Christian: I'll Be Back

Christian Dailly insists that he is going to do all he can to get back into the first team at the earliest opportunity.

It has been a tough time for Christian, an ever present last season, who made way for Gary Breen to make his full debut on Wednesday, days after skippering Scotland to a disappointing 2-2 draw in the Faroe Islands.

On top of that, Scotland manager Bertie Vogts has been quoted as saying he was disappointed with Christian's part, as well as that of David Weir who also plays in England, in the conceded goals.

That he has since backtracked on those comments may be of small comfort to the likeable Scot, who was first to shake Gary Breen's hand ahead of the West Brom game, and he says: "Of course I was. It is disappointing, but it is one of these things; the manager makes a decision and you have to live with it.

"You could say I was angry, disappointed, upset, whatever you want to say - but the team is more important and we have got to get ourselves up the table.

"I have done nothing wrong so I will just get on with it, keep myself fit, and if I need to be used I will be ready.

"It is important that you stick together as a team, and obviously if you are not playing you stay strong and make sure you are ready to come back in whenever.

"The team is more important - the manager makes decisions, you respect it, and you get on with it."

Glenn Roeder has often stressed the importance of the squad being a whole entity rather than a collection of individuals - there is no 'I' in team, as the cliche goes - and it is a philosophy Christian is happy to agree with despite his disappointment.

"Whoever wins the game, it is everyone at the club that wins, and it is everybody that loses, so we are all just as disappointed as each other.

"I am desperate to play. I want to play every game, and I hate not playing - it really does kill me a bit, and I want to be out there against Spurs."

With domestic woe not helping to ease the pain of the fallout following the Scotland result, and subsequent criticism, Christian says: "When you get tough weeks it makes you stronger. Mentally all you do is come in and train even harder, and you just put it in every single day."

As for his view of the match, mostly from the bench until he came on as a late substitute for Nigel Winterburn, he says: "I think if we take a couple of chances it will make it a little bit easier; we worked so hard against Arsenal and we put it in.

"You could see the chasing and chasing, and I think we have got to make sure that we do that in every single game we play in.

"We have got to work and work and work; it is the only way you can get yourself up the league.

"Charlton worked so hard a couple of weeks ago and West Brom worked so hard against us on Wednesday, and both those teams will feel they earned the points by sheer work rate.

"There was not always a lot of quality there but in terms of work rate and playing to a system and plan it was very effective - and you have to give them credit for that."