Wright move

Duffer is top of Wright-Phillip’s list, writes Liam Mackey.

DAMIEN DUFF may be one of the players who could ensure that Shaun Wright-Phillips is again restricted to a watching brief for the visit of Barcelona to Stamford Bridge tomorrow night, but the Irish winger still ranks high on the list of top men as far as his English counterpart is concerned.

"I love the guy, just as a person," says Wright-Phillips.

"He is a fantastic player and I always thought that even before I joined Chelsea. As a person, he is just as good. Whatever he gets in life, he deserves 100%.

"He has helped me settle in. He speaks to me all of the time. He knows that it has been difficult for me when I first came. He always talked to me and helped me through it."

Wright-Phillips, a superstar at Manchester City before his big money move last July turned him into something more like a bit-player at Chelsea, still thinks he made the right decision. He cites Duff as a precedent.

"If you want to be a better player and win things, sometimes you have to take a gamble," he says.

"If a club like Chelsea or another big club come in for you, you have to try and that's what Damien and I have both done.

"It would be foolish not to try it. Duffer, to me, is an all-round player. He helps the team which is what is needed wingers who will help the team but offer something in attack as well.

"He gets stuck in and he scores goals so, for me, he is an all-round player. Everyone is still learning, he can learn from me, I can learn from him. He is getting better and better. He has come to Chelsea and they ask different requirements of you and he has adapted to them very well. It's got to the stage where he does all of them naturally without anyone having to shout at him or tell him otherwise.

"That comes with the manager and the staff. He buys players and he wants you to play in a certain way. He buys you because he believes you can play in the system and adjust to things."

Wright-Phillips, who kicked off his international career with a goal in a 3-0 England victory against the Ukraine, insists that he will have no regrets about his move to the Bridge should he miss out on Germany this summer.

"I wasn't thinking about the World Cup, when I came here," he says. "I was thinking about enhancing me as a player, trying to win things, trying something else in my career. If I am involved in the England squad, then that's great but, if I am not, then it obviously wasn't meant to be this year. My focus is on making me a better player.

"I am learning and I am in a position where I could become one of the best players around as long as I keep learning. It is down to me."

Wright-Phillips says he is not surprised at the progress being made by Stephen Ireland, who was on his way up at Manchester City when Shaun was already an established name there.

"He is a fantastic kid. He has played with my brother (Bradley) for some years so when the reserves played, I always watched them. My brother and I always spoke highly of him. He got his chance and, although it took a while for him to get it, when he did come in he showed good maturity and got on with it, like it was a normal reserve game.

"As a young kid, you are always very anxious but he was very patient. He didn't make any hasty moves. He waited until he got his chance and did well when he got it."

Now, it's Wright-Phillips' turn to be patient.

"There has been a period of adjustment because I am fighting for my position," he admits, "But in the course of that it's making me a better player. I know I can't start every week. I know I have to improve my game in every possible way. But the fact I always want to learn helps. I still believe I can do better."

Whether Wright-Phillips gets his chance against Barca tomorrow night is a moot point but, regardless, he's fully expecting something special from the Champions' League first leg game.

"I watched the games last year," he recalls. "They were fantastic for spectators to watch there were a lot of goals and the games were very exciting. I think our achievements as two teams have been very similar so the stakes are definitely high."

Shaun Wright-Phillips was speaking at the launch of the new +F50TUNIT boot from Adidas.