Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is confident defender Matthew Lowton will continue to improve after an impressive end to the 2012/13 season. "I am pretty sure the praise he's been getting is terrific for Matty himself," said Lambert.

"But the most important thing is you don't rest on that. It's important you do it year after year.

"Once you start to do that, make a right name for yourself and start to win things and start to progress your career, then people can say things.

"He's an unassuming young lad. He's fitted in really well. You know what you're going to get with Matty with his consistent performances."

Asked whether Lowton would earn an England call-up in the future, Lambert added: "It's entirely in his own hands.

"His performances over the course of the year have been consistently high. We got him for a million pounds or whatever it was and he's been excellent."