STOKE striker Dave Kitson has cast his long-term future with the Potters in doubt after admitting that joining the club was "the worst footballing decision I have made."
The 29-year-old became Stoke's record signing last summer when he signed from Reading for £5.5million but after just 16 Barclays Premier League appearances - and no goals - is back with Steve Coppell's side on loan until the end of the season.
Kitson is set to make his second debut for the Royals in tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship clash with Ipswich and admits he regrets ever leaving in the first place.
He told the Reading Evening Post: "It was my fault - I made the decision to go to Stoke, no-one made me and it was probably the worst footballing decision I have made.
"That Reading team probably had two or three more years in it and it was a shame to see it break up prematurely.
"I felt it should have still been in the Premier League and I was angry that it wasn't.
"Everyone gets frustrated in their job, but rather than looking at what I had and what I could have achieved I chose not to be a part of that.
"I have played for Cambridge and Reading, not huge fashionable clubs and I thought going to Stoke might be a chance to help another unfashionable side do well.
"It was just not right for me. In hindsight it was a mistake."
Kitson also hit out at Stoke manager Tony Pulis for not playing him often enough in his preferred striking role.
Pulis has since reinforced his squad with the signing of James Beattie, and after the former Sheffield United man started his career at the Britannia Stadium with five goals in seven games Kitson`s lack of goals meant he had to leave.
He said: "What I needed was a club where I was wanted, which I already had, and a family which was happy, which I had.
"I threw all of that away for what I thought was going to be a new challenge. That was the wrong decision and that was my fault. I am just delighted to be back.
"I am frustrated I never got the chance to show what I could do. There were times when I wondered why I had been brought to the club, but that is in the past and now I can concentrate on getting Reading into the Premier League.
"I was more bemused there. I had been bought for a lot of money and wasn't sure I was being utilised in the way I thought I was going to be.
"You do have days when you wonder what you are doing. I played two games in left midfield and the majority of the others in centre midfield and it was difficult."
Kitson is set to make his second debut for the Royals in tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship clash with Ipswich and admits he regrets ever leaving in the first place.
He told the Reading Evening Post: "It was my fault - I made the decision to go to Stoke, no-one made me and it was probably the worst footballing decision I have made.
"That Reading team probably had two or three more years in it and it was a shame to see it break up prematurely.
"I felt it should have still been in the Premier League and I was angry that it wasn't.
"Everyone gets frustrated in their job, but rather than looking at what I had and what I could have achieved I chose not to be a part of that.
"I have played for Cambridge and Reading, not huge fashionable clubs and I thought going to Stoke might be a chance to help another unfashionable side do well.
"It was just not right for me. In hindsight it was a mistake."
Kitson also hit out at Stoke manager Tony Pulis for not playing him often enough in his preferred striking role.
Pulis has since reinforced his squad with the signing of James Beattie, and after the former Sheffield United man started his career at the Britannia Stadium with five goals in seven games Kitson`s lack of goals meant he had to leave.
He said: "What I needed was a club where I was wanted, which I already had, and a family which was happy, which I had.
"I threw all of that away for what I thought was going to be a new challenge. That was the wrong decision and that was my fault. I am just delighted to be back.
"I am frustrated I never got the chance to show what I could do. There were times when I wondered why I had been brought to the club, but that is in the past and now I can concentrate on getting Reading into the Premier League.
"I was more bemused there. I had been bought for a lot of money and wasn't sure I was being utilised in the way I thought I was going to be.
"You do have days when you wonder what you are doing. I played two games in left midfield and the majority of the others in centre midfield and it was difficult."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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