Aston Villa midfielder Gardner junior made his first appearance for Villa as a substitute in the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy against Chelsea in Hong Kong at the weekend. Craig left Villa to play regular first-team football at Birmingham 18 months ago before moving to Sunderland this summer in a £5million deal. He has often tipped his younger brother to also make the grade. Gary, a product of the club's Academy, said: "Seeing Craig come through the ranks at Villa, I've seen what you have to do to make it. "Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and play well for Alex McLeish (Villa manager). Appearing in the final, has given me a taste for more action now. I just love playing football. I'm happy now I've made my debut. It's massive for me and I loved every minute of it. I intend to use it as a stepping stone." Gardner has now fully recovered from the anterior cruciate ligament injury which he suffered 20 months ago.
