Kieftenbeld fumes: It’s not the way I grew up!

MAIKEL Kieftenbeld has spoken of his relief at his red card being rescinded and his anger at being sent off in the first place.

The midfielder played a key part in Blues’ 3-1 victory over Rotherham on Saturday. However, he only discovered the day before the game that his appeal against the dismissal, at Brentford three days earlier (pictured), had been successful.

The 28-year-old was shown a red card when Neal Maupay responded to contact by falling to the floor clutching his face.

Having been vindicated by video evidence, Kieftenbeld picked his words carefully and declined to comment on the Bees’ striker.

Instead he chose to concentrate on an action he felt was out of keeping with the rough and tumble of the Championship.

“I think it’s justice,” Kieftenbeld said. “It was a bit of a weird week after what happened on Tuesday. I’m just happy I could play, get a win and create a good feeling around the club.

“We’ve been working on it the last few weeks and now there’s a result as well. I would never go to ground like that because it’s not the way I grew up. The one thing about playing in England I like. In Holland we play with boys and England we play with men and that’s what I really like about England.

“Stuff like that I don’t feel like I’m playing against men. The main thing I like about football in England is the mentality, work hard, sometimes you kick someone, sometimes you get kicked, but you then get on with it because we are all men and things like that happen on the pitch.

“Of course I was a bit angry, but most of all I was disappointed. I was disappointed for my team because it killed the game for us. We were in the game. It wouldn’t happen on our training pitch or at St Andrew’s.”

Kieftenbeld and the squad were given a few days off before returning to training to prepare for the next match, at Stoke on October 20, when he will face Gary Rowett, the manager who brought him to this country.