Eyebrows were raised when Stewart Downing turned his back on the Premier League to rejoin Middlesbrough, but as the Teessider explained to Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson, it was a move that made perfect sense

IN the end, it was a simple decision. Spend the next two or three seasons scratching around in the lower reaches of the Premier League, winning an odd game here, losing an odd game there, potentially even picking up another couple of England caps, but never really achieving anything significant, or return home and contribute to a piece of history.

Stewart Downing’s decision to turn his back on the glitz and glamour of the top-flight in order to rejoin Middlesbrough despite their position in the Championship has been portrayed as a victory for the heart over the head, but for the 31-year-old midfielder, the distinction is much less clear cut.

Yes, there was the appeal of returning home after a six-year absence and being back amongst family and friends. The security of a four-year deal was also a factor. But when Downing sat down to consider his future after a discussion with new West Ham boss Slaven Bilic that left him convinced his role at Upton Park was becoming increasingly peripheral, footballing factors were also at the fore.

Did he really want to remain on the Premier League treadmill, playing for another mid-table side no better or worse than the last? Or would it be better to head towards his retirement with the chance of a career-defining triumph driving him on?

“We had an unbelievable start to last season with West Ham and were fourth at Christmas, but it tailed off in the end and we finished 12th,” said Downing, who was back at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground yesterday after returning from a training camp in Marbella.

“Everyone was saying we were having an unbelievable season, but we probably ended up finishing a place or two above other teams who would say they had a pretty poor season. That’s what it’s like in the middle of the Premier League.

“I just wanted something to play for. I want to be in a good team, winning most weeks, and fighting for something at the end of the season. Sometimes, you have to make sure you’re enjoying what you’re doing.

“I’ve lived away for six or seven years, but I’m home now. I’ve had ups and downs in those years. I’ve had the highs of winning trophies and the lows of being in and out of the team at different clubs and having a difficult time with managers.

“You go through all of that, and it helps you grow as a person and a player. Eventually, though, you have to make a decision and it just felt like good timing to come back.

“I’m 31 now and if I’d been making this decision at 21, it would have been a different matter. You want different moves at that age, but I’ve had those moves and this was probably the last big decision I had to make. I’d like to stay here and finish my career now.”

With automatic promotion a clearly-stated target, Downing does not regard his return as a purely sentimental one. But in an era when footballers are routinely accused of being mercenary money-grabbers, interested only in whether their next pay cheque will be bigger than the last, the Teessider’s decision to voluntarily drop down a division and accept a reduction in wages from what he would have been earning at West Ham is both unusual and heart-warming.

It is not, however, without precedent. Downing only has to glance around the Middlesbrough dressing room to see Jonathan Woodgate, another player who has graced some of the biggest footballing stages in the world, only to return to his roots in order to target a final triumph with the club that means most to him.

Earlier this summer, Downing and Woodgate became brothers-in-law as the latter married the former’s sister, Natalie, and the sight of his new family member oozing contentment and happiness helped persuade Downing that he was making the right move as he turned down offers from the likes of Sunderland and Leicester City in order to drop into the second tier.

“If you ask Jonathan, he’ll tell you that he’s enjoyed it here more than at any other club he’s been to,” said Downing. “And he’s been at Real Madrid, probably the biggest club in the world, and Tottenham and places like that.

“He said to me, ‘You can’t beat being home. You’re happy and that’s what counts’. He’s obviously had his problems with injuries, but he said to me that if he had been at any other club, he’d have been right down in the dumps.

“Here, though, you’re living in the area with your family and it’s totally different. I had some of my best years playing here for my hometown club – the European nights and doing well in the league and all that. You have to go where you’re happy, and if that’s in the Championship, then so be it.”

Downing has joined a different club to the one he left – Woodgate and Rhys Williams are the only familiar faces in the playing squad – but, inevitably, some of the old routines remain the same.

Yesterday, he experienced pangs of nostalgia as he drove along the A66 to Boro’s training ground, and having not had the chance to play at the Riverside since leaving to join Aston Villa in 2009, he cannot wait to be back at the ground a week tomorrow for the final pre-season game against Getafe.

After that, the real business begins, and while he accepts he will have to shoulder a considerable weight of expectation given the fanfare that has accompanied his return, he is looking forward to embracing his new challenge.

“It’s the most excited I’ve been for a while,” he said. “It’s the buzz of being back home, and playing in front of people I know. The pressure is on and we have to get promoted. It’s not a case of coming here and having it easy – we have to play well, that still really matters. I’m excited because I think we’ve got a really good team and we should be right up there.

“Even just from training, you can see a lot of the lads could easily play in the Premier League. They’ll be itching to get there, and that’s a great aim for us all. If the fans get behind us and the players have a good go, I think we could win the league.”