McDermott blasts Bellamy in support of Souness
Thursday, 3 February 2005 08:23Terry McDermott already shares his Newcastle boss Graeme Souness' contempt for Craig Bellamy.
Under a week after McDermott's reunion with his former Liverpool midfield colleague Souness, he has publicly backed the opinion of the Magpies boss - that Bellamy should not even consider returning to a club where he is not wanted.
The Wales forward's fall-out with tough-talking Souness concluded on Monday with his last-minute loan move to Celtic - and despite Bellamy's own hints that he might like to return to Tyneside, it seems Souness' insistence that the striker will never play under him again is very likely to hold sway.
McDermott, installed as Souness' right-hand man at St James' Park just last week, has gone even further in his support for his old friend and his lowly opinion of a player he has no wish ever to meet.
"People who have been at this club for 30 or 40 years have begged me not to let this fella back into the club," he said.
"I have no axe to grind with Craig Bellamy, but in the six days I've been here what I've heard means I don't want to meet the guy.
"I've never come across so much hatred and unrest over one person. What I've learned since I arrived here has astonished me.
"You cannot have one player thinking he can run a football club."
McDermott bases his disregard for Bellamy not just on the one incident - in which the player spoke out on live television to accuse Souness of lying when he claimed the forward had feigned injury before a Barclays Premiership match at Arsenal.
A catalogue of other reported misdemeanours also speak volumes about Bellamy's character, according to McDermott.
"Some of the things said by Craig Bellamy not just last week but throughout his whole period at this club have been disgraceful," he added, citing in particular a phone message Souness' new assistant claims was sent to a senior Newcastle player last week.
That message alone should mean Bellamy can never play here again, McDermott concluded.
