Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland has launched a blistering attack on manager Gerard Houllier.
The 24-year-old arrived at Villa Park in the summer as part of the deal that took James Milner to Manchester City, but he rarely featured under Houllier before moving to Newcastle United on loan.
And Ireland has not held back during an interview with So Foot magazine, claiming he was forced out of the Midlands club by the Frenchman.
He said: “After 15 matches on the bench Houllier told me to stay at home.
“I trained during the week and on Fridays he told me, 'no point you coming, you are not in the team'.
“Yet I was the best player in training. It was my team that won in every session.
“One of the few times he played me, we drew 0-0 at Chelsea and I ended up man of the match. Apparently that didn't matter to him. I was stuck with being paid for doing nothing at all.
“I was left to myself. I had to pay out of my own pocket for medical treatment. Can you believe that?”
The former Republic of Ireland international then claimed he was unfairly asked to move to Birmingham from his home in Manchester.
Ireland continued: “Houllier asked me to come and live in Birmingham because it was taking me 75 minutes to come to training.
“But there were 15 players in the same position as me. Some came from London and took more than two hours, but he only asked me to move.
“For a start, Birmingham is a c**p city and I wasn't going to make the effort, especially as I wasn't playing. (I) might as well be in Manchester if I had to stay home on matchdays.”
Ireland admits he now faces an uncertain future beyond this season, but insists he does not hold a grudge against Houllier, adding: “...it wasn't him who chose me after all.”