RICHARD Wright today revealed that he has spent too much time on the bench having been second-choice keeper for most of his seven years at Arsenal, Everton and West Ham.

Elvin King

RICHARD Wright today revealed that he has spent too much time on the bench having been second-choice keeper for most of his seven years at Arsenal, Everton and West Ham.

“I have missed too much,” said the 31-year-old Ipswich Town number one as he looked forward to tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship game against Watford at Portman Road (kick-off 3pm).

“Coming back to Ipswich has given me back the drug that I was missing.

“You are always happy when your team wins, but when you are one of the substitutes the buzz is not the same. You need to play.”

And Wright sees good times ahead for himself and his home-town club, and compared the current scene to the late nineties when George Burley was building a team that eventually won promotion to the Premiership in 2000.

Wright saved a penalty in the play-off final against Barnsley at Wembley Stadium, and he went on: “It took time to achieve the success we did under George.

“And that compares to now.

“We had a couple of near misses in terms of the play-offs but, overall, it was a building process and things don't happen overnight.

“The hardest thing about our club at the moment is that we've got a great backer and everyone wants instant success.

“I crave that as much as anyone but we've got to stay patient and keep trying to get as many good results as we possibly can.”

Current manager Jim Magilton was also in that Ipswich side of a decade ago, and Wright is convinced things are moving in the right direction.

Wright, who left Town in the summer of 2001 before returning last summer, looked to the final seven matches of this season.

“We have to focus on what we have to do, which is trying to get three points every time.

“If we beat Watford we can then look at other results and hope that they go our way.

“We need others to lose, but that won't count for anything if we haven't won.

“We need our fans to stick with us, and when they are singing your name and cheering you on it's such a great buzz and hopefully we'll experience that again tomorrow,” he added.