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I genuinely thought I was a s*** footballer during nightmare Birmingham spell as toxic split took over club, says Deeney


TROY DEENEY says “people got away with murder” at Birmingham City last season.

The ex-Watford striker admitted he ended a miserable campaign at St Andrew’s questioning his own ability.

Troy Deeney endured a frustrating campaign at Birmingham City and says people ‘got away with murder’Credit: Getty

Deeney revealed he was thinking “Am I s***?” after not getting games under ex-boss Lee Bowyer.

His first campaign at his hometown club was an unhappy one as Blues struggled in the Championship.

Only Derby County and Reading’s points deductions stopped them being sucked into a relegation battle.

And Deeney, 34, admitted things were no better behind the scenes.

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It was a season that ended with Bowyer being sacked and replaced with John Eustace. And Deeney made it clear the atmosphere at St Andrew’s was not great — in contrast to now.

He said: “We made a lot of excuses for things that happened, we got sloppy in our approach to things.

“People got away with murder and were rewarded for it.

“It ended up making a divide, in any business it’ll do that. We’re glad it’s over and that we stayed up.

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“Hopefully, we can move on to bigger and better things. But lessons had to be learnt from that.

“If you can reflect and look back, and maybe think: ‘Things didn’t work out right, but what more can I do?’

“That’s when you know things have been pretty poor.”

Deeney started the season aiming to revive Birmingham – but ended it doubting himself after making just 15 league starts and scoring four goals.

He added: “This summer I turned the phone off and sat with the kids and understood who I am. Football can beat you up.

I genuinely thought: ‘Am I s***?’

Troy Deeney

“But I was fit for the last six weeks or two months of the season, and I played one game.

“I genuinely thought: ‘Am I s**t?’ “Maybe I wasn’t that good any more.

“Then I remembered that eight months earlier I was playing in the Premier League.

“And I thought, maybe it wasn’t just me.

“I wasn’t getting games, I wondered if I’d suddenly got old overnight.

“When you’re seeing the team lose, and you’re not playing, then you’re being told from outside you’re the problem.

“One and one normally equals two, how am I getting 13? “I took it to heart, I’m local, everyone knows where I’m from and people are asking me what’s going on.

“It’s a hard one to swallow and not say anything.

Everyone’s written us off but we are as fit as we can be

Troy Deeney

“Now I just want to – along with the rest of the team – prove everyone wrong. We’re in a great situation now.

“Everyone’s written us off but we are as fit as we can be.

“We have probably gone a bit Burnley style we have 18 first team players and some young boys and let’s bring it on.

“We need to roll our sleeves up, get the elbow grease out and start elbowing people in the dish!”

Deeney also wants to help Brum’s younger players – including Jobe Bellingham, brother of England and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude.

I don’t know what their mum and dad feed their kids

Deeney on Jobe Bellingham

Jobe will will sign a professional deal at St Andrew’s when he turns 17 on September 23.

Deeney said: “He’s unbelievable. I don’t know what their mum and dad feed their kids, but they’re special, I need the recipe for my kids. He has a chance.

“But I feel so sorry for him at times. He has a brother who’s two years older and has absolutely burst on to the scene. That’s the comparison.

“But Jobe has only just done his GCSEs two weeks ago. Let him be a kid.

“I said to him the other day because he was getting so frustrated because he wants it so bad.

“I said go to a waterpark, go play football with your mates, go and do something that is not here. Just be a kid for a day and he came in the next day and was like you were right.

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“It’ll all come in good time. He has this pressure and expectation from himself to be the best at everything.

“It takes time, some people get it straight away, some take time.”

Jobe Bellingham has plenty of talentCredit: Rex


Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk


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