Stoke City FC

• Founded:1863
• Manager:Tony Pulis

• Ground:Britannia Stadium
• Capacity:28218

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Mixed feelings for departing Lawrence

03 Sep 2010 - 12:25:13

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Republic of Ireland international Liam Lawrence has admitted that he did not really want to leave Stoke City.

The 28-year-old moved to Portsmouth on transfer deadline day as part of the deal that saw Marc Wilson head to the Britannia Stadium.

Lawrence scored 24 goals in 125 appearances for the Potters during his four-season stay with the club but had been linked with a transfer for much of the summer, with Celtic also interested in securing his services.

He told the Sentinel: "I did have to think about it and it took me until the last few minutes of the transfer window for me to do it.

"Stoke has been the best four years of my career. I came down here from Sunderland and listened to the manager talk about what he wanted to do with the club and, to be fair, it's turned out how he wanted it to.

"It's been an absolute thrill and privilege for me to have helped the club push on to being a top-ten club for the next ten years at least. I wish I could have played a bit more over the last year, it's just a shame these things don't always work out.

"Me and the gaffer never had a bad word and I've certainly still got a lot of respect for him. In fact he's just sent me a text to say how much he thinks of me and I'm thankful for that. I've never left on bad terms with anybody.

"I'm glad to have left on good terms with the fans because they are among the best around and deserve their success. I just hope I can come back one day and say a proper goodbye to them."