Sam Clucas has said he feels he was made a scapegoat by Swansea City fans after the club's relegation from the Premier League, but insists he has no hard feelings towards the club and its supporters.
The midfielder became a target for criticism after a disappointing 2017/18 season that ended with Swansea dropping out of the top flight. Clucas joined for a reported fee of around £15m, a price tag he says did not add extra pressure, though he believes it made it easier for fans to single him out when the club lost its Premier League status.
Price tag and expectations
Speaking on the Championship Lowdown podcast, Clucas said: "Whatever a team pays for you, there's nothing I can do about that. If you asked me if I thought I was worth it, I'd say of course not. I wouldn't pay that sort of money for myself!"
He explained that Hull City, his previous club, were holding out for Swansea's offer because they knew the club had money after selling Gylfi Sigurdsson for £50m. "We were in talks with another club in the Premier League and they made an offer that wasn't anywhere near what Swansea had offered," he said.
Clucas added: "I loved my time at Hull and they were desperate to keep me, and I've said before that they offered me the same salary I got in the Premier League. It wasn't like I went for money or anything like that. I was working at Debenhams seven years ago and here I was with another chance to go back to the Premier League."
Injury during relegation run-in
Clucas said he enjoyed his time at Swansea overall, describing the fans as "great" and "really loyal", but acknowledged a difficult end to his spell. He revealed he played the last half of that season needing a knee operation, receiving injections almost every week to get through games and training sessions.
"It's probably the first time some people have heard that, but I never wanted to say that because I didn't want people to think I was making an excuse," he said.
When relegation was confirmed in 2018, Clucas said the atmosphere changed. "The whole place had turned and I knew that the fans were using me as a bit of a scapegoat, as well as the other players," he said. He added that players were told they were free to leave if they could find other clubs.
Failed move and celebration
Clucas nearly joined Burnley, but the move fell through after they failed his medical on his meniscus, which he had recently had surgery on. He then signed for Stoke City on Deadline Day.
In January 2020, after scoring in a 2-0 win at the bet365 Stadium, he ran the length of the field to celebrate in front of the Swansea fans. He said: "I'd get to the ground and see the Swansea fans and they booed me. And then I come out to warm up and they boo me, and I always think, if you're going to give it, you've got to be expected to take it. I was fortunate enough to score and just have a little bit of banter back..."
He added: "But I got some really bad messages off some Swansea fans who didn't take it too well. But from my side, it was just purely banter. I know how football works and I have nothing but respect for that football club."
