TheFA.com Interview - City Flyer
ENGLAND TV: The flying Man
City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips hasn't always had everything his own way
in footballing terms, but is delighted that all his hard work could soon be
rewarded with a first England cap.
Speaking exclusively to TheFA.com for England TV, Wright-Phillips talked of
how he heard the news of his call-up:
"I was on the way to London going to see my mum, and got a quick call from
one of my friends who was watching Sky Sports News so that put a big smile
on my face for the weekend," he explained.
"It was a surprise, but I’ve been waiting for it to come true."
It’s not the first squad you’ve been in. You were in the one against Sweden
before the Euros but picked up an injury then...
"I picked up an injury but it seemed like it wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully I
learnt when I was there so when I came back I was a bit more confident."
Is that the way you look at things then – if they don’t go as planned you
take it in your stride?
"I try to do that with everything. If everything doesn’t go the way I want
it to go I take it on and I’ll know for next time, so its more like a
learning curve.
"At Nottingham Forest they said I was too small and I wasn’t good enough
which hurt at the time but I just used it to my advantage and it made me
become a better player and more confident about myself
"I was 16. It was a bit harsh at the time as I was young, but I had a lot of
people around me like my dad, my mum, Mitchell Thomas, my brothers and a
load of good friends and they stood by me which helped me also.
"It made me think more towards the positive side of things. To know not to
settle for anything because you never know what could happen.
"It drives me on a lot because now I want to be a player that any manager
would like to have in their team, so that’s kind of my driving force."
What advice has your dad given you [Ian Wright - former Arsenal and England
striker]?
"He says that as a player if I play the way I know then I shouldn’t have any
problems. The fact that he believes in me is all the advice I need."
Sadly he never got to a World Cup. Would it be all the sweeter if you could
get there with this England team?
"It will be sweet for me but it’s also a dream for him and my family, so
that’s what I’m working towards, and it would be nice to figure in it."
Source : http://www.theFA.com
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