Kevin Davies feels certain he can make impact on his England debut

Kevin Davies has spoken of his "nerves" at being selected for the England squad for the first time but believes he can make an impact for his country and has defended his physical style of play. Davies has been called up for England's Euro 2012 qualifying match against Montenegro on Tuesday and could fill the support striker role occupied by Emile Heskey prior to his retirement from international football. The 33-year-old was Heskey's room-mate at Under-21 level and is now ready to take his place in the senior side. "There's always been a link between my playing style and Emile Heskey and we've always been compared, right back to the Under-21s," said Davies. "I'm confident in my own ability and have always felt that I could do a job at this level. I feel over the moon to have been given this chance and am looking forward to the challenge." If the Bolton captain starts on Tuesday he will become England's oldest debutant since Leslie Compton in 1950. That, however, is not a concern for the man himself. "I feel as good as ever," he said. "I'm enjoying my football and hope to play a part on Tuesday. I never gave up [on playing for England] and was always hopeful, in the back of my mind, that it would happen one day." Davies has been labelled in some quarters as an overly physical player, a charge which was highlighted by some sections of the press this morning following Danny Murphy's comments yesterday in which the Fulham midfielder picked out some clubs for sending out their players with orders to make "brainless" tackles. Murphy did not mention Bolton but did name Blackburn Rovers, who are managed by the former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce. "I have not seen the comments [by Danny Murphy] but there have been a few tasty challenges and some nasty injuries recently," said Davies. "I've always been labelled as being aggressive but I haven't picked up a red card in years and never go out intentionally to hurt a player. "At Bolton we try and win games but we've never had a manager who has said to us 'go rough them up'. If anything we're too honest. I also take a lot of hits myself, but never complain about it."