“My dad made a lot of sacrifices and that just made me want to be a footballer even more,’’ recalled Downing. “He had a trial at Aston Villa. He always likes to remind me of that! But he had a young family and decided that it (football) wasn’t for him. Fair play to him, he went to work. He thought family is first. That was a big thing for him, or maybe he wasn’t going to be good enough - I’ll ask him! I’m his only son so he wanted me to be a footballer. He’s my biggest fan and my biggest critic. I don’t need people on at me to tell me I’m not playing well. My dad will. He keeps my feet on the ground.