Gary Cahill was confident he had John Terry's backing after staking his claim to replace his Chelsea team-mate at the heart of England's defence.
Cahill was given the nod to start Friday night's World Cup qualifier against San Marino, the Three Lions' first match since Blues captain Terry sensationally quit international football over his Football Association racism case.
"I've not really had that one-to-one conversation about that particular situation," Cahill said. "He's always encouraged me and I hope he wishes me well."
The 5-0 thrashing of one of the worst teams in international football would have told England boss Roy Hodgson little about Cahill's defensive capabilities.
"You don't really take too much out of that because you don't really get asked many questions in the game," Cahill said. "It's always nice when that happens."
The 26-year-old added: "I've been pleased with my performance. It's just a matter of getting the ball and trying to bring it out from the back and give it to those players that can create chances."
The one area in which Cahill did compare unfavourably to Terry was in front of goal, the defender wasting two chances his team-mate would normally gobble up.
"I don't know how I haven't scored," he admitted. "The one that I missed at the back post, the one that got blocked. Frustrated in front of goal but it's not really what I'm there for. I'll let the other lads do that, which they did."
There were real concerns they would not during a frustrating first half-an-hour against a team that parked the bus.
"It was a strange game, wasn't it?" Cahill said. "We saw the footage before the game and we knew, really, that it was going to be like that. So, it was just a matter of keeping concentrated and making sure we did a professional job, which we did in the end, which was obviously pleasing."
