Cyrus Christie has claimed that a historic news article about him was the catalyst behind the deterioration in the relationship between himself and Derby County fans.

The defender, speaking to Dapo Abitogun on the Counter Attack Podcast opened up about his time at the Rams, and discussed the reasons why Derby fans continue to jeer him to this day.

"I was one of the best right-backs in the league [for a season at Derby]. There were a few of us fighting [for the accolade] and Ryan Fredericks was [the best] at the time," Christie said.

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Christie made the admission that his thoughts on considering himself to be one of the best players in his position in the Championship were perceived as arrogant, and claimed that his words were wrongly reported by the press.

"Then my Twitter was blowing up and I was thinking what’s going on here? A [journalist] at Derby that writes for the Derby Telegraph put out a story saying ‘Christie claims he’s the best right back in the league', and I’ve not even said that," he added.

"The Derby fans started hammering me, and it was uncalled for. I left it for a few days but it still carried on."

Then, the response from Rams fans then became more vitriolic after a sarcastically-toned Twitter post by Christie took aim at his critics.

He revealed that the continuation of the messages from Derby fans made him temporarily deactivate his Twitter account.

However, after moving to Middlesbrough, Christie continued to receive a poor reception from Derby fans when the two sides met in the league.

"It [the tweet] got brought back up again and the Derby fans were booing me," the 27-year-old added.

Christie also discussed his former manager, Gary Rowett, and admitted that he struggled to adapt to his methods.

"Rowett’s style of play wasn’t really suiting mine. He said he wanted a full-back that’s just going to sit, and I said I’m attacking, that’s what I’ve built my career off," he said.

The Verdict

It was a sad state of affairs at the time for Christie, and it may have been a key factor in his decision to leave Pride Park.

However, in hindsight, he may also be thinking that the tweet he put out did not help his cause, and insinuated matters further.

Despite that, he is a Fulham player, and Derby County will not currently be in his thinking.