Martin O'Neill insists Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor always had the ability to be a top player even when the Villa Park crowd turned against him. Agbonlahor, who turned 23 on Tuesday, is poised to earn his third England cap in Wednesday night's final World Cup qualifier with Belarus at Wembley.

O'Neill said: "Gabby has had a few disappointments along the way - but he has shown a tremendous aptitude which I am delighted with.

"I didn't take him to one side when the fans had a go in one particular game but I never lost faith in the lad.

"I don't think he was ever disheartened, disappointed at times. He will not say a great deal to me. He just nods approval to me just to get me out of the way.

"The great thing about Gabby is he wants to get better and he has been fantastic this season. He has got a willingness to work for the side now.

"South Africa is a long way off but I did say to him if you are scoring goals as a centre-forward, the rest of your game will be highlighted by people and it will be hard to ignore you."