The 26-year-old moved to Eastlands at the end of August for less than half of the £21million the Stamford Bridge club paid for his sought-after services three seasons ago.

However, while his spell in London may not have resulted in as much game-time as he would have liked, Wright-Phillips feels it was a worthwhile part of his footballing education.

"Obviously the England issues were there, because everybody wants to play for their country," said Wright-Phillips, back in the England fold having been dropped after featuring in Fabio Capello's first match in charge earlier in the year.

"But my first thought was to just get back playing and get to back what I did before I left the club.

"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.

"I choose to believe you can learn from everybody, so try to take on as much as possible."

Wright-Phillips added: "It is nice to string it all together. Now, I just want to get back to being positive and helping the team."

Despite coming off the bench and scoring a goal in the 2-1 victory over 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 decent displays back with City, which resulted in him being chosen ahead of David Bentley by the Italian coach for the latest round of international games, against Kazakhstan on Saturday 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 said.

"It just made me know I always need to be improving."

With Arsenal's Theo Walcott having now emerged as 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 wide man 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."

Following the impressive 4-1 victory in Croatia last month, a sell-out Wembley crowd will be expecting another convincing display against the former Soviet state - ranked 131st in the world - as Capello's men continue to chart a course towards South Africa 2010.

Wright-Phillips hopes the England faithful will give the squad a warm welcome on Saturday.

He said: "They were always there, but they get upset like we do.

"We owed them and they came (out to Croatia], and we tried to play the best we could.

"I was watching, proud of the team and what we did out there."

Wright-Phillips added: "But we know it is going to be a really hard game, no matter what people say.

"As long as we set out with the same attitude that the lads did against Croatia, then we will be okay."