Stephen McPhail has declared that he was on the verge of leaving Leeds United, despite being labelled the most talented of the youngsters to progress from the infamous 1997 Leeds youth team
The Republic of Ireland international with the ‘unique left foot’, has hit out at the way David O’Leary outcast him from the squad, but insists that his best his yet to come, what with the arrival of Terry Venables and his opportunity of first team football. McPhail told the official Leeds Website today:
"It was a frustrating season last year but we've all started afresh this season with the new manager. I've had a bad couple of years with injuries, but the experience has made me mentally stronger and hopefully I can get a few games under my belt now."
He added: "The former boss (O’Leary) said there was no room for passing midfielders in the game but that's what the game is all about. Passing involves making angles to create chances and that's what my game is about. Terry has backed me and put his arm around me like he has done with a lot of the players here and that's good."
"I was on my way out of here until he arrived but he has brought in a lot of new and fresh ideas which I think we all needed. I hope the fans don't get frustrated because it's totally a different system and it is going to take time to get it right, but we're confident we will get it right."
In EURO 2004 related news
Liverpool and Switzerland defender Stephane Henchoz will not feature for the Swiss against the Republic of Ireland in the home leg of the Euro 2004 qualifier on October 16th due to a calf injury.
Capped 54 times for Switzerland, centre half Henchoz was substituted during Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Chelsea at the weekend, and it is understood that he will undergo a calf operation that is expected to rule him out of action for the next five weeks.
Together with his central defensive partner, Sami Hyypiä, Henchoz spearheaded Liverpool's return to Europe and helped the club to the best defensive record in the Premiership during the 1999-2000 season.
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