Fremantle-born Lee Howells must qualify for some sort of record as far as Australians playing overseas are concerned. It's been 11 years since he left Queensland and Brisbane United to try his luck in England. Cheltenham Town, then a run-of-the-mill Conference club, was Howells' first destination - and he's been there ever since. From relegation to the Dr Martens League in his first season, to promotion to the Football League and an FA Trophy victory at Wembley in between, Howells has managed to fulfill many of his ambitions by staying loyal to the one club.

"Yes, I had a couple of chances to leave," Howells told www.tribalfootball.com this week. "But the reason I stayed at one Australian club (Brisbane United) for three seasons was because I was happy there and it's the same with Cheltenham. I got a feel for the place, got to know the people and became comfortable here. I think if you are happy at a club then that shows in what you do on the pitch."

As he and Cheltenham have moved up the divisions, Howells has seen plenty of changes - but is quick to highlight that the club's atmosphere is one aspect that has remained constant. "It is a family club and quite happy-go-lucky, but even now they are still quite ambitious. Four or five years ago they were happy just to be in the Conference, but now they are looking at the chance to go higher than Division Three."

Rejection from his family's hometown club, Bristol City, forced a teenage Howells to return to Australia and try to establish himself with Brisbane United. But it wasn't football that took Howells back to England a second time. "I left Australia because my mother was very ill so I came back to be with her. She passed away 18 months later, and by then I had settled back into the English way of life - and football."

Howells remains a key factor in Cheltenham's ambitions. Anchoring the midfield this season, he's rated the fittest player in the Third Division and many observers believe he is playing as well as ever. Under boss Steve Cotterill, Cheltenham look genuine promotion candidates and Howells says the club certainly has the wherewithal to compete in the higher reaches of the Football League. "The main aim is to remain a Football League club, but there is no reason why we cannot go higher than Division Three. It was a big jump up from the Conference, so to go into Division Two may not be much bigger. When I first joined, the standard was similar to what I had been used to in Australia. But the big difference now is full-time training, which has benefited all the players at the club over the last few years. Off the field, the club has made a lot of progress. Over 11 years the ground has improved immensely."

Howells also notes the difference between Cotterill and his previous managers - most of whom he worked with while a part-timer in the Conference. "Cotterill is very different. He's the first manager I've had in full-time football and he is very professional in all things. In part-time football in Australia we used to drink four cans of XXXX after the game, the climate was very different and it was much more casual. Steve expects us to be professional on and off the field in everything we do."

Howells has been an ever-present on the popular 'Aussies Abroad' list, which was first put together almost four years ago by New South Wales Soccer Federation marketing chief Binesh Mudaliar. Now part of Soccer Australia's marketing effort, Howells' name is networked right around the country - something which he admits is a surprise. "No, I didn't know about that (Aussies Abroad), although occasionally I run into somebody who remembers me from Australia. Last season at Leyton Orient somebody called to me out of the crowd and it was someone I knew from my time there, who was living in London. When I left Australia, football was popular but didn't seem to get much publicity. But now that Australia have done well in the World Cup qualifiers and there are so many top players in the Premiership it can only make the game bigger. I should imagine that the standard of football and facilities has improved since I left."

Howells also admits to being in the dark over the number of countrymen he's faced since Cheltenham's promotion to the Third Division. "No, I didn't know anyone in Division Three and it is surprising how many Australians are here in both the top level and lower divisions. It just shows how big football is getting in Australia now."

Having bounced back so well from that failed trial with Bristol City, Howells is in a good position to advise any young Aussie lad aiming to make a career for himself in the game. "I left Bristol Rovers at 18 when I was told I wasn't wanted. I had the chance to join an English club on trial, but I went to Australia and it just shows there are lots of possibilities in football. It wasn't until I was 29 or 30 that I played in the Football League. I would just say never give up, keep trying and you never know what might happen."

With Cheltenham Town well placed in this season's promotion race, you get the feeling that same mantra applies to a 33 year-old Howells even today.

Photograph : Lee Howells in Cheltenham colours.