Nottingham Forest player Ross McCormack has had his say on (what we're calling) 'Gategate', the story Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce told that McCormack once missed Villa training because the electric gate to his house was broken and he wasn't prepared to jump it.
Bruce went on to say that McCormack wouldn't jump the "four feet six inches" fence and told press that he had personally driven to McCormack's house and photographed the wall to show how McCormack could have left the property if he had wanted to. Safe to say, he wasn't impressed by the player's conduct:
Not in 20 years of management have I gone down this road of publicly shaming a player but I have to make a stand because I won’t put up with it. Not on my watch.
McCormack - speaking to the BBC - has confirmed that the incident occurred but has claimed that certain media reports exaggerated the incident (apparently some outlets claimed that Bruce himself hopped the fence to argue with McCormack).
The 30-year-old defended his actions (opinion may vary on the validity of his excuse):
The fence was taller than me and I'm not 4ft 6in. It was icy and raining. What if I'd rolled my ankle?
It sounds far fetched but the gate was stuck...I had to wait for the company.
Some of the things (reported) have been a bit over the top, borderline embarrassing. It gives the press free rein to make up sheer lies.
The stuff about the gaffer jumping the fence and us having a blazing row is complete nonsense.
McCormack says that Bruce did visit the house, but says that he "didn't get out of the car".
Electric gate salesmen around the UK are thought to be praying for an imminent end to this widely-publicised and regrettable affair.
