Darren Purse has endured possibly the most frustrating 12 months of his career, but has vowed not to change his ways in a bid to earn a regular first team place. Purse earned rave reviews during the first half of last season as Birmingham adjusted to life in the Premiership, but has since been forced to sit on the sidelines as an ankle injury, a red card at Fulham last January and the form of Kenny Cunningham and Matthew Upson, has left him kicking his heels. His frustration increased when he was dropped after helping Blues beat Spurs on the opening day of the season. Then he was dismissed against Fulham again, this time in September, for a wresting match with Luis Boa Morte, and was involved in an altercation with Adrian Mutu after Blues secured a valuable point at Chelsea last week. Throw into the equation an ongoing bid for Blackburn centre half Martin Taylor and it would have been easy for Purse to throw in the towel, but an injury to Upson left him with another opportunity that he has grabbed with both hands. Steve Bruce has heaped praise on the 26-year-old defender since his return, but Purse insists that he won't be changing the way he plays.
Q:WILL YOU BE STICKING WITH YOUR ABRASIVE STYLE OF DEFENDING?
A:I think centre halves are more aggressive than say, a centre forward, and if the ball is there to be headed then you will go and head it, no matter who is in the way. It is as simple as that. That is the way I play and it is aggressive. I have grown up like that since I was about eight years of age and I can't change the way I play. A leopard can't change its spots. You wouldn't ask Robbie Savage not to run around continuously for 90 minutes would you? It is the way I am and it has worked well for me so far in my career.
Q:HOW FRUSTRATING HAS IT BEEN FOR YOU THIS SEASON?
A:I probably deserved to get dropped after the Fulham game and that was a fair decision, but maybe I didn't deserve to get dropped after the opening game of the season against Tottenham. You always get frustrated when you aren't playing, but sometimes you have to sit back and look at the bigger picture.
Q:WHICH IS?
A:I have got a great family round me, with my wife and two kids, and whatever happens it is just a job. I have come home from work this season and been really fed up, but you see your kids running around and that your wife is fine and you are just glad to be alive. I will just get on with it as there are plenty of people in a much worse position than mine.
Q:YOU REALLY WANT TO KEEP THAT FIRST TEAM SHIRT THOUGH DON'T YOU?
A:I always want to play in the first team. I don't want to rest on my laurels and sit in the reserves for the next couple of years of my contract. This has given me a chance and it's been going well for me since Matty was injured. I have come in and done my best and we will have to see what happens when he returns from injury as it's up to the gaffer if he wants to keep me here or not. Hopefully, I can give him a headache as I think I am good enough to play in the side, but we will have to wait and see.
Q:THIS IS THE FIRST RUN OF GAMES YOU HAVE HAD ALL SEASON - DO YOU FEEL MORE CONFIDENT THE MORE GAMES YOU PLAY?
A:Big centre halves always need to keep playing and I found the first game back against Tottenham really hard work because you can never prepare yourself for first team football. You can play as many reserve games and do as much running as you like, but there is nothing like playing for the first team. However, I have been reasonably happy with the last couple of games.
Q:THE MANAGER SEEMS TO BE TOO, JUDGING BY SOME OF HIS COMMENTS?
A:It's always nice to get praise from the manager although I always look back on my performances and say 'did I do enough today?' I think I have over the last couple of games, but it was nice of the manager to say so.
