Thursday 13 November 2014 08:00, UK
Stewart Downing is pleased to have finally made a return to the England squad and has vowed to take full advantage of the second opportunity he thought would never come.
Roy Hodgson recalled the West Ham winger back into the squad for this month’s games with Slovenia and Scotland – thereby ending a two-year spell in the international wilderness.
And Downing credits his fine club form for his unexpected recall to the international stage.
“I’ve admitted in the past that I thought my chance had passed. But you’ve got to keep going and trying to play well and it’s paid off,” Downing told Sky Sports News HQ.
“Roy’s been watching the West Ham games and he’s called me up so I’m very happy about that. I need to carry that form into an England shirt and stay here.
“The squad is a little bit different; I was a little nervous coming in yesterday. Obviously there’s the same faces in the staff but there a lot of new lads coming in. It’s exciting, I’m happy to be here with the top players and great talent. Hopefully I can help them along the way and we can get some good results this week.”
Downing's last England appearance came in Hodgson’s first game in charge of the national side, a 1-0 victory away to Norway in the build-up to Euro 2012.
Similarly to that tournament, England were sent crashing out of this summer’s World Cup - albeit at an earlier stage. And Downing was full of praise for a squad he claims have fully recovered from their Brazil heartache.
“There are a lot of young lads here under a lot of pressure and they’ve responded really well,” Downing added.
“It’s going to take time - they are only young boys and they’ve got to build a team here and it will take a couple of campaigns to get going. But I think Roy is doing a good job. He’s building a team and he’s got a good mix of seniors and young lads to bring them through."
Wayne Rooney is on course to win his 100th England cap in Saturday’s qualifier with Slovenia, and Downing believes England’s talismanic figure deserves all the plaudits ahead of another historic night at Wembley.
“First of all it’s a great achievement, especially for someone of his age,” Downing said.
“He’s adapted himself very well; he’s always been available for England and turned up when he’s been called upon. Not only that he’s a great player.
“We want players like Wayne Rooney here - he’s obviously a talisman for us and gets a lot of goals so hopefully he’ll continue that by getting at the weekend goal to celebrate a great achievement.”
