Upson denies Bruce rift over Hammers
move
Matthew Upson has insisted his
relationship with Birmingham manager Steve Bruce is 'fine' as the
central defender anxiously awaits the results of the scan on the
calf injury suffered during his West Ham debut.
Upson has spoken to Bruce since his £7.5million move from St
Andrews which left the Blues chief angry at his board of directors
for selling the player only hours before the January transfer
window closed.
But of more pressing concern to Upson is how long he will be
sidelined after suffering his latest setback during the first half
of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Upson said: 'My relationship with Steve Bruce is fine. I've spoken
to him. We thanked each other for the last four years at Birmingham
and we both move on.
'There is no animosity there. I know his gripe is with the Blues
board and that's what he told me. I hope West Ham play Birmingham
in the Premiership next season. That would be ideal.
'Now I just hope my calf injury is not too bad. I leapt high and
just landed off balance and put too much stress through my right
calf and it just tightened up.
'There is no major problem, just a tightness of the muscle. We will
see how it is after the weekend and hopefully the results of the
scan will show it's not a big issue and it will settle down.'
He said: 'When I was sitting on the ground at Villa Park my emotion
was just disappointment because I'm desperate to play and desperate
to keep this club in the Premiership.
'That's what I've been brought here to do and I feel an obligation
to want to do that.
'I want to play football at the top level. I feel in the condition,
in my body and in my mind, to do that and I felt really good in the
time I was on the pitch.
'I felt steady, calm and physically in good condition. It was just
one of those things. There is nothing I can do about it other than
think positively and get back as quick as I can.'
i bet bruce was laughing when upson suffered the same fate as
neil
