James Haskell admits it is "going to be very hard" to battle his way back into Eddie Jones' England squad.
The Wasps back row was omitted by Jones from England's 33-man training squad for the November internationals and he conceded he can have few arguments given his recent form.
Haskell, who is now 32, said: "It is just not quite clicking yet. I speak to the coaches at Wasps and I speak to the English coaches.
"It hasn't gone quite as I wanted so far, there's no escaping that. But you've just got to keep working hard.
"I've got no questions about missing the training squad. I'd played one game at that point, and did I play the house down? No.
"Eddie (Jones) only picks on form, he may surprise people, but that's the genius of him and his coaching staff.
"So if he called me up today and said I wasn't in the squad I wouldn't be able to say anything other than 'OK', and get on with it.
"I need more peaks than troughs in games if I've got any desire to fight my way back into England, which is going to be very hard."
England's three Test matches are against Argentina (November 11), Australia (November 18) and Samoa (November 25).
And Haskell, who was part of the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand last summer, remains determined to add to the 75 caps he has won to date.
"I care about winning, about this club and I want to play for England more than anything else, it's why I play rugby and it's such a great team to be a part of," Haskell added.
"I've just got to go out and play well, it's not about thinking too much or trying too hard, and I've got every confidence that I can come back and be involved and do what I want to. If I didn't, then I'd probably just retire."