Jason Puncheon: Roam menacingly infield

“I’m left-footed and my manager wants to play me on the right wing. Any tips?”
Nathaniel Andrews, via Twitter

Jason Puncheon says:

“Sometimes I get in trouble for not staying out wide because I like to come inside and link up the play.

The important thing is to be adaptable. You learn to sniff out the space as you gain more experience.

It does get harder as the game goes on because the opposition know you’re going to want to cut inside on your left foot. You want to be unpredictable so mix it up. Make the defender think twice about what you’re going to do.

Look at what the best players in the world do in your position and try to pick up their good habits. Watch how they read the game and use runners off the ball to create space for them to cut inside.

When you play out wide, your job is to produce an end product, either assisting someone or scoring a goal, but you can’t switch off or neglect your defensive duties. You’ve got to keep one eye on their full-back getting forward, as well as doing your job in the final third.”

Jason Puncheon was speaking at the launch of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s first downloadable content pack, Havoc. Visitwww.callofduty.com

For more football tips see:
Lucas Moura: Dribble the Brazilian way
Accelerate and beat your man like Messi
Angel di Maria on the art of wing play
Leave full-backs for dust
Play like Spain: Master the 1 v 1
Ashley Young: Beat your man with this plan