Watch Rochdale vs Bradford City Live Streaming
Watch Rochdale vs Bradford City Live StreamingDowning missed the first half of the season after his £12million move from Middlesbrough in the summer after breaking his foot in April, in a challenge with Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov.
But he has quickly made a big impression with O'Neill.
He said: "I think Stewart has done wonderfully well for us.
"He's had no pre-season, he came straight into the side from injury and has been excellent.
"He did some wonderful things in the game against Burnley. I think he is just getting really properly fit.
"Sometimes the crowd get a bit anxious when he goes 10 yards and then checks back.
"But the first goal he stuck in brilliantly and you can immediately see a lift of confidence - and his second goal came because the confidence was up."
