Keep up the good work, Curtis Davies is told

Sep 24 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

CURTIS Davies has been told to keep up the good work at Villa and an England call and the club captaincy will one day be his.

Martin O’Neill can find so little wrong with the 23-year-old defender’s form on the park or his attitude off it that his only gripe is Davies does not possess the rugged looks of a traditional stopper.

“He is a good-looking lad. We will have to ruffle him up a bit and make him look more like Gerry Taggert,’’ joked the boss.

O’Neill is astonished at Davies’ return from an Achilles injury two months ahead of schedule.

“I would never have believed he would be back by now,’’ he said.

“If he was out doing full training with us now I would have thought that was remarkable.

“That speaks volumes for him, he is a great kid.

“He surprised us all and the medical staff rave about him here.”

Davies has come a long way since his debut when Villa were dumped out of the Carling Cup almost a year ago to the day by Leicester.

O’Neill clearly believes the sky is the limit, but he is keen for the former Albion man to keep focused on club matters.

“I am sure that in time he would want to captain the team. He has experience of doing that at West Brom but at the moment I just want him to develop his game,’’ he said.

“Once he gets more comfortable with everything – remember we have two new full-backs this season – once he gets to know how people play, he’ll be fine.

“Until then he should keep it relatively simple and do his job, which is to defend. If he gets the occasional goal that is the proverbial bonus.”

It was after the Leicester loss that Davies infamously told a radio reporter he was a “pub player”.

O’Neill can now look back with amusement at the comparison.

He said: “I thought initially he was quite harsh on himself, but then I saw the video and thought he was spot-on.

“He is now anxious to make up for lost time. He is showing more composure now. It is early but he has played a few games and done remarkably well.

“Against Tottenham he was outstanding and continued that despite getting a few cat-calls on Sunday.

“He concentrated on the game, which is what it is all about.

“He could improve his heading, or his reading of situations, but the great thing about him is that he wants to learn.

“If he thinks he can question something, he will do so. He is desperate to make it big in the Premiership.”

Davies has been unable to add to a full England call-up after making Fabio Capello’s first squad of 30 last season, but O’Neill is optimistic about his chances in the coming months.

He continued: “I think his ambitions should be steady. He needs to play as well as he can up to Christmas and then see where it takes him.

“The potential is there. Things will develop in their own time but it looks like Curtis is improving and that’s great.”