Ross Wallace has undergone a quiet transformation at Preston North End, a rejuvenative Lancashire outpost for many an unfulfilled Scot.
The former Celtic winger is the new darling of Deepdale and the poster boy for Alan Irvine’s impressive tenure. The nearly-men of English football, having frequently approached the threshold of the Barclays Premier League only to be denied entry, are making their most compelling challenge yet. At the root of their revival is Wallace, a curiosity to both Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan at Celtic and a source of bewilderment to Roy Keane at Sunderland.
A suppressed talent at his previous illustrious employers, the flair player often flung into a full-back slot, he is flourishing at the creative hub of Irvine’s eye-catching creation. Wallace’s progress at Preston has been rewarded with a place in the travelling party for Yokohama. Diminishing options have left George Burley’s squad looking distinctly experimental but the manager’s ethos of enterprising entertainment is ready-made for Wallace to blossom in an environment that has already reinvigorated Ross McCormack and Kris Commons.
“I feel I have definitely matured as a player and that has come from getting regular games and playing at a good level of football over a period of time,” admitted Wallace. “I feel I did okay at Celtic but I never got the opportunity to play regularly in my favoured position and feel I needed a good year or so to settle and show my true abilities.
“I have had a good, long spell of playing first-team football now and that really makes a big difference to your confidence and the mental side of your game. You suffer from a lack of experience when you are young and trying to make the breakthrough and it takes time to learn when to keep the ball, how to react to certain situations and how to build your general awareness of the game.
“I would hope to make an appearance at some stage in the game and I definitely see this as a right good chance to stake my claim for a place in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. I realise people in Scotland may not have seen a lot of me since I left Celtic and I want to show exactly what I am capable of. I have been playing steadily as a left-winger and I feel I have been reasonably successful.”
He was a contemporary of Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady’s main competitor at Celtic. While Maloney has since undertaken a wait-and-return at Aston Villa and McGeady has established himself as the architect of Celtic’s attacking play, Wallace’s road to prominence has taken a more circuitous route.
“I was always confident in my ability there, but I had Aiden McGeady in front of me on the left wing when I was playing left-back and he was playing out of his skin at the time,” he recalled. “I have no doubts I made the right decision in leaving, though. There comes a point where you have to cut your ties. You can’t afford to be sitting on the bench every other week when you are 23 or 24. When Shaun Maloney returned to the club from Aston Villa, it was clear I was going to find it tough. I feel I played well during the six months I spent at Premier League level with Sunderland and I’m with a team that’s pushing for promotion in the Championship now.”
He owes his new-found prominence to the influence of Irvine, the former assistant to David Moyes who is now expected to emulate the Everton manager’s own achievements.
“I feel the manager will end up in the English Premier League at some point,” said Wallace. “He is going to be a top, top boss. He worked as the No.2 to Davie Moyes for a long time at Everton and helped bring success there. He breeds confidence in players and is extremely thorough in preparing for games.”
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