Given the stage, it is always down to the individual player to take the chance to become a star, as Forster has done.

Lennon is confident he will not rest on his laurels, and said: "How much football Fraser will get for England between now and the World Cup, I don't know.

"It's up to him to stay in that vein of form and keep pushing Joe, who is rightly still England's No.1 because he has played through all the qualifying campaigns.

"All Fraser can do is keep the competitiveness there."