Christmas wait for Aston Villa's Downing debut

Jul 24 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

“I’m thinking ‘Will Fabio pick me if I’m playing in the Championship?’ The chances are probably not so I owe Martin ONeill a lot of credit. I can’t wait to get fit.”

Downing revealed that Middlesbrough turned down an earlier approach for him from O’Neill six months ago without telling him of Villa’s interest at the time.

“Speaking to the manager he said he tried to get me in January, which I did not know,” added Downing.

“I thought it was just Spurs. Once I heard from day one in the summer that he wanted to buy me I wanted to go.

“It’s a good club, it’s on the up.

“I thought I’d be going to Spurs but once I spoke to Martin O’Neill I was flattered to meet him.

“I was taken aback. He is the type of manager you want to play for.”

Zat Knight believes Villa are capable of winning the Peace Cup – but insists competitive preparation for the Premier League is more important than summer glory.

Knight is among the 26-player squad in southern Spain for the prestigious pre-season tournament, even though question marks persist about his future.

“It’s a big cup so there will be some good training games,” said Knight, who is still a £3 million target for Bolton.

“It’s going to be physical. There’s a few of the international boys back now so we can step it up and start working on other things.

“I know it’s a cup we want to win but ultimately it’s about getting things right for the Wigan game.

“You want to win every game and we will go their focused and put together the things we want to do in the Premier League.’’