Villa’s Stewart Downing has vowed to repay the faith shown in him by boss Martin O’Neill – starting against Tottenham later today.

O’Neill took the bold step of signing Downing from Middlesbrough in the summer for a fee which could eventually rise to £12m despite the winger nursing a broken foot.

After making his debut as a substitute at Burnley last week, Downing is pushing for his first claret and blue start against former suitors Spurs – and the England star revealed he is desperate to repay O’Neill.

“Villa were still interested when I was on crutches which was surprising,”Êsaid Downing. “When I came to speak to the manager he said ‘however long it takes I’ll still come and get you, even if it’s December’ which was great for a player sat there on crutches.

“As soon as he said that, I knew I wanted to come to Villa. I definitely want to repay the manager. For him to pay out £12m for a player on crutches was, for me, brilliant. It’s a lot of pressure on him to do that. I can’t wait to get started and do well for him.

“The physio said that he’s never seen a medical or a transfer go through when someone is injured. Normally they are sent back and wait until fit again. But what the manager did for me is great.”