Monday, April 10, 2006

Bellamy in Souness swipe


Blackburn Rovers striker Craig Bellamy insists he did not lose his way at former club Newcastle United.
The outspoken Wales international took a shot at former Magpies boss Graeme Souness following their very public fall-out last season.
The former Norwich City and Coventry City hit-man accused Souness of being 'a liar' in a Sky Sports News interview in January 2005.
The fall-out saw Bellamy move to Scottish Premier League giants Celtic on loan for the rest of the campaign before he teamed up with former Wales boss Mark Hughes and Blackburn last summer.
After scoring a brace in Saturday's 2-2 draw at struggling Portsmouth, Bellamy refuted suggestions that he was a 'disruptive influence' at Newcastle.
"I didn't lose my way at Newcastle," Bellamy said. "I still ended up joint top league scorer, even though I was only there until just after Christmas.
"I took a lot of stick last year and that's given me the strength to carry on. It's not just about showing people because I know what I'm about.
"It's not nice when you are branded a 'disruptive influence' by the manager and told that you're the reason the team is doing badly.
"If you look at the three previous seasons, we'd finished third, fourth and fifth with me there, and look where we are now with Blackburn.
"This disruptive influence has obviously got a real problem with teams, hasn't he?"