The on off transfer saga of Alan Lee has finally gone through with the striker signing for newly promoted Cardiff after three years at Rotherham. Givemefootball's Lawrie Madden caught up with the Republic of Ireland striker after undergoing a medical which he passed before signing for the Welsh club.
Q:HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW THE MOVE HAS FINALLY GONE THROUGH?
A:I forgot what it was like going for a medical these days. I had an MRI scan which took three and a half hours. I had to go to different hospitals to get different parts of my body checked out. My spine, knees and ankles and then my heart and lungs. It was an all day affair but I passed and then signed at 6pm in the evening.
Q:WAS IT A BIG WRENCH LEAVING ROTHERHAM AFTER THREE YEARS?
A:When I was driving down from Rotherham to Cardiff there was a tear in my eye but I have no regrets. I have to thank Ronnie Moore and the rest of the coaching staff for helping me in my career and I will miss a lot of people, but I think it was time to move on.
Q:IT APPEARED THAT THERE WAS A BIT OF A FALLING OUT NEAR THE END. IS THAT RIGHT?
A:There was no falling out but I was annoyed and very unhappy with the situation. I was in the last year of my contract and I wasn't happy with what Rotherham had offered me and there was interest from many clubs and I didn't want to play the season out with the risk of injury or even having a bad season. I wasn't prepared to take that chance.
Q:YOU SAID OTHER CLUBS WERE IN FOR YOU. WHAT OPTIONS DID YOU HAVE?
A:Well, Norwich made a bid but I think it was only Cardiff that matched a fee near enough to what Rotherham wanted and I was impressed with the set-up here in Cardiff. I thought this was my best option.
Q:DID LENNIE LAWRENCE AND SAM HAMMAN HAVE TO DO MUCH PERSUADING TO GET YOU TO SIGN?
A:No, not really. I had done my homework. I knew a couple of players at the club and a good friend of mine David Hughes had been at Cardiff last season and he told me a lot about them. Also the Chairman was very charismatic and impressed me with his plans for the future.
Q:IN WHAT WAY DID HE IMPRESS YOU?
A:Well, they have plans for a new stadium which hopefully will go through next week but they have told me where they want this club to be and how they are going to achieve it. They are very ambitious and are willing to put money into it to achieve it.
Q:YOU PLAYED AGAINST THEM IN THE FIRST GAME OF LAST SEASON. WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF THEM AS A TEAM?
A:I thought that they seemed to miss a target man which is probably why they came in for me. I think I will be able to adapt to whatever way the manager wants me to play. I can be the target man if they want me to or I can hold it up or run in the channels.
Q:DO YOU THINK THAT CARDIFF WILL BE SERIOUS CHALLENGERS FOR PROMOTION THIS SEASON?
A:Yes I do. Normally I wouldn't say that, especially this early in the season, but I think there are seven or eight clubs in with a chance and we are one of them because the club has money to go out and buy players which in this economic climate is a big boost.
Q:WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL AIMS FOR THE SEASON?
A:After all the transfer saga I am just looking forward to do some training and getting back to normal. I don't know if I will be involved straightaway because I realise that it takes time to gel . What I really want is to get back on the training field and gel as quickly as possible with the rest of the lads.
