Stewart Downing only spins when he's winning. As well as being a fine player, a stalwart for Middlesbrough and an England player, the winger is nurturing a talent as an avid amateur DJ. If his team's season has featured a few too many discordant notes - something they hope to amend away to Sunderland today - at least one of their number has an antidote.

Many managers would be alarmed at the prospect of their star player spending his spare time in nightclubs, but not only does Downing radiate good sense, his passion is genuine. The 23-year-old's hobby has led him to perform at venues in trendy Ibiza and, while football comes first, he will “still be playing around at it and will have a go, perhaps, when the career is over”.

Appearing in front of more than 46,000 supporters at the Stadium of Light in a raucous Wear-Tees derby will be easy in comparison to winning over a dancefloor. “I've done it in Middlesbrough at a few bars and my mates are helping me learn,” Downing said. “You finish training at one or two o'clock and you have to do something with your spare time. It's enjoyable.

“Obviously, in the season you can't do too much because you don't want to be out late or be drinking. In football, there are pressures but when you're DJ-ing there is more pressure. In football, you have your team-mates to help you out and you can put it right, but not up there. If you make a mistake it is just you in front of a few hundred people dancing.

“It's a lot more nerve-racking DJ-ing than playing football. I played the Purple Onion in 'Boro and I have done it in Ibiza at Eden and places like that. At Eden you can get a thousand people in there in different rooms. You've got to mix the tracks right. You don't want any clashing. It's a different challenge, a mental one. I play Funky House and I would love to do it more.”

For now, he would settle for three points. Since Downing signed a new five-year deal at the start of this year, Middlesbrough's form has been mixed. They have promise in their team and youth in their ranks, but they have won only once in their past nine league matches. They are not yet safe from relegation; a positive result against Sunderland, where Downing once spent some time on-loan, is paramount.

“It's more frustrating than embarrassing,” he said. “But we should have taken our chances and got up to the top-seven. We need to be up in the league and challenging and my ambition - and I said this to the manager when I signed my contract - is for us to have real competition for places. When you're playing for England you have to play at the top.”