COLIN Cooper is eagerly awaiting Stewart Downing's England debut, after Sven-Goran Eriksson yesterday confirmed that the youngster has been pencilled in for February's friendly with Holland.

Downing, who scored Middlesbrough's last-gasp leveller against Portsmouth on Saturday, had been expected to make his international bow when England travelled to Spain last month.

But, despite the national side's dearth of left-sided talent, the 20-year-old was named in Peter Taylor's Under-21 side as Eriksson's full squad misfired in Madrid.

Cooper knows what it's like to be overlooked for international honours, as he was quickly squeezed out after winning two full caps against Sweden and Brazil in 1995.

After rising through the ranks on Teesside himself, the Sedgefield-born defender has watched Downing's meteoric ascent with special interest.

And, if his fellow North-Easterner enters the England fold in February, Cooper will be the first in line to offer his congratulations.

"I'll be the first person to give any local lad a pat on the back," said the 37-year-old. "It's great to see that young lads can still make it to the top with their hometown team.

"Somebody who doesn't cost anything is winning matches and causing a stir amongst the fans. It's good to see that can still happen in the modern game.

"Stewart got all the headlines after Saturday's game - and why not? As a lad who started at Middlesbrough as a 16-year-old, I'm the first to congratulate anyone who comes through the ranks like he has.

"It's great to see that the conveyor belt is still going.

"Stewart deserves all the plaudits going because he's in terrific form and, this season, he's been a revelation. Long may it continue."

A maiden international cap would represent quite a turn-around given that Downing's Boro future was hanging in the balance just 12 months ago.

This time last year, the left winger had just returned from a six-week loan spell at Sunderland and, with his contract coming to an end, Boro boss Steve McClaren could have written him off as a lost cause.

He didn't - partly because a flood of injuries meant he had no other choice - and the youngster's career has followed an uninterrupted upward curve ever since.

Cooper also signed a short-term deal at the Stadium of Light last season, and is quick to stress just how important his team-mate's time on Wearside was to his development.

"Stewart got shipped out to Sunderland," said Cooper. "And that was probably the making of him.

"I talked to Mick McCarthy about him when I went to Sunderland earlier this year, and he raved about him.

"Stewart had a great spell there and it was inevitable that he was going to play in our first team.

"The manager brought Bolo (Zenden) in during the summer, so it became a case of switching things around.

"But, fortunately for us, things have clicked into place tremendously. Bolo's been fantastic tucked inside - he seems to have got a new lease of life in terms of his goals - and it's worked brilliantly for Stewart because he's got a lengthy run in the team."

That run in the team has led to growing calls for international recognition and, yesterday, Eriksson gave his clearest hint that Downing will be given a chance to prove himself in February.

"If he goes on like this then we should give him a chance," said the England boss.

"Certainly in the friendly game against Holland in February, I think he deserves that.

"Today it's December and we'll see what happens in February.

"But he is a very impressive playing, makes things happen, beats people and his left foot is very good."