Matt Etherington steps out for England at Valley Parade tonight insisting: I owe a lot of this to Bradford City.

The Tottenham left-winger, who played 13 times for the Bantams in a two-month loan spell under Jim Jefferies, is in the squad for the friendly under-21 international against Italy.

It will be his second game for the under-21s as he hopes to force his way into contention for this summer's European Championships in Switzerland. And Etherington, who has been forced into a bit-part role at White Hart Lane, believes a lot of the credit should go to City.

Speaking exclusively to the Telegraph & Argus, Etherington said: "I'm indebted to Bradford for giving me the chance to play week in, week out and really bringing me on as a player.

"It was ideal for me and definitely improved my game. I loved it at the club, they really looked after me and I've got a lot of respect for what Jim Jefferies did for me.

"It was a weird ending because the two goalies got injured and I had to go back a couple of games early so they had a loan spare. The club was in a bit of turmoil because the manager had just gone and the youth-team coach was in charge.

"But I've been following their results ever since and it was looking pretty dodgy at one stage. Their season's been a bit up and down but I'm glad they seem to be all right now.

"For a First Division club there was a lot of experienced people in the dressing room who had played at a good level of football and won trophies. But all the senior players can't play 40 odd games in a season.

"You need the balance between young and old. That's why Jim Jefferies brought me in and wanted to add a bit of youth to the squad as the manager is doing now.

"I didn't expect to be going back there this season but I'm really looking forward to it. I've got good memories from my time with Bradford and hopefully I can put on a good show for the fans."

It is not only under-21 coach David Platt that Etherington is looking to impress. With opportunities still limited at White Hart Lane, he may be forced to look for a move in the summer.

He said: "The time with Bradford got me playing regularly again but the situation at Tottenham hasn't really changed.

"When I went back I started a couple of games and scored my first goal in the cup against Bolton but then it's been the bench more or less every week. Christian Ziege is in front of me and the manager likes him a lot so I'm playing second fiddle and only coming off the bench to get the odd 20 minutes here or there.

"Ziege has got a four-year contract and I don't really want to spend the remaining two years of mine having to wait for him to get injured so that I'll get a game. I want to go somewhere that I'm going to play every week so I'll weigh up my options at the end of the season and if I have to move on, I will."