Former Manchester City academy boss Jim Cassell is thrilled to see Shaun Wright-Phillips in England's World Cup squad.
Jim Cassell, the maestro who set up and built City's Academy into one of the most successful in the country if not the world with an amazing 31 youngsters getting a first-team chance, told today of his joy that his star pupil is on the verge of playing for England in South Africa.
"He might be slight and not very tall but he more than makes up for it with his big heart," Cassell told the Manchester Evening News.
"Barry Poynton, the head of recruitment, told me about these two brothers and then when Shaun came in I wanted to know where his older brother Bradley was. It was explained to me that Shaun was the older one!
"Immediately when I saw him his face was full of enthusiasm for life, his eyes so bright. When we saw him on the pitch he was a bundle of energy, a great instinct player, wonderful acceleration and agility.
"He soon started to display these talents in the under-17s. He did well in his first match against Port Vale and then again against Tranmere.
"We offered him a scholarship and, thank heavens, he took it up. It was not long before he came to the attention of our manager Joe Royle and it quickly became clear he was going to be the first of the 31 to break through.
"Shaun just had a magnificent attitude then and still has today. His approach was, to an extent, unique. He just wanted to play and train. He never wanted to talk about contracts, just train and play as much as he could.
"He has done more for us at City than we could have possibly done for him. He remains a great ambassador and role model for young people.
"In one under-17 game we beat Aston Villa 9-1 and we all realised we had a group of players who were special. Shaun might have scored just the two that day but he was the leading light.
"He was virtually unplayable. I remember his acceleration was outstanding. He's a top, top player. I honestly don't think he'd be better if he was bigger. What I would say is he makes use of every attribute, putting his energy to maximum use. For him his glass is always half full."
