Stewart Downing aims to repay faith of Aston Villa and England

Nov 28 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

STEWART Downing is determined to repay the patience of Villa manager Martin O’Neill and England coach Fabio Capello by proving that he was worth waiting for during his injury lay-off.

The former Middlesbrough winger is in line for his home debut, probably as a substitute, in today’s teatime clash against Villa’s Champions League rivals Tottenham at Villa Park.

And Downing, who missed the first few months of his Villa career with a fractured foot, insists he owes a debt of gratitude to O’Neill and Capello for keeping faith with him.

“Villa were still interested when I was on crutches which was surprising,” he said.

“When I came to speak to the manager he said: ‘However long it takes I’ll still come and get you, even if it’s December’ which was great for a player sat there on crutches. As soon as he said that, I knew I wanted to come to Villa.

“I definitely want to repay the manager. For him to pay out £12m for a player on crutches was, for me, brilliant.

“It’s a lot of pressure on him to do that. I can’t wait to get started and do well for him,” he said.

“The physio said that he’s never seen a medical or a transfer go through when someone is injured. Normally they are sent back to wait until they’re fit again, but what the manager did for me is great.”

Before England’s victory over Belarus at Wembley last month, Downing was invited to a get-together of players who have featured in England’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

The 25-year-old is glad to have remained in Capello’s thoughts and is hoping to make another late boost to be in a major tournament squad like his did for 2006 in Germany.

Downing said: “In the Wembley dressing room afterwards he spoke to me and said: ‘Take your time, don’t rush back and I’ll be there watching’.

“I think he spoke to our manager to see how I was. It’s nice to know he was asking after me. It gives me an incentive.

“People have done well in my position but if I come back and I’m doing well, then he doesn’t think about names. If he sees a player playing well, hopefully he will pick me again. I’ve been in a lot of his squads before.

“That’s why Fabio Capello is a top manager. He knows how to deal with players. He might have thought that little bit of conversation would help me and it has, massively. I know I’m in his thoughts, so it’s easy to concentrate on playing well.

“I had a knee injury in 2006 until February. There were 20 games left and a UEFA Cup run. I thought it was dead and buried because I was new to the squad. Luckily I got in. The pleasing thing is I have come back this time and it’s not even December.”

Today’s opponents Spurs tried to sign Downing, who admits the interest affected his performances.

“Spurs were in for me and so were Villa,” he added.

“I was aware of the bid from Spurs and Middlesbrough weren’t prepared to sell so I had to get my head down.

“The first part of last season I didn’t play that well. I played better after January because I knew I was staying.”

Click here to see pictures of Stewart Downing in action against Burnley