WITH footballers in the headlines for all the wrong reasons these days, the good work many of them do for the community often goes unnoticed.

Recently, Portsmouth and England Under-21 midfielder Gary O' Neil, currently on loan at Car-diff, returned to Ravensbourne School, in Hayes Lane, Bromley, to hand out prizes to some of his former school's star pupils.

It was the first time Bromley-born O'Neil had returned to the school since leaving after his GCSEs five years ago, and for the 21-year-old it brought back some fond memories.

He said: "I had some good times here, and it hasn't changed a lot since I left. It's nice to come back and give something back to the community."

Ravensbourne teacher Malcolm Rollinson said: "It was great to see Gary back for our prize-giving, as ever with a smile on his face. As someone who taught him for his five years, I have followed his career at Portsmouth and as captain of England under-21s with great interest and pride.

"I remember distinctly his Premiership appearance when he scored twice against Leeds United my team! I was listening on the radio, driving back from Sheffield, and was pleased for him when he scored his first goal, but less pleased when the final result was 6-2 to Portsmouth, with Gary scoring twice."

Gary Atkins, head of PE at the school, said: "Gary played lots of sports at school including cricket and football, when he was team captain, as well as for the district and county.

"His behaviour was always impeccable. He was always in the thick of things during a match competitive, but always with self-control."

O'Neil learned his footballing trade with local side Valley Valiants, who play in Charlton Park, before a Portsmouth scout spotted him at the age of 13.

He continued playing for the Valiants for a further two years, before deciding to concentrate his efforts solely on Portsmouth.

O'Neil then made his debut for the south-coast club a year later at the tender age of 16, and it was a day he will never forget.

He said: "Along with playing for my country, when Peter Taylor made me captain of the under-21 side on my debut against Ukraine, it was probably the proudest moment of my career so far."

O'Neil went on to play a role in the Portsmouth side that gained promotion to the Premiership, scoring three goals in 33 appearances.

Since then, however, he has largely struggled to hold down a regular place in the first team, despite starring in Pompey's record top-flight victory the 6-2 defeat of Leeds last year, a game in which he scored twice.

He is clearly still held in high regard by Portsmouth fans, who repeatedly chanted his name during his touchline warm-up in the 2-1 defeat against Charlton at The Valley, in which he appeared as a second-half substitute, in August.

So was it, I wonder, difficult to leave the club he has grown up with, albeit only on a temporary basis?

"It was, but as you say it's only for a short time, and besides I was on loan at Walsall last year, so it's not the first time.

"Then, as now, I really needed some first-team football under my belt," added O'Neil.

"There were other clubs interested I believe Wigan saw me as a replacement for the injured Per Frandsen, and I know Gillingham also expressed an interest but, and this is no disrespect to them, Cardiff is a massive club.

"Their manager Lennie Lawrence made it clear he wanted me and was keen to do a deal, and things moved fairly quickly after that."

Lawrence praised the efforts of O'Neil in Cardiff's goalless draw against Leeds at the start of this month, when he gave a man-of-the-match performance in midfield.

"Gary is an excellent player and you saw against Leeds what he is capable of," said Lawrence.

"It takes time for a player to settle in, but Gary is showing his quality."

O'Neil has been a regular on the Cardiff team-sheet, and he hopes his performances for the Welsh club will catapult him back into the forefront of manager Harry Redknapp's thinking upon his return to Portsmouth at the end of his three-month loan.

He said: "If it doesn't happen for me, then who knows what the future holds?

"You can never say never in football, and I may have to reconsider my position. But hopefully it won't come to that, because I love the club."

O'Neil may not know where he is going, but he certainly remembers where he came from.