There was far too much dishonesty... Slaven Bilic didn’t even know what position I played

SAYS ROBERT SNODGRASS

FOR Robert Snodgrass, the sound of alarm bells quickly replaced the fanfare that had accompanied a £10million move to West Ham.

Four days after his arrival from Hull City near the end of the January transfer window, the Scotland midfielder was summoned from the bench to make his debut. But the words delivered from manager Slaven Bilic were anything but encouraging.

‘I was coming on against Manchester City and he said: “Where do you want to play, on the left or right?” recalled Snodgrass.

‘I thought: “You’ve just signed me and I’ve played on the right or behind the striker at Hull City all season”.

‘I found it very strange. That was my debut. And every time I played I was on the left. I don’t know why he did it. I came in as (Dimitri) Payet left and maybe it was a case of “you can play there”, but I’d only filled in on the left a couple of times. I’m not a left midfielder. I hate that position, I don’t like it.

‘When you’re Scottish, you’re brought up to play anywhere. It’s fine to play for one or two games, but you need to play in your correct position, especially on the back of scoring nine goals for Hull City.

‘The manager was under a lot of pressure at that time, if you remember. I later said that, out of respect, I didn’t want to go in and see him during that period.

‘But when I eventually did speak to him, I said: “I thought you’d have known that I wasn’t a left midfielder. You obviously signed me for that type of money and that you must have watched and seen that I wasn’t a left midfielder”.

‘That was the conversation. His answer was basically that when people are confident, they can play anywhere. That wasn’t the case for me.’

Seven months on from that evening against City, Snodgrass is now an Aston villa player. He concluded a season-long loan deal at the end of last week before joining up with the Scotland squad at Mar Hall.

In total, the 29-year-old made 15 appearances for West Ham — seven of them as a substitute — without scoring a goal. He alludes to other problems beyond the denial of his preferred position.

‘There are certain things that I can’t really say here,’ continued Snodgrass. ‘But once you look at it, you end up getting a lot of stick for something where you came in probably at the wrong time.

‘There were a lot of different things involved. There was a lot of broken promises, a lot of dishonesty and I thought this is not what I am about. I like to wear my heart on my sleeve and be loyal. What you see is what you get.’

Despite dropping into the Championship with villa, Snodgrass rejects the idea that what happened at West Ham could place a question mark against his top-flight credentials.

‘People can judge my time at West Ham whatever way they want,’ he argued. ‘But I know myself that when there is a manager that knows how to get the best out of you, then it’s different — and that’s why I chose villa. I wanted to work with Steve Bruce again.

‘At West Ham, he (Bilic) wanted me to play cup games to try and impress, but I said I had done it at international level and Premier League level and there was no way on earth I was staying to play cup games.

‘I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone. I’ve scored nearly 100 goals in my career and done it with a smile on my face.

‘But when you’re doing something for someone, they should come out publicly and explain the reasons why, but that was never done and I’ve sat and let everyone else do the talking.

‘They can go about their business and I’ll go about mine, which is playing football, enjoying myself and being a good person every day — and that’s why he didn’t want me to leave.

‘He knew I was good about the place and great with all the lads. But I need to play games — it’s as simple as that.’

For all the bitter disappointment and frustration endured at West Ham, Snodgrass takes no pleasure in seeing Bilic’s side sit bottom of the english Premier League — without a point after three games.

‘no, don’t be crazy,’ he insisted. ‘I am never happy about any team that I have been at losing. even when I wasn’t playing, I was always there, backing the lads.

‘Football brings changes and different direction in your life. It’s how you adapt to it and move on. I enjoyed every second at West Ham with the lads and the staff.

‘It’s a club that is well-run, but there were certain things behind the scenes that weren’t right.’

It took Snodgrass only an hour at villa to finalise the loan. His faith in Bruce, under whom he thrived at Hull, leaves him feeling optimistic about enjoying a new challenge. ‘I did my medical, signed some papers and away I went,’ he added. ‘It was a relief to get it sorted before joining up with the Scotland squad. ‘I’m glad not to be going into a crazy, manic week with things up in the air. It’s hard because I just got my kids into school in London and then had to move. ‘It took me four or five months to get the school lined up and then, before you know it, I’m an Aston villa player.’ As with Bruce, a bond of trust clearly exists between Snodgrass and Gordon Strachan. Included in the squad to face Lithuania and Malta despite the absence of game-time at club level, the midfielder has featured in all six World Cup qualifiers to date.

‘He is one of the guys I phoned (before leaving West Ham),’ said Snodgrass. ‘I told him I tried to phone other managers as well — guys like Simon Grayson and Steve Bruce — but they were all trying to sign me!

‘I said to him that I respected his opinion: “You’re a good man and you will tell me the truth. Am I making the right decision?”

‘He said: “Well, you’re not playing games and you can’t be happy not playing games. You need to play games and get back to the level you were showing in the first part of the season in the Premier League”.

‘I haven’t played any games in three weeks, but I am fit in myself. I am in one of the fittest conditions I have been in, because I knew I needed to be ready for a new challenge.’