James Beattie Southampton and England striker

Down, but not out at the end of the FA Cup final

As you can imagine, we were pretty devastated and down in the immediate aftermath of losing to Arsenal on Saturday.

I discovered that losing an FA Cup final is a pretty harrowing experience.

But in the cold light of day and once the hurt had eased a bit, we realised there are plenty of positives to take out of it.

It's a thin line between success and failure, and we felt that with one or two breaks, we could have won.

Saints to talk to Svensson

Arsenal had chances early on and failed to take them and with only one goal in the game, you're always in contention.

They had the sort of break with their goal that we never had in front of goal.

I thought I had scored with my header in the last minute, only for Ashley Cole to scramble the ball off the line.

In the end, we were the thicknes of Ashley's thigh from forcing extra time.

I enjoyed the whole experience and the day was made complete by our fans, who were superb

I know there are instances of players throwing their runners-up medals away, or just neglecting them.

But I won't be doing that. I'll put it in my cabinet with the rest of my trophies.

It's still something to be proud of, and there are plenty of teams in the Premiership who would have been more than glad of a season in which they finished eighth and got to the Cup final.

I enjoyed the whole experience and the day was made complete by our fans, who were superb.

They never drifted out on the final whistle and stayed to applaud us and Arsenal round the pitch, which was fantastic.

The only downer of the Cup final experience was some of the press coverage after it.

Ashley Cole was on the spot to clear

Some of it was a bit mischievous and you wonder the motives of some people who try and unsettle players.

Inevitably, there was more speculation concerning me, this time linking me with Liverpool.

I'm getting used to such speculation now and I don't know how many times I have to say it, but I'm going nowhere.

I've signed a new contract, I'm happy at Southampton and as far as I'm concerned I'll be reporting back for pre-season training in July.

My season hasn't quite ended yet, though, and I've still got plenty to look forward to.

This is a chance for me to get my foot firmly in the door with England and I fully intend to take it

I'm joining up with the England squad on Friday for the friendly against Serbia & Montenegro, and the Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovakia.

I can't say how much I'm looking forward to linking up with the squad - even Ashley Cole, who I'll have a word with!

Beattie hungry for Egland caps

I was really chuffed to get called up, I feel it's a reward for all I have achieved this season.

This is a chance for me to get my foot firmly in the door with England and I fully intend to take it.

After that, I'll have a bit of break, but it doesn't seem that long until I'll be reporting back for pre-season.

In the meantime, have a great summer, enjoy the break - and I'll see you again in August.