Liverpool fullback Glen Johnson has hailed the form of Stewart Downing.

Johnson says his England teammate deserves praise for the way he's fought for his Reds future this season.

He told liverpoolfc.com: "He's been brilliant. I've always enjoyed playing with Stewart - I've been a big fan of his for many years. We play well together and cause other teams quite a lot of problems.

"Stewart has been fantastic; his work-rate, the way he gets at players and defences. A lot of the time in football, a lot of hard work can go unnoticed.

"Stewart did knuckle down, put his neck on the line and went for it. It's great to see that now he's getting the rewards and credit he deserves."