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WRIGHT-PHILLIPS CONTINUES EDUCATION
Wright-Phillips - learned from time at Chelsea.
England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is convinced he learned plenty from his time at Chelsea under three different managers, declaring himself "wiser" for the experience.
Jose Mourinho shelled out £21million to take the sought-after wideman to Stamford Bridge three seasons ago, and Wright-Phillips also worked under Avram Grant and, for a short spell, Luiz Felipe Scolari before heading back to Manchester City for less than half that sum at the end of August.
Although his spell in west London - which included nearly as many substitute appearances as starts - may not have resulted in as much game-time as he would have liked, the 26-year-old feels it was a worthwhile part of his footballing education.
"I choose to believe you can learn from everybody, so try to take on as much as possible," he said.
"I have gone back a lot wiser with my decisions on the pitch and a lot more mature on and off the field.
"Giving in is not part of my nature. The mental side of things has helped me a lot.
"I put it down to every manager and coach I played under while I was there - they all played a part because everyone gives you something different and it is up to you whether you want to take it on board."
Wright-Phillips added: "Obviously the England issue was there, because everybody wants to play for their country. But my first thought was to just get back playing and get to back what I did before I left the club."
Despite coming off the bench and scoring a goal in Fabio Capello's first game in charge against Switzerland at Wembley in February, the 26-year-old found himself out in the cold again when the squads were named for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia.
Since then Wright-Phillips has produced a string of promising displays with City - which resulted in him being chosen ahead of David Bentley for games against Kazakhstan and then Belarus next week.
"Being dropped gave me a kick to be honest, because I knew I had to get myself into gear and get back to what I used to be," he continued.
"It just made me know I always need to be improving."
With Arsenal's Theo Walcott having now the front-runner for the right-wing berth after his stunning hat-trick in Zagreb, Capello could look to bring in another out-and-out winger on Saturday, given the absence of injured Joe Cole.
Wright-Phillips feels he could fill the gap down the left side.
He said: "I could most probably play there. I have played everywhere across the middle.
"At City, there is a lot of movement, so a lot of the time I am on the left, a lot of the time I am on the right and I am down the middle as well.
"It depends what happens during the game, but it doesn't change my game plan either way."
