Gardner plants seeds of recovery

Gardner equalised on the cusp of half-time against Middlesbrough, tapping in a Gabby Agbonlahor centre to set the club on course for a 3-1 victory which sent them into the top half of the Premiership. "The manager moved me into midfield and I suddenly started to get the ball more. I saw Gabby running down the wing and realised I was in the box alone, so I just started screaming for it," said the 20-year-old Solihull native, who made his debut in the 4-0 win over Everton on Boxing Day.

"I just went mad when I realised it was in the net. I think I would still be celebrating if the half-time whistle had not come so soon. It was brilliant to score and even better to get the goal which helped us come back and win." That was secured through further strikes by Luke Moore and Stilian Petrov, which left Villa fans returning Boro's annoying Pigbag song to them. The home team's thoughts were summed up by former Villa midfielder George Boateng, who admitted: "This was not a good game for us - it rarely is against Aston Villa."