England boss Fabio Capello admits it took time for him to be won over by the attributes of Wigan striker Emile Heskey.

However, the England head coach insisted the Wigan striker is now "a different player" compared to the one he witnessed last season.

Heskey had returned to the international fold at the start of the 2007-08 campaign under Steve McClaren and linked up effectively with Michael Owen before a broken foot meant he missed the climax of the ultimately failed bid to reach the Euro 2008 finals.

But Capello watched the former Liverpool star in action on three occasions for the Latics after replacing McClaren and saw nothing to convince him that Heskey would have a key role to play for his country during the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

It appeared Heskey's renaissance with his country would only be a brief affair but then Capello's mindset changed after he witnessed him in action at the beginning of this season against West Ham.

The Italian noticed a leaner-looking Heskey but was also alerted to the qualities of the player.

He brought the former Liverpool and Birmingham man back into the starting line-up in Croatia last month and although hat-trick hero Theo Walcott and a revitalised Wayne Rooney grabbed the headlines, the contribution of the 30-year-old was immense.

The home defence struggled to cope with his height and physical power and Heskey has carried on in the same mode against Kazakhstan and latterly during the 3-1 win over Belarus in Minsk.

He celebrated winning his 50th cap on Wednesday night by again gelling with Rooney and setting up the decisive second goal - the first of two for the Manchester United star - after they had been given a searching first-half examination.

Capello said: "Emile Heskey is very important for us. He has good movement, he is strong, he is quick - and Heskey and Wayne Rooney do very well together.

"Last season I did not pick him because when I saw him he did not play very well. I saw him on three occasions and he was not the same player we are witnessing now.

"This season I saw him against West Ham, he played very well - and so I picked him. Simple as that. That was the game that convinced me to select him.

"He was another player. He had lost weight. He was different and he has done very well in these past few games for England."

Heskey is honest enough to admit some of his performances at club level meant he had not previously warranted an England return but he never gave up hope of reaching the half-century mark in caps.

And he is keen to improve on the one area of his game which has been lacking - a greater ratio of goals after managing just five for his country and none for five-and-a-half years.

He said: "I didn't think I was doing enough at the time to be there (with England) so you can't expect to be there but I never gave up hope of getting to 50 caps. I had hardly played for four years so it has been nice to be back.

"It's been pleasing the way it has gone and England are going in the right direction now and it has been good to work up a partnership with Wayne (Rooney).

"I don't think I've changed my approach - although I am a bit more relaxed - and I am keen to improve my goal tally with England.

"I know I played on the left a few times, particularly during Sven (Goran Eriksson)'s spell in charge and I've also moved around a bit when playing club football.

"But strikers are judged on their goals so I would like to make the record a lot better. I have never been a prolific scorer but I always want to improve on that."

Although pleased with Heskey's contribution, Capello is always keen to stress the effectiveness of his side as a unit rather than heaping praise on individuals.

And he feels the confidence levels within the squad now are such that England go into games believing they will win even if they fail to fire on all cylinders.

He said: "I keep saying this but it is about the team, The team support Rooney, the team support Heskey. All the players performed well.

"It is the confidence factor. We have the confidence now. Sometimes we have moments where we don't play so well, not so good, but we have always confidence to score goals and the belief that we can win the game.

"This is the most important thing for any team, the confidence."