 |  There was no way I was going to give up football because of what people were shouting out |
Burnley's Ade Akinibiyi has revealed he wishes he did not sign for Leicester at the time he did - on the eve of his latest match-up against the Foxes. The 31-year-old spent an unhappy two-year spell at Filbert Street after a �5m transfer from Wolves, but was jeered by the Leicester supporters.
He told BBC Sport: "Looking back I wished I'd stayed at Wolves for another year before I moved to Leicester.
"But I made the move and obviously it didn't work out for me."
The striker was brought to then Premiership Leicester by former manager Peter Taylor, as a replacement for Emile Heskey.
Heskey had left for Liverpool for �11m and Taylor splashed out a club record fee of �5m on Akinbiyi just two months later - immediately putting pressure on the Londoner.
"I thought at the time that was a big fee for me," Akinbiyi said.
"But everything was moving so fast for me and I had people around me who were just interested in the finance part and weren't looking after me.
"If you go to a club for that fee people will be expecting big things from you and so I had pressure on me all the time, and that affects your game."
 Akinbiyi says his big-money move to Leicester happened too quickly |
Akinbiyi's run of poor form in front of goal saw him endure regular booing from the terraces.
He coped by blanking out the criticism and concentrating on his job on the pitch.
"If you let people affect you that can kill you and ruin your game," Akinbiyi said.
"There was no way I was going to give up football because of what people were shouting out.
"I was just trying to focus on my game but you do reach a low point when every time you don't think you are going to score.
"I carried on but when you feel like you're trapped the only thing I needed was a move to get out of it."
Akinbiyi ended his turbulent spell at Leicester, where he scored 13 goals, with a �2.2m move to Crystal Palace before he joined Stoke and then Burnley last February.
The 31-year-old turned down moves to Wigan and Sheffield United before settling on a switch to Turf Moor.
"It seemed like Sheffield United had loads of strikers and so I wouldn't get a chance to play week in, week out.
"And when I went to talk to Wigan they had Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington and I was told I would start from the bench which wasn't what I was looking for.
"When I went to speak to Burnley I was told I'd be the main striker and I was impressed by manager Steve Cotterill."
| When you've got a manager who drums confidence into you week in and week out then it pays off |
Akinbiyi has hit a purple patch of form since joining Burnley and has scored 12 goals in 21 games.
He attributes his success to Cotterill's encouraging style of management and a new-found sense of self-belief.
"When you've got a manager who drums confidence into you week in and week out then it pays off," said Akinbiyi.
"He's a keen manager and is young and ambitious. In the future he could be England manager if he keeps on doing what he's doing.
"Everyone sticks together here and we're all working hard under a good manager.
"We're aiming to get into the play-offs and would be an achievement for us.
"I don't think we have a big enough squad to push on from that though.
"But we're feeling confident and I'm enjoying my game now and want to keep on playing well."
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
