Shaun Wright-Phillips hailed his teammates' work ethic and the fans' lungs after the Blues snatched the lead in the Carling Cup semi final with United.

And he believes that fan power allied to that never-say-die spirit could be the key to reaching Wembley.

The Blues’ midfielder reckons that 10,000 City fans piled into Old Trafford next Wednesday night may make all the difference.

But the England man urged everyone connected with the club to put the semi final aside until after the weekend FA Cup tie at Scunthorpe.

“It was a very satisfying win,” declared Wright-Phillips. “The players showed great character to come from a goal down.

 

The fans drove us on and on and in the end it all came good. To hold on to the win was terrific but we know there is still a job to do at Old Trafford.

...Shaun Wright-Phillips

 

“What we have to do is savour this tonight and then put it aside, we have a game on Sunday night that we have to win and we will be back in training for that match tomorrow morning. Preparation is everything.”

After a spell on the sidelines with a bad ankle and then a recurrence of the same injury Wright-Phillips was just glad to get three-quarters of a game under his belt and is now looking for more work.

“I felt strong in terms of running for most of the match and I was glad to get some game time in,” he said.

“Carlos Tevez was fantastic again for us, he has been unbelieveable all season. His energy is superb but everyone played their part in what was a memorable win and that’s a few we have had over United in recent seasons.

“We know that the job is only half done but we know too that we will get all the backing we need next week. If there are only a thousand of our fans there they will make themselves heard so goodness knows what it will be like with 10,000! But we have to make sure we give them something to sing and shout about.”

 

It was by no means a great performance, but a win’s a win against them lot, and we’re well capable of going to Legoland and getting a draw. Roll on Wembley!

...Norfstander blog...