JAMES BEATTIE has promised not to allow the presence of Sven-Goran Eriksson at St Mary's to affect his performance against Liverpool tomorrow.

The England coach will be making his second trip to the Friends Provident stadium in the space of five weeks following the Saints striker's impressive display during the 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

Beattie is currently the Premier league's top scorer with 15 and is well clear of his main rivals for an England spot. Indeed, Eriksson's preferred World Cup striking duo, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, have scored five fewer BETWEEN them than Beattie.

The England boss is also sure to be keeping a keen eye on Saints left-back Wayne Bridge, who started the last international against Macedonia in midfield.

Beattie said: "If Mr Eriksson is watching it won't make any difference to me.

"I won't let it enter my head and will treat it as a normal game."

He added: "There will be plenty of England players on show - Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Danny Murphy, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Bridge.

"If Mr Eriksson does come, I wouldn't flatter myself to think he's just come to look at me. Of course I'm aware of all the talk and speculation surrounding the next England squad - I would have to be deaf and blind not to.

"But I have said all along that I will let other people do the talking. Of course I'd love to play for England but I won't get carried away by all the hype.

"All I can do continue to score goals and hope that does the trick.

"I have got where I am this season by keeping to the same formula, and there's no reason to change it now."

Saints boss Gordon Strachan praised Beattie's growing maturity.

He said: "Sometimes you worry about a player going in too early. That's what I was concerned about James a few months ago. I've seen a lot of players go in too early and be affected by it.

"His game has matured in the last three or four months and he's closer to being able to do that.

"From a selfish point of view, I hope he stays with us and trains but, like every young English player, he wants to play for England and his performances are doing all the talking.

"I take no interest in England. I just know he's good for us. What Sven's idea of the perfect centre-forward is could be different from what we've got here. His idea of the game could be very different."

Beattie has also revealed the mystery over the celebration messages on his T-shirts.

He said: "When I scored against Spurs, the message on the T-shirt 'Macca and Feathers - at home!' was a dig at a couple of mates of mine, Andrew McAvoy and James Featherstone. We were all apprentices at Blackburn and they were supposed to be coming to watch the game at St Mary's but flunked out at the last minute and decided to watch it on television at home, in front of the fire. I didn't think I could let them get away with that and thought that scoring might give me the chance to have a dig at them.

"The 'Obvious' message on the T-shirt at Middlesbrough was another little in-joke with Macca and Feather, who were in the crowd last Saturday. "'Obvious' is a little catch-phrase - we are always looking to take the mickey out of each other - and it seemed a good chance to have a pop at them. I don't tend to put too much planning into these things, they're spontaneous and not rocket science."