Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

'Maybe things were a bit unprofessional': Peter Odemwingie admits it will be difficult to play for West Brom again

Striker travelled to QPR last night despite not being given permission to do so

Friday 01 February 2013 13:26 GMT
Comments
Peter Odemwingie of West Bromwich Albion celebrates scoring
Peter Odemwingie of West Bromwich Albion celebrates scoring (Getty Images)

Peter Odemwingie has admitted that he will struggle to play for West Brom again following the bizarre collapse of his move to Queens Park Rangers.

Odemwingie said goodbye to team-mates at The Hawthorns and drove to London on transfer deadline day, thinking he was signing for Harry Redknapp's side.

But the move fell through last night, when West Brom refused him permission to speak to QPR after the London club rejected a proposal to let Junior Hoilett move the other way report the Evening Standard .

Odemwingie last week submitted a transfer request and then angered fans when he was critical of the club on Twitter.

West Brom manager Steve Clarke now has to decide whether to play Odemwingie against Tottenham on Sunday. Yesterday the club branded him "wholly unprofessional" for his actions and the 31-year-old was today sent home from training. He said: "If West Brom brought me back here, they think there is a way out in which I can be back on the pitch and doing my best for the team.

"But this could be difficult, I have no guarantees. I am a very emotional person and sometimes things can really hurt me. They may seem childish but I am an emotional guy and I do not regret that. Every emotion I use is to succeed as a football player.

"Maybe I have made some mistakes but I cannot regret that because my emotion is the biggest weapon I have as a sports player.

"I have had a great time at West Brom. A few difficult moments but the difficult moments cannot overshadow my happiness that I have had here and the relationship I have with the fans, who always sang and supported me. I love the club, the fans. I enjoyed myself here and will always love the club. I will still leave, it is just a matter of time.

"Maybe we are different in the way we do business. I understand that I am an adult but the club know the reason why I have wanted to leave. They feel I can overcome that but they are not the ones who know my heart. They believe I can continue to perform.

"What they were offering yesterday was a fair deal, they [Albion] bought me for half of that. It didn't happen and now the window has closed so the way forward is to see what is best for everybody.

"We are not enemies because it is all about football, it is nothing personal. There was nothing illegal from any sides but maybe things were a bit unprofessional."

Odemwingie says West Brom technical director Dan Ashworth gave him his blessing to join QPR. He said: "A few days ago, he told me we all could have handled this situation differently and avoid this situation. To which I agreed. I said it could be a bit late because we have burnt some bridges.

"I went to the training ground to thank everyone and all the staff. I left a few gifts and promised the players that I will come back next week and have a meal in the restaurant. They all wished me well. I said thank you to all the medical staff. Everything was done right. In the last moment, I don't really know what happened. Whatever price we all have to pay, it will affect everyone and we will need to sit down at a table and iron this out.

"It was never about money for me, it was my professional desire. I was ready to give my bonus of about £300,000 earned from the points we have so far. I was ready to offer him that."

The two clubs were thought to have agreed a fee of £3million plus Hoilett but the Canada forward refused a move to West Brom.

Asked whether he will join QPR in the summer, Odemwingie said: "It is too early to say right now. I will take it as a positive that a manager like Harry Redknapp believes I can deliver performances that are very good.

"His plan was to keep me for the next two-and-a-half years because he wants to build a team and do what he did at Tottenham.

"The only question from what I understood from the conversation was a player they [Albion] wanted from QPR and the question was who is going to pay his wages.

"As far as I was concerned, I had to hold on to the last minute. I was ready to give my part of the contract at QPR to ensure the deals went through."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in