Above: Liverpool winger Stewart Downing

STEWART DOWNING claims he is in the form of his life for England and won’t give up his place without a fight.

Stewart Downing set up Ashley Young’s winner against Wales at Wembley to help the Three Lions put one foot in Euro 2012.

That came days after he created a goal for Wayne Rooney in the 3-0 rout of Bulgaria in Sofia.

Downing, 27, looks more like a regular than he has at any other time in his six-year England career – and is determined to keep it that way.

He said: “Is this my most consistent spell? Maybe with England, because I’m getting a run and enjoying it.

“It would be nice to stay in the team, but I’ve got to keep playing well and hopefully that will happen.”

Downing has been on fire since his £20m summer move to Anfield from Aston Villa this summer.

That has given him a huge boost which has helped him finally begin to fulfil his potential for England and Downing said: “I’m more confident now, playing well at club level and getting a run of games helps.

“I’m really enjoying it. It was nice to play at Wembley but we were sluggish at times and it was a slow tempo.

“If we had played a little quicker we could have got a few more goals.”

Downing’s England career looked dead and buried a few years ago, when he was regarded as a relic of the failed Steve McClaren regime.

But he returned to Liverpool happy yesterday, having proved his worth under Fabio Capello.