Joey Barton is at is again. No, not assaulting innocent members of the public or attempting to rearrange an opponent’s bodily parts but talking himself up.

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After England’s disappointing 2006 World Cup campaign, which floundered largely on an ineffective midfield, the outspoken Scouser claimed that he would have done a better job than either Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard.

It prompted a quite succinct and withering put-down from Lampard who said at the time: "Joey mentioned that he was running at six in the morning in Dubai on holiday and then he wondered if me and Stevie G were doing the same. When I read that, I thought: 'I was doing that when I was 11’. That's the difference.”

Now it seems that the Newcastle midfield terrier is back on his favourite hobby-horse as he told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle “watching some of the performances in the World Cup over the summer I think that on form, I'm as good as anybody in this country.”

To give the man his due, most Sunday league players probably thought the same after seeing the dross served up by Fabio Capello’s boys in South Africa but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

While Barton is undoubtedly a talented player, he has been his own worst enemy throughout his career and, unless he turns into Bastian Schweinsteiger or Andres Iniesta over the course of next season, it is very hard to see the current England manager calling him up.

Capello has made it clear that off-field antics will impact on his decision making with the axing of John Terry as skipper being a case in point. The court dates and the endless list of indiscretions that have characterised Barton’s adult years will certainly be frowned upon.

The Italian will also be desperate for some dressing room harmony following the rumoured infighting in the England camp and it is hard to see how Barton will add positively to the camaraderie.

It could just be that Barton is announcing his ambition and there is nothing wrong with that. But perhaps in his case it might be best to keep quiet and simply do the business on the pitch.

Only then can he have any reason to champion his own cause.