Friday 29 August 2014 14:14, UK
Barry Bannan admits he may have been forced to leave Crystal Palace had Tony Pulis remained at the helm.
Having been frozen out at Selhurst Park, the Scotland international midfielder was left with little choice but to weigh up his options as the summer transfer window ticked down.
He has, however, seen Pulis walk away from the club before a ball was kicked in 2014/15, with Neil Warnock recruited in his place.
If Pulis was still the gaffer and I wasn’t playing, it would have come to the point of going out on loan or maybe try to get a permanent move somewhere else.
Bannan is hoping that a fresh start will bring about a change in fortune for him on a personal level, with thoughts of a loan switch or permanent transfer shelved for now.
The 24-year-old, who was taken to Palace by Ian Holloway in the summer of 2013, said in the Croydon Advertiser: “At Aston Villa I didn’t play as much as I wanted to in the season I left.
“Coming to Palace I just wanted to play first team football as I was getting to an age where I needed to be playing.
“When I came in, it started off brightly and I did miss the second half of the season, it was tough to take but you have to be professional, get your head down and work hard.
“If Pulis was still the gaffer and I wasn’t playing, it would have come to the point of going out on loan or maybe try to get a permanent move somewhere else.
“I don’t want to be sitting on benches, I’m looking forward to the new boss to prove I should be in his team week in, week out."
