Harry Arter admitted it was difficult missing out on the European Championships this summer but that the tournament gave him the motivation to get fit and try break into the squad.
The Bournemouth midfielder missed out on this summer's tournament in France after picking up an injury toward the end of the season.
Martin O'Neill's side reached the round of 16 before crashing out at the hands of the hosts, but Arter says he is prepared to produce performances that will help him get back into the squad.
"The times I have been there I've been fully prepared to play,"he told Kevin Kilbane after today's scoreless draw with Tottenham at Dean Court. "Unfortunately it hasn't happened for me yet, so hopefully this time round if I am there and I am fit I'll get a chance.
"The two results [against Georgia and Moldova] were great and it's set us up now in a great position. I feel the Austria game is going to be the toughest in the group really so it's set us well to go there with good points behind us. The pressure is going to be solely on them. If they don't get a result there'll be a lot more pressure on the team.
"There was a lot of criticism directed toward the team but results are the most important things at this stage and we've been picking them up."
Arter has featured regularly for Bournemouth since the start of the season. Image: Steve Paston / PA Wire/PA Images
The 26-year-old added that he felt there was an opportunity to be given a cap at the beginning of the qualifiers in September, but that competition was fierce.
"I thought in Serbia there was a chance that I would get the nod to play, but unfortunately I didn't. I felt we performed well in Serbia and got a result there. Hopefully this time around I'll get more of a chance and if I do then it'll be down to me."
Asked what his thoughts about being absent for the European Championships in June he said: "It was disappointing to miss out through injury, but we have such a fantastic team that I may not have even been picked for the squad. I wasn't thinking I was a guaranteed spot. I definitely wasn't thinking that.
"For me even the game against Belarus was still an opportunity to get myself into his mind but the injury was just too much at that time. All throughout the summer I was watching the Euros and using it as my motivation to get fit and to try establish myself as a Premier League player."
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