Gareth Southgate believes a good cup run would improve Stewart Downing's England hopes.
Stew is warming up
By Clive Hetherington. Tuesday, 14 February 2006.
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28 January 2006 |
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| Preston North End 1-1 Crystal Palace |
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Andrew Johnson put Crystal Palace into an early lead but a Brian O'Neil goal forced a replay at Selhurst Park. |
Preston North End v Middlesbrough
The FA Cup Fifth Round Proper
Deepdale
2pm, Sunday 19 February 2006
Winning clubs receive £120,000
Middlesbrough skipper Gareth Southgate reckons an FA Cup run can boost Stewart Downing's hopes of making England's World Cup squad.
Downing was among the goals in Boro's shock 3-0 eclipse of Premiership champions Chelsea at the Riverside Stadium last Saturday.
It was the 21-year-old winger's first goal in his fifth game back after nearly five months out recovering from cruciate knee ligament surgery.
The injury has thrown into doubt the likelihood of Downing being included in Sven-Goran Eriksson's plans for Germany this summer.
But former England centre-back Southgate insists: "I don't think anyone should write themselves off. All Stewart can do is get himself fully fit again and play well for us.
"If he does that and we're still in the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup, then he has a chance to be noticed.''
Southgate admits that Boro, who visit Championship promotion-chasers Preston North End in the Fifth Round on Saturday, have sorely missed Downing during a season of struggle on Teesside.
He said: "We lost Bolo Zenden to Liverpool in the summer and straight after that we lost Stewart through injury. They were two big players for us who scored and created a large number of goals.
"Stewart has been a huge loss and it's great to have him back. Regardless of the injury, I think this season was always going to be hard for him because he's no longer a surprise to opposition full-backs, who would have set out to stop him playing.
"No defender likes players running at them with pace. At international level, if you have players who can beat a man, then it's a huge advantage.''
Southgate also hailed Boro's move to secure manager Steve McClaren, England's assistant coach, on a new four-year contract.
He said: "I think stability is important. You look at the top clubs who've had managers in place for a number of years and have given them time to work at things.
"Sometimes there's a need for change, but I think what's been most impressive at our club is there being only two managers in over a decade, and gradual progress in that time.''
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