Luque "Unhappy On Tynside"

Last updated : 14 February 2006 By Footy Mad - Editor

Glenn Roeder let the player return to his native Barcelona last week, and guess what? Luque gives an interview in a Spanish paper in between bouts of tears and trantrums.

Luque told La Voz de la Galicia: "When they sacked Souness, in came Roeder and, already, in the first match, he left me out of the squad. He has not given me an explanation, nor am I going to request one, because he is the one who picks the team. So I accepted the situation.

"But, to my surprise, he has left me out and I do not know why. I did leave the Portsmouth game. The coach said to me that he was not going to use me. I responded to him by saying I respected his decision but it was surprising for me and I preferred to go to my house. He gave me permission and I left with his consent.

"The truth is that it is a different type of football if you do not go to a `sharpshooting' team - Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester. Except for those four, the others play a direct English game and with force. But I will continue to think positive in spite of the disadvantages that I have had. Now I want to demonstrate that I can play here without problems.

"The talent is not what they look for at this moment in Newcastle, more so in this situation. The only thing they want is those who run 100%, that the defenders send direct balls, and that the forwards fight for them."

Roeder: "I have seen it so many times before when a foreign player goes home they go straight to their own papers. Don't forget I had Paolo Di Canio under me at West Ham. At least Albert has not taken any liberties with his comments and they are very controlled.

"Yet for him to say I only want runners and high balls is simply not true, as anyone who was at Aston Villa will testify. I do not want that kind of football and neither do the Newcastle fans. I want to help Albert but first he has to help himself because he looks like a very unhappy man at the moment. I know he is disappointed at not been in the squads for Portsmouth and Aston Villa.

"I did not take him to Villa Park because I knew he was not going to be in the team or on the bench and I thought it would have been disrespectful to make him sit in the stands with the fans.

"Now Albert has come back from Spain and I am told he trained very hard over the weekend and we are trying to build him up slowly and bring him back into the fold. It is no good him going around with a long face. We want players here who are happy and who have smiles on their faces.

"I know what Albert is capable of. When I was manager of West Ham I saw a lot of Real Mallorca because we were interested in Sameul Eto'o and Luque played alongside him. I know he has had a bad injury in his short time here. In fact, our physiotherapist Derek Wright tells me Albert's hamstring injury was as bad as it gets and it was close to being ruptured.

"Now he is fit again and he has to show me and the rest of the players he wants to be in our squad."