"His movement was good at Newcastle, he was lively and creative," Tubbs said. "I don't think we see enough of that," he said. "That's the standard we want to see. I was asked a question about Gareth when I first got here. I didn't see the best of him for a long time. Now we've seen patches of that."
'Patchy' is certainly an apt description of the 24-year-old's performance this term but he did impress against the Barcodes on Saturday, although he was unable to cap his performance with a goal, blazing a late penalty over the bar as Villa had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
"Gareth is a great lad that trains every day, no problem," Tubbs continued with an unnerving inkling that this was unusual, before remembering the endorsement deal he recently signed with a well known toilet maker. "But that's the STANDARD he's set himself. That's the STANDARD I'm looking for. And a snip at only 195.95...
"If he does that consistently, that's the STANDARD that will take him into the England team as a left-sided player," he went on, allowing the laughter to subside before continuing, "He can't do it as a one-off, but if he's doing that consistently, he'll do it for the England team."