Nelsen hopes to annoy manager with W.Cup qualification

By Greg Stutchbury

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - While most players in the Premier League bend over backwards to please their managers, New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen is hoping to really annoy his Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce this weekend.

If everything goes according to plan, Nelsen would have led his New Zealand team into the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa by winning the second leg of their World Cup qualifier against Bahrain on Saturday.

That would mean missing out on valuable rest between the English seasons and risk upsetting Allardyce but Nelsen said that was a price he was willing to pay.

"I think the only person who doesn't want me to get there is the manager, because I'll pretty much be playing two years straight," the Blackburn Rovers central defender and captain, told reporters in Wellington.

"So hopefully I'll annoy him after this game."

Despite poking fun at his manager, Nelsen said he knew he had the support of all his Blackburn team mates, though he was sceptical about their motives.

"They have been so supportive," Nelsen said. "They have been wishing me and New Zealand so much luck.

"Though I think for some of them they think if we get through they think it'll be an easier game for them."