"There is obviously a bit of pressure when you play for the first team, but when the whistle blows you have to treat it like any other game.". If it can be guaranteed to provoke this kind of galvanising response from his team-mates, Alain Perrin might ask Laurent Robert to refuse to play on a regular basis. The Portsmouth midfielder conveniently declared himself unfit with a groin affliction which developed rapidly after he was informed at the team hotel that he had lost his starting place. A young man of relatively few words, he has so far offered few clues about the approach to the game that is serving him so well, although an interview soon after his debut provided some insight."I don't think it makes any difference whether you are a kid or not," he said. But Steven seems to have gone through that and just carried on."Not 21 until New Year's Day, Davis will make his 30th Premiership start for Villa against Manchester City.
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"It is not something you often see in a young player," he said. "Usually, after 10 or 12 games, a young player will suffer a little dip.At the start, it is the adrenalin pumping through that keeps you going, but when the novelty wears off the adrenalin drops a little."Then you have to know how to be a real professional, to maintain those high standards regardless of how you feel, and that only comes with experience. "He takes everything in his stride, even if he is up against the likes of Lampard or Steven Gerrard," Cowans added. "If he feels any pressure, he hides it very well." Sanchez has been impressed by his consistency. I watched him play Chelsea recently in the company of Lampard, Essien and Makelele, and he did not look out of place."The other quality that both Cowans and Sanchez emphasise is temperament. Some players would not even have seen the opening, let alone been able to time Healy's run."He is also looking to score goals, and in that regard has the kind of talent that sets Lampard apart He has got the world at his feet.
"He sees a pass well and because he is fairly small and with a low centre of gravity he has the ability to turn and jink and lose players easily."The goal he set up for David Healy against England in Belfast just showed what a fantastic footballing brain he has. He is a level- headed boy, a good listener, but so instinctive he is the kind you don't really have to coach."The Lampard comparison is also made by Lawrie Sanchez, who drafted Davis into the Northern Ireland squad soon after his Villa debut in September last year, gave him his competitive debut against England at Old Trafford in March and now regards him as virtually an automatic choice."He is very mature in his game, very comfortable on the ball," Sanchez said. He has natural ability, and as a coach all you can do is try to polish it, help him to flourish."He is the complete midfielder, a box-to-box player in the Frank Lampard mould. As a player, those are things you are born with, that you cannot teach.