Ipswich Town completed the signing of Birmingham City outcast Stephen Gleeson last week and the midfielder has lifted the lid on the turbulent recent times at St Andrew's.

Gleeson has joined Mick McCarthy's side and clearly feels that the play-offs are not out of reach as he looks to put his time at Birmingham behind him and look forward.

However, Gleeson has passed comment on his relationship with Steve Cotterill and his predecessor Harry Redknapp and it is fairly clear which professional relationship was stronger.

He has been out of favour under both men but he revealed the differences in how they dealt with him and also that he was desperate to leave the club.

He told the Birmingham Mail: "Was I desperate to leave Birmingham? Yes, but the manager there was brilliant. I actually really like Steve Cotterill and I hope he does well.

“He was brutally honest and said I probably wasn’t going to play in his team, so he allowed me to go. I like honesty. I don’t like people saying one thing to your face and quite another behind your back.

"Steve Cotterill told me straight that I wouldn’t be in his starting eleven but that he might need me from the bench. I felt we had a good relationship.

"I told him when I left that it was bad that he was the manager telling me I could go. I would have preferred it to be the manager before him [Harry Redknapp]. I had a chance to move on last summer, which was blocked, and that was also frustrating.

"There’s been three new managers in charge and everyone has their own opinions on players. Maybe the owners want their own players.

"I didn’t feel part of a relegation battle when I was there. It was the fact that I didn’t feel part of it there that I wanted to get out and move on."

The Verdict

It is rare for a player to be so honest in his assessment of a turbulent period and his comments on Redknapp are interesting.

Redknapp has a reputation as a good man-manager and a straight talker but Gleeson appears to hint at the fact this isn't true for players who are not immediately involved in his first team plans.

Birmingham fans - what do you make of Gleeson's comments? Let us know in the comments below...