The England left-back finally made his bow for the Blues against Wigan on Saturday, and he played his part in the backs-to-the-wall display that saw City hang on for three valuable points following Richard Dunne’s dismissal in the 53rd minute.
Last weekend’s postponement at Fratton Park delayed Wayne’s first appearance since his signing from Chelsea on January 3rd, but reflecting on his debut he told us:
“I thought I settled into the game quite quickly. Valencia is a good player so I was just trying to stop his crosses, and get forward. I managed to do that, but I was pretty exhausted after the first because I have not played for a while.
“Going down to 10 men meant that I had to sit back rather than go forward, but I thought it was a great team effort to get the three points.
“It was frantic after the break, the tempo was crazy so for my first game back it was difficult but I settled in OK, and I hope I can get better.
“I’ve had two weeks of training with the lads here, and they have all made it really easy by making me feel at home. A lot of it is down to them.
“There was a good team spirit, everyone fought for each other and we ground the result out. There were a few things being said about the referee, but I won’t get into that, I just thought the lads were fantastic. I’ve seen the team spirit already in training, and I am glad I am here.”
The 28-year-old is as aware as anybody of the media speculation surrounding any possible further additions to the City squad, as he adds: “Its interesting hearing and reading about it, and it will be interesting to see who does arrive. I don’t know what might happen, but it is certainly exciting times here.”
