Neil Custis says Wayne Bridge has been completely selfless in making himself unavailable for England.
City star makes brave decision
Wayne Bridge's decision to make himself unavailable for England selection was both brave and selfless, according to Neil Custis of The Sun.
The Manchester City left-back's decision not to be a part of the England squad comes in the wake of the scandal surrounding former Chelsea team-mate John Terry's affair with Bridge's former partner, Vanessa Perroncel.
The 29-year-old was on the verge of an international call-up from Fabio Capello to replace the injured Ashley Cole for the friendly against Egypt, but has now made himself unavailable both for that match and England's World Cup campaign.
His actions have split the media with many criticising his decision, however Custis was in full support.
"I think he's been very brave in making the decision," he told Sunday Supplement.
"He got a lot of criticism for it but I think he's been totally selfless so as not to cause any problems in the camp, which there would've been if you're locked away with someone you can't stand for a month.
"Behind the scenes in training at Manchester City I've been told by the people I know at the club that he's been fully focused, and that he hasn't brought this problem up with the manager."
Saga
The Bridge and Terry saga came to a head on Saturday when the two players came face to face on the pitch.
City ran out 4-2 winners after a feisty second-half which saw Chelsea reduced to nine men, however all eyes were on the pair before kick-off as Bridge snubbed Terry's offer of a handshake.
Despite the hype surrounding the occasion, Custis believes Bridge rose to the occasion to produce one of his best displays for the club.
He said: "I actually think that yesterday was one of the best performances I've seen from him in a City shirt, because he had an uncertain start to his career at the club.
"But he's just come back from a knee injury and he' starting to look like the player that Mark Hughes paid all that money for.
"I think he's handled everything excellently and good on him for not shaking Terry's hand yesterday. I know he was in two minds about it. There was a sort of thinking that 'am I a bigger man if I shake his hand', but I think it would all just be false.
"We're fully aware of what he thinks of John Terry and I think that the result came down to this whole controversy.
"I think Manchester City were playing for Wayne Bridge as much as they were playing for Manchester City. I'm not sure how popular John Terry is within the Chelsea camp and there seemed to be a lack of commitment about them yesterday.
"I think in this situation it really affected the result, and it could galvanise City because they've been struggling recently. They had two wins in eight before this game. This was a really, really big result for them."
