England winger Townsend vows to keep 'feet on ground'

Andros Townsend had insisted he will be keeping his "feet on the ground" even though former boss Harry Redknapp reckons the "sky is the limit" for the winger after his stunning England debut. Townsend, 22, set up England's opening goal and the winger rounded of an impressive attacking display by scoring one himself in Friday's 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Montenegro at Wembley Stadium. Victory left England needing to beat Poland at Wembley on Tuesday in their final European zone Group H match to be certain of a place at next year's World Cup finals in Brazil. "It hasn't sunk in at the moment and I haven't allowed it to because we've got another big game on Tuesday," Tottenham Hotspur forward Townsend told the club's website after his surprise selection by England manager Roy Hodgson. "That's the best thing, to keep my feet on the ground and try not to get carried away." He added: "No matter who I'm playing against, I look to play the same way "I look to take people on, make things happen and try to get my shots off. It all came together. It couldn't have gone any better." Townsend has established himself at Tottenham this season after several loan spells, including one at fellow London side Queens Park Rangers. QPR manager Redknapp, who was in charge when Townsend was trying to break into the Tottenham first team and took him on loan to Loftus Road last season, believes the player is the nearest thing in the England squad to Dutch star Arjen Robben. "If he can keep improving, I think the sky's the limit," Redknapp said Monday. "It's up to him now. He's got a great chance. "Andros is not Arjen Robben; he's not in his class at the moment, but he's very similar. "He plays on that right side, likes to come in on his left foot when he can, he runs with the ball, he beats defenders, he tests the full-back." Reflecting on why Townsend had spent so much of his recent club career away from White Hart Lane, Redknapp added: "We loaned him out an awful lot because he couldn't get that consistency. "He'd have a great spell for four or five games with a club and then his form tended to dip a bit. "I brought him to QPR last year and he sustained that run of form throughout. "That was the making of him. He proved he could play Premier League football week-in, week-out and could do it consistently well." Source: AFP