Revealed: How Tottenham's chase for star affected his season
STEWART DOWNING has admitted knowing that Tottenham were chasing him while still a Middlesbrough player led to him having a poor start to last season.
Now at Villa, Downing could play against Spurs today as he continues his comeback from injury.
Downing 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.”
