• Premier League

Redknapp has gone too far, says Taarabt

Adel Taarabt has hit back at his Queens Park Rangers midfielder manager Harry Redknapp, who accused the midfielder of being "about three stone overweight".

In a bizarre rant following QPR's astonishing defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, Redknapp claimed Taarabt - who did not even play in the match - did not try during a reserve game earlier in the week, saying "I could have run about more than he did."

But, speaking to The Sun, Taarabt was keen to "set the record straight" because "this sort of comment could seriously damage my career".

Redknapp's rant in full

• "[Taarabt] is not fit to play football, unfortunately.
• "He played in a reserve team game the other day, and I could have run about more than he did. So, no, I can't pick him.
• "I pick people that want to try, and deserve to be at a good football club like QPR, and want to work, and come in every day and want to work, and train, and show a good attitude - and that's what I got today from the players.
• "When he starts doing that, whether he ever can do it, maybe he'll get a game. The other lads, I've got a fantastic group of lads here, absolutely superb, all of them.
• "I can't keep protecting people who don't want to run about and train, who are about three stone overweight. What am I supposed to keep saying? 'Keep getting your 60, 70 grand a week but don't train'?
• "What's the game coming to? The others are as good as gold."

He added: "It's just not true. I'm not doing this to retaliate but I have to protect my reputation.

"I am one kilo lighter than the weight I was when I was on loan at Milan last season. I'm 85 kilos and have always been between 84 and 86.

"Why did he want to talk about me when I was not even involved in the Liverpool game? I was shocked. He is an experienced manager and should have been able to control the situation.

"I am fit to play, 100 percent. I am not injured. The training game he is talking about was with Wolves. Afterwards he said he was thinking of starting me against Liverpool. Yet I wasn't even one of the substitutes. I've spoken to a few of the players and they all say he has gone too far."

Referring back to the midweek reserve game against Wolves, Taarabt told the Daily Mail: "I played 90 minutes and if he didn't think I was running, he could have taken me off.

"Just because we are losing games, I am not going to kick the ball in the stands. My job is to create, bring goals to the team. Maybe he expects me to make more tackles. I am not this type of player.

"I can only get fitness playing [in the] Premier League. You can train six or seven hours, but you won't be fit."

So far this season, Taarabt has only played in three games for a total of 123 minutes for QPR after spending the last campaign on loan to Fulham and AC Milan.

The 25-year-old also took shots at Redknapp's training sessions and the amount of time he spends with the team during them.

"He spends most of the time in his office, but when he gets off the phone he comes down to watch for five or 10 minutes. He never takes a [full] session," said Taarabt.

"The problem is we don't have any plan in the game, we don't know how to press as a team. It's not about just running around, you need to play with your brain.

"If you work as a team you run less. If somebody sprints 100 metres they play a triangle around him and you are never going to get the ball."

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