Dean Richards fears he may have missed the boat with England - because he is too old.

The Tottenham centre half is being tipped as a potential international and can bolster his claims with another strong display against Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday

But the Bradford-born defender feels he may have mistimed his run for Eng-land honours.

Richards said: "People keeping asking me about the England situation and, while I try not to think about it when I'm playing, of course it would be great for me if it happens.

"But at the same time, while I'm only 27, I can't help wondering if I've just missed out.

"England have got a very young team at the moment, and maybe Sven Goran Eriksson is already building for the future. Maybe I've missed the boat by a couple of years."

Former England coach Glenn Hoddle, splashed out £8.1 million on taking Richards to White Hart Lane.

He said: "I believe there's more to come from Deano. He'll grow as a player and improve with better players around him."

Richards added: "I know now that I'm playing on a much bigger stage than I was at Southampton.

"The team are doing well at the mo-ment, and obviously that will bring more attention on everyone. We've got two massive games coming up.

"We're at Leeds on Sunday and then it's Arsenal at home, so if we're going to make any impression at the top end of the table these are the sort of occasions we must try to take points from."

lSee this weekend's Yorkshire Sports for Dean Richards feature and big match preview of the Leeds-Spurs clash.