Birmingham City boss admits he was wrong about Franck Queudrue

Nov 22 2008 By Andy Walker

BLUES boss Alex McLeish has hailed St Andrew’s Renaissance man Franck Queudrue - and admitted that he doubted the Frenchman during the summer.

Left-back Queudrue has enjoyed a virtual fairy-tale rise from laughing stock to cult hero during the opening three-and-a-half months of the season.

Back in July Queudrue was relegated, overweight and had been labelled ‘a pile of rubbish’ by Blues co-owner David Sullivan. Now the Parisian stopper is on the way up with Blues, looking trim and attracting nothing but praise from his manager.

Queudrue’s performances in recent weeks have proved that the 30-year-old still has the ability which helped him successfully carve out a Premier League career with Middlesbrough and Fulham.

The Blues faithful haven’t just warmed to Queudrue for his displays on the pitch, which included a winning goal against Charlton Athletic last weekend; his colourful character and the fact that he was harshly singled out by Sullivan during the summer have helped him earn a place in fans’ hearts.

McLeish admits that he had major question marks over Queudrue’s role in his squad during pre-season but he now has nothing but respect for the experienced defender’s unbelievable comeback.

“Franck had a pretty good career in England, he was a good player at Middlesbrough and then went down to Fulham,” said McLeish. “You sometimes wonder if players lose their motivation as they get older, I thought Franck may had lost his motivation a wee bit.

“Certainly on the training pitch, he was always enthusiastic but you always