Wright-Phillips initially struggled to make an impact when he moved to Stamford Bridge just over two years ago but he has been in eye-catching form since the end of last season.

The 25-year-old had to adapt to different surroundings following his move from Manchester City and assistant boss Steve Clarke has been impressed with the winger's hard work.

"It clicked in the second half of last season with his performances," said Clarke.

"When he came here suddenly he had to perform in 20 minutes from the bench. He came on, didn't do very well, and found himself out of the team again. That was disappointing him but gradually he's picked it up.

"That's the process. You have to be ready when the chance comes. You have to make it as difficult as possible for Jose (Mourinho) to pick the team."

Shevchenko has not played yet this season but is fit for tomorrow's Premier League clash at Aston Villa.

"He's fit and has been training, he's with the group and working every day," said Clarke, who added that he did not expect the striker to return to Ukraine with Dynamo Kiev at the end of the season.

"He's got to do a bit of what Joe Cole's got to do. He's got to wait for his opportunity and when he gets his opportunity he's got to take it.

"That is the situation with a lot of players at the club at the moment. So he has to work hard in training and be ready for his chance, and the chance will come for all the squad players."

Clarke expects Chelsea's squad to be fully utilised as the season goes on, but for the moment players like Wright-Phillips will continue after guiding the club to the top of the table ahead of the weekend fixtures.

Clarke added: "Early in the season is a difficult time for rotation, you want to bed down your team and get good results.

"Rotation will come. September is a busy month with the Carling Cup, Champions League and players away on international duty. October could be a time for rotation."