Ignacio Camacho says he is ‘hurt’ by boss Bernd Schuster’s recent comments over his role at the club.
The Malaga midfielder has struggled to cement a place in the German’s starting XI this season, after being one of the first names on the team sheet when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge last term. However, Schuster’s recent assertion that Camacho was only in the side because of injury to another player has left him more than a little upset.
“I’ve not spoken to Schuster but it hurt me when I heard what he had said, that I was picked because first-choice Jeremy Toulalan was injured. It is his opinion and I can agree with it or not,” he told Radio Cope.
“I’m not going to lie because it hurts for any player not to be playing, but I wasn’t expecting this. They are not nice words, but in the end you have to accept it
“We need to work hard and now is not the time to think of individuals as we must be united. I’ve no complaints at Malaga and the fans like me because we’ve been through a lot together.
“Even if you don’t play you can still feel the affection of the people in the street, and that they love you like the next guy, so that’s comforting.
“What I will say is that I am very proud of what I did last season. There were occasions when I played with Toulalan, with [Manuel] Iturra, or even on my own in the middle. Nobody will ever forget it.”
The former Atletico Madrid man, now in his fourth season with the Costa del Sol outfit, admits he expected to play more of a part this year and that his relationship with Schuster appears to have deteriorated.
“I don’t know what he thinks of me. I’m not in his plans. It’s true that the club told me I was going to be important to the team, but right now that importance is not enough, although I’ll work hard to try and change his mind,” explained Camacho, who insists he has not considered leaving just yet.
“I don’t want to think about it as now is not the right time, so we‘ll see about it in January. Football is very strange and I had opportunities to move on over the summer but I decided to stay.
“It was good for both me and the club and I don’t regret it. It’s not good to look at the past,” he concluded.
