Source: Daily_Mail
Shaun Wright-Phillips: I'll show Man City's new boys the value of discipline
Manchester City start their Premier League campaign at Blackburn on Saturday still without the John Terry-style leader craved by manager Mark Hughes after a £100million spree to turn them into title contenders.[LNB]But despite all the lavish spending on the likes of Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor, the most important player at the club could turn out to be Hughes's first signing a year ago, Shaun Wright-Phillips.[LNB]Who better to educate his team-mates on how a group of expensively assembled individuals can be moulded into a team of champions than the man who first joined City in 1998, when the club were at their lowest ebb in the third division of English football, before leaving to be part of the Chelsea revolution?[LNB] Flying high: Wright-Phillips has backed Man City to challenge for the title[LNB]At Chelsea, Jose Mourinho was also able to spend unprecedented amounts of money and Wright-Phillips saw first-hand how the manager insisted on a strict team pattern, discipline and work ethic to take on and beat Manchester United. [LNB]'We have to realise as a group of players that a 1-0 win away from home is as good as a 3-0 romp at home,' said Wright-Phillips, 27. [LNB]'Sometimes it's about gritting in and getting the results. Once that sinks in, I can definitely see us winning the league title at some point. [LNB]'Teams will be naturally scared of us at Eastlands because of our home record last season and the quality of players at the club. But to really take the next step we need that winning mentality away from home two away wins last season is clearly not good enough.[LNB]'Mourinho's Chelsea team were tough as well as talented. We didn't go into our shells if we conceded a goal, we came out harder. That's the way our attitude has to be at City. I'm sure the players we've signed will help because they're used to being winners. It doesn't matter how much they cost or what they're getting paid, as long as they show they are willing to die for the cause.'[LNB]Wright-Phillips made the hardest decision of his life to leave his beloved City for Chelsea in 2005, desperate to win the trophies that seemed beyond his club at the time. [LNB] One of the lads: But Wright-Phillips was frustrated with a lack of opportunity at Stamford Bridge[LNB]Chelsea did win the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his three seasons in London but, frustrated by the lack of first-team opportunities towards the end of his spell there, he returned 'home' last summer soon after Hughes had replaced Sven Goran Eriksson as manager.[LNB]What has happened since has stunned the player, who had no idea that within weeks of his own arrival the club would be taken over by billionaire Abu Dhabi owners, able to spend record sums on world stars such as Robinho.[LNB]'It has been as big a surprise to me as everyone else,' he said. 'I signed purely because I believed in Mark Hughes. I liked his ideas. I hadn't a clue when I signed that other things would happen so quickly. I came back to help the club win something. The more players come in, the more likely I am to reach my ambition. [LNB]'We have the talent, it is just about the consistency. I know from Chelsea that it's not about one or two brilliant performances. It is also about winning different types of matches. Last season, whenever we weren't at our best, we lost.' [LNB]Wright-Phillips was the first player to suggest midway through last season that some players were not putting in a shift, with some interpreting that as a dig at Brazilians Elano and Robinho. [LNB]Things did improve following the arrival of solid professionals like Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong and Craig Bellamy in January, and that process has continued this summer, with £100m being spent on players such as Gareth Barry and Toure.[LNB] Exciting times: Adebayor (left) is among a raft of big-money arrivals at Eastlands this summer, following the earlier purchase of Bellamy[LNB]Wright-Phillips believes, as long as the big-money players work hard, there will not be any resentment over the size of their pay packets.[LNB]'There is no wrong reason for a player to join a club as long as he gives the team 110 per cent on the pitch and is willing to die for the cause,' he said. 'I respect any player who comes in and works hard for us. If they come in and show the winning mentality, I will say, 'Good for you'. There won't be any jealousy.'[LNB]Hughes earned Brownie points last season by reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Cup but will have to improve on the final league position of 10th. It was against Sam Allardyce that Mourinho clinched his first title in 2005 his team personifying grit anddetermination with a 2-0 win at Bolton.[LNB]How Hughes will hope his new-look City side heed Wright-Phillips's advice and show the same spirit against Big Sam next Saturday. Otherwise, the pressure will be on straight away.[LNB] Boring, boring Arsenal!: Kolo left the club because he was 'fed up'MANCHESTER CITY FC
