Ex-Man Utd starlet says he's not Premier League level despite manager's praise
Ethan Galbraith is looking to seal Leyton Orient's return to the second tier in today's play-off against Charlton but the ex-Manchester United player insists he feels he has a way to go to be Premier League level
Ethan Galbraith is building back better but while his manager is convinced that the Leyton Orient star is already Premier League quality, Galbraith insists he is not there yet.
The Northern Ireland international has plenty of similarities with Os boss Richie Wellens. Both midfielders were released by Manchester United as youngsters after solitary first-team appearances.
Wellens went on to have a long, successful career from the old Third Division to the second tier. And Galbraith, the man Charlton must silence at Wembley this afternoon, is well on his way to doing the same.
'There is no doubt in my mind that Ethan Galbraith is a Premier League player,' Wellens says. Galbraith, however, believes he is only part-way through the journey.
'It's obviously nice,' he says of Wellens' appraisal. 'But at the minute I don't feel I'm quite there. As a footballer you strive to get as far as you can, so if I do manage to get there in the future it will be unbelievable. For now I'm just focused on the here and now.'
Galbraith, who has also been used as a right back this season, says being able to absorb Wellens' knowledge has been key.
Yet he reckons he still needs to improve 'everything around the game.' He continues: 'Tactically, game management - as a young player at times you can drift in and out of games but working with the gaffer I've gotten a lot better at that. Last year I was a bit naive but working with him now I've picked up good habits.
'He's let me play the game. I learn a lot from him. He was in sort of the same position and the knowledge he has of the game, what he passes down, is absolutely great for me.'
At the beginning of December Orient were in 21st place and appeared more likely to face a relegation battle than a promotion push. Two Championship clubs, one of them Swansea, also made bids for Galbraith in January that were swiftly rejected.
But Orient went on to win 20 of the 30 remaining games before seeing off Stockport in a semi-final shoot-out, with Galbraith scoring the final kick.
He says the belief inside the squad that something special could happen never wavered. 'It comes from having a good group,' he adds. 'We've all said it, even when we were going through that rough stage we had the players and belief we could turn it around. I'm not too sure many others thought we could but inside the group we knew.'
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