Shaun Wright-Phillips lifts the lid on Mark Hughes, Jose Mourinho and Roberto Mancini; describes hurt upon leaving City

In the final part of a Ladbrokes Fanzone exclusive, Shaun Wright-Phillips discusses the managers he has worked under and his move to Chelsea from Manchester City.

He also shares his thoughts on the Premier League title race, his dark horse for a top-four finish and the current England team.

My favourite manager was probably Mark Hughes

The manager I get asked most about is Jose Mourinho. Everyone wants to know what he was like especially at that time when Chelsea were doing so well.

I would say, though, that my favourite manager was probably Mark Hughes when I went back to City. He was amazing. I thought he was unlucky in his position. He hadn’t lost a game. We just drew four in a row and then he got the sack. The way he had us playing was remarkable; we were beating pretty much anyone who came to the Etihad.

All my managers were completely different, though. Sven-Goran Eriksson was a very relaxed and laid-back character, but he would lose it if he needed to.

Mourinho just knew what he wanted. He made decisions quickly, never hesitated and in some ways you might say he made impulsive decisions. He saw something that nobody else saw. I always refer back to the Chelsea v Fulham game.

It was 0-0 and I don’t think me and Joe Cole had touched the ball in the first 15 minutes. We weren’t playing badly, they just couldn’t get us the ball for whatever reason and Mourinho just took me and Cole straight off the pitch. That was typical Mourinho. Obviously, it’s not nice being on the receiving end.

I remember my first conversation with Mourinho. It was during the pre-season tour. He asked me ‘Have I got my song ready to sing?’ and that was the perfect icebreaker. There was no tenseness, it was all just laughing and joking.

SWP on Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho

Roberto Mancini was a control freak. You had to play a certain way and do it the way he wanted you to do it. There are a lot of players who play off the cuff especially in tight situations, so it was strange to try and play his way.

Back then if you didn’t do what the manager wanted, then you just didn’t play so we just got on with it. As a player you won’t always agree with what the manager says, and I just accepted that.

I was never intimidated by any of my managers to be honest. It’s like any job, the manager is your boss, and if he wants you to play right-back, that’s what you do.

If the boss asks for a cup of tea, you make it sort of thing! That is why Chelsea were so successful. No matter how many egos were in there nobody trumped Mourinho’s.

I don’t see Mourinho making a return to England as much as I would love to have him in the country. Especially from a media perspective, he is always fun to listen to and there’s never a dull moment. I think his next stop will be managing a country.

City exit was hard to swallow

It was so hard when I was sold to Chelsea from Man City. At that age, I was quite naïve and just thought I would stay at Man City until I retired.

It wasn’t something I wanted because I was really happy where I was. I found out later that it was because of the club’s circumstances. I had to be sold otherwise the club would have gone into administration.

That journey was an emotional one. The way it was communicated was hard. The first phone call was ‘You need to leave’, and I told them ‘No, I don’t want to leave’.

Then it went quiet for a few days before the club didn’t give me a choice. That was basically it. There was a friendly game after that against Scunthorpe or Macclesfield in pre-season and the senior boys told me not to play. Before I knew it there was a car waiting for me and I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I just had to get in the car and go.

When news came that I had to go, the first thing that came into my mind was Arsenal. They had enquired about me and it was on the table.

However, Arsene Wenger said we would wait until the January window. I couldn’t wait that long. If they came in and put the money on the table, the chances are I would have ended up there. Dad didn’t mind, he just wanted me to be happy and he brought us up to strike while the iron is hot as you never know what is around the corner.