ENGLAND Under-21 boss Peter Taylor is in no doubt the Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing will eventually make the step up to the senior side.

The 20-year-old is seen by many as the answer to England's problematic left side but on Tuesday night he continued his footballing education with a cameo role for the Under-21s.

After a series of sparkling performances for the Teessiders this season it was thought Downing would make the leap from Taylor's team to Sven-Goran Eriksson's full international squad for last night's friendly against Spain in Madrid.

But the Teesside-born youngster's football world came down to earth and he had to settle for a place on the bench in the Under-21s' 1-0 defeat to Spain, as Taylor opted to use Newcastle United pair James Milner and Darren Ambrose in the wide positions.

The Boro winger eventually replaced Milner on the hour and was quick to show why many have tipped Downing for full international honours.

Taylor is under no illusion Downing will make the senior squad sooner, rather than later, but urged the youngster to be patient.

"Stewart is in tremendous form," said Taylor.

"He has a wonderful left foot and doesn't take any time in crossing the ball. He makes a lot of goals and has also scored some himself recently. But it doesn't mean straight away that you go and play for the seniors if you are in good form for your club. At times it takes a bit longer than that.''

He added: ''Everyone is crying out for a wide left player for the seniors, and at the moment Stewart fits that bill and I've got no doubt in my mind that he is eventually going to get into the senior squad.

''He is in great form and working very hard. At the start of the season, people didn't think he performed from the start of the match and he was coming off the bench a lot.

''But just recently he has played very well from the first whistle. He has taken more on himself to get hold of the ball and make more of an impact in the games.

''Before he was a quiet lad who came into the team at Middlesbrough and just got on with it. Now he is doing things to get the ball more.

''All I said to him is that when I played I used to drive the centre-forward and the full-back mad to make sure they gave me the ball all the time to make sure I looked a half-decent player.

''I think Stewart wants a lot of the ball and just lately he has been getting a lot of the ball, staying out wide - and he has delivered the goods.''

Michael Reiziger came through 72 minutes of reserve-team action unscathed on Tuesday evening but says he still feels as if he needs a few more games under his belt before a return to first-team action.

The Holland international played for the first time since injuring his shoulder at Arsenal nearly three months ago, in the second XI's 1-0 defeat to Birmingham at Billingham.

"I know we lost the game but for me it was a bit of a celebration," said the 31-year-old defender.

"It was my first game for three months and although it felt good there is still much more work to be done.

"The legs felt strong so as long as the shoulder is okay I can do the heavy stuff again but that will take a few weeks."

Boro boss Steve McClaren had hoped to have his defender back in action for the Teessiders' game against Villarreal next Thursday but this looks unlikely considering he only returned to training eleven days ago.

He said: "One of my targets was to play in Spain, but maybe it will be too soon. But there are a lot of games to come.

''There are a lot of games in England at Christmas and I have always loved the atmosphere at Boxing Day games. I should be okay before then, but I have to continue to work hard and be patient.

Fears striker Danny Graham had broken his leg in Boro's reserve game against Birmingham were relieved when an X-ray scan revealed it was fine

Meanwhile, Boro have confirmed they requested more tickets from Villarreal for next Thursday's tie in Spain.

A club spokesman said: "We received 2,800 ticket applications from season-ticket holders. Our full allocation of 2,100 tickets have now been allocated, with the last of them sent out yesterday. We are endeavoring to get more tickets from Villarreal and we are awaiting a reply. We will let our supporters know of any developments as soon as possible."

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