http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9048541.Downing_in_England_fold_and_he_intends_to_stay/11:40pm Wednesday 25th May 2011
Stewart Downing is due to end an impressive season at Aston Villa with an England outing. In an exclusive chat with Chief Football Writer Paul Fraser, the Teessider looks to the future.
WHEN Stewart Downing meets up with the rest of the England squad next week, it will provide end of season satisfaction to a job well done. Twelve months after missing out on a place on the plane to the World Cup in South Africa, the dynamic winger is back where he wants to belong.
He might have been unable to persuade Fabio Capello, Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson to start him regularly, but his determination to force his way back in has never wavered - and he is intent on staying there.
It is hard to believe a young man who made his first appearance for Middlesbrough in April 2002, is still only 26, but he for one knows time is on his side to achieve all of his goals.
Since moving to Villa Park two summers ago and overcoming occasional frustration, the left-footed midfielder from Middlesbrough's Pallister Park estate is brimming with confidence once more.
After being crowned Villa's player of the year this month, he capped a productive campaign with the winning goal against Liverpool last Sunday.
That was quite different to the way it all started; recovering from a serious cruciate ligament injury sustained in his last Middlesbrough appearance against the Villans almost two years earlier.
"It was hard when I first moved to Villa because I spent the first seven months in the gym," said Downing. "I was disappointed with my first season, it ended with me thinking that I had never really hit top gear.
"I had never been injured like that before and it took some getting over. There were a few bright moments for me, but I just never really felt I had got into full flow.
"This year has been totally different, even though the manager who took me to Villa, Martin O'Neill, left and that was strange. He was one of the main reasons why I went to Villa.
"It was difficult when he left, everything changed. It took some getting used to, but credit to the new manager (Gerard Houllier) he led the team through a very good run in the end and I have enjoyed being such a big part of the team."
Downing's displays have been a key feature in Villa's progress, with Houllier adamant he wants the Teessider to commit to a new contract amid speculated interest in him from Liverpool and Arsenal.But with another two seasons to run on the contract he signed when he completed his £12m switch, Downing is in no rush to sign new terms.
He said: "I know the club are keen for me to extend my contract as I only have two years left on my deal and that my agent (Struan Marshall) had a recent meeting with our chief executive (Paul Faulkner). However, I am 26 and at a major crossroads in my career so I won't be committing to a new deal at the moment."His reluctance to extend his stay is down to a personal hunger to experience everything he can during his career, with an aspiration of playing in European football's premier club competition still unfulfilled.
"I want to keep playing and enjoying my football," said Downing. "When I was injured that made me realise what it can be like to be out for such a long time. It hurt. The most important thing is to play football, but I do want to play in the Champions League at some point.
"The most important thing for me, though, is to stay fit and then the rewards will come with that, hopefully. I have got back into the England squad, I have to make sure I stay there.
"It was horrible to miss the World Cup last year, but I was not the only one. Looking back it was probably because I was injured for much of that season that I never made it."
To be back in Capello's thinking gives Downing enormous satisfaction. He hopes to play some part in the European 2012 qualifier with Switzerland a week on Saturday, having been a star performer in the 1-1 draw with Ghana on March 29.
If he does play, he could form a three-man attack alongside two players to have risen to improved international recognition after leaving the North-East, in the shape of Adam Johnson and Darren Bent.
"This is bad on Boro but the best thing that happened to Adam was that he got his move to Manchester City when he did," said Downing, who has stayed in touch with the Easington-born talent. "People might wonder why, but if he had stayed in the Championship last season then he might not be where he is now. Anything could have happened.
"There's now me, Adam, Ashley Young, James Milner, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon all in there fighting to play for England for the same positions. That shows we have the wingers, which has always been an area that we have supposed to have been short in."
It could be good for Capello that, in any enforced absence of Wayne Rooney, he has two of Bent's Villa team-mates to call upon.
Bent has scored nine goals since his £24m switch from Sunderland in January, while he has also scored in each of his last three appearances for his country.
Downing has been hugely impressed by the former Black Cat, saying: "I have known Darren for years because we have grown up through the Under 17s, 18s, 20s and 21s. He has always been a goalscorer and his record for us since he moved to us has been outstanding.
"None of us at the club knew anything about him coming from Sunderland until it actually happened. It was a brilliant signing by the manager. Darren's goals completely turned around our season.
"Darren deserved his chance with England and he has taken his chance. He could be in the team for a long time. It just shows you what can happen." And in that respect, Downing remains hopeful too.
