Adel Taarabt had just completed a 90-minute workout against Wolves at the QPR training centre when he was approached by QPR manager Harry Redknapp.
‘He spends most of the time in his office but when he gets off the phone he comes down to watch for five or 10 minutes – he never takes a session,’ revealed Taarabt. ‘That’s when he said he had it in mind to start me against Liverpool.’
Taraabt didn’t even make the bench on Sunday and learned of his Manager’s harsh statements about his physical condition- claiming the Moroccan is ‘about three stines overweight’ – when he was at home watching Stoke vs Swansea.
‘I am a professional – this is not about retaliation, this is about protecting my reputation,’ said Taarabt. ‘I played in that reserve game for 90 minutes and if he didn’t think I was running he could have taken me off. Maybe I didn’t perform like I could because it was a reserve team game and I was protecting myself.
‘Just because we are losing games I am not going to kick the ball in the stands. My job is to create, bring goals to the team. Maybe he expects me to make more tackles. I am not this type of player. I can only get fitness playing Premier League. You can train six or seven hours, but you won’t be fit.’
According to the dailymail, when the player arrived for the interview after training on Monday, he lifted his shirt to prove to all onlookers that he wasn’t overweight.
Taarabt has made just three appearances for the club since his return from a loan spell with AC Milan. He said: ‘The training sessions aren’t the same standard as Milan, or what I would expect under another manager. They are not as intense, the players aren’t as motivated. It is the same as we used to do at Tottenham years ago. When we played West Ham he told the players “you’re not fit, you’re not this, you’re not that”.
‘I said “but the problem is we don’t have any plan in the game, we don’t know how to press as a team. It’s not about just running around, you need to play with your brain”.
‘I was thinking that West Ham didn’t have better players than us, but they were well organised.
‘Almost every time we lose the ball the opposition score. We need to do something about it.
‘If you work as a team you run less. If somebody sprints 100 metres they play a triangle round him and you are never going to get the ball.
‘If everybody runs 10m, 10m, 10m, then you are in shape, but we never do that. He doesn’t understand that. The coaches don’t have any influence on Harry – none. They are there just to be there.
‘Glenn Hoddle loves me, but I don’t know if Harry listens to him.
‘After West Ham he said all of the team is not fit. After Liverpool, because the performance was so good, he said everything was perfect – what, in one week, he changed the fitness? Impossible.’
Despite his exclusion on Sunday, he insists he has the backing of the club’s new director of football operations Les Ferdinand after talks between them last week.
Taarabt, 25, added: ‘I spoke with Les Ferdinand and he told me “what a player you are – you should be in the team every time. I followed you at Milan and you were fantastic”.
‘Les doesn’t speak to us in training, but he watches us and then goes to watch the kids as well. He knows me from my days at Tottenham so we have a good relationship.’
Redknapp insisted on Friday that Ferdinand has nothing to do with the first team. Although Ferdinand now attends first-team matches with chairman Tony Fernandes, the QPR manager says it is ‘a silly title’.
Taraabt added: ‘When I was playing at Milan, sometimes Kaka or Robinho weren’t getting in the team. Then I come to QPR, and that’s not to disrespect my team-mates because I have a good relationship with them, but I was surprised I was not in the squad.
‘When I came back from Milan, the QPR kitman said “you are no more No 10”. I never wanted to be No 10 but the fans asked the chairman for Adel to be 10 not 7 because of the legend Stan Bowles – they wanted me to have the 10 shirt.
‘They said they had never seen an exciting player like this for 20 or 25 years, so I said to Tony Fernandes I will take it. Then this summer I was told I would be 27 so I said “OK, no problem”. I said nothing.’
‘I just think that obviously at QPR the fans love me, I love QPR and I love the fans. They are my club. You can’t break the relationship with me and the fans. He wants to get the fans against me.’
So, Adel, are you fat? That is why we are here. ‘I don’t like the food at the training ground, but eat healthily like every other player. Simple.
‘My heaviest weight at Milan was 86kg (13st 8lb), my lightest 84kg – now I’m 85kg. It’s not true to say I’m not fit. He tried to give an excuse.
‘I was desperate to play before the game. I was fuming when I didn’t play. My father was calling and my family and I didn’t pick up. I love football, I go crazy when I don’t play. Why did he talk about someone not involved in that game?
‘The journalist was doing his job and asking if I was injured.
‘He should have said “when he is fit he will play”. He is not 30 or 35, he is an experienced manager and he should have controlled that situation. I didn’t do pre-season with the team because I had an ankle injury, so I wasn’t 100 per cent.
‘This club doesn’t deserve to be in the position it’s in. We have fantastic owners who are there to help us, and give us everything to perform.
‘There are not many owners like that and they deserve better. They are fantastic with me and everybody. They are very patient too.
‘There is no panic, they are relaxed, want to improve, make the club better and make the fans happy.’
