Shaun Derry has denied being responsible for last seasons molegate affair, but says that a fallout with Dennis Wise caused his move to Crystal Palace.

Our 30 year-old midfield maestro completed his move to Crystal Palace yesterday, converting his loan spell into a permanent transfer. Palace paid an undisclosed fee for his services, which will give Dennis Wise some extra funds for the rest of the transfer window, as well as getting one of the highest earners off the wage bill.

Today he told the Yorkshire Post that he wasn’t responsible for leaking our teamsheet before the home game with Palace on February 10^th. last year. It had been widely assumed that Derry was the guilty man, as he was known to have visited the Palace players in their hotel the night before the game, and he never played another first team game for Leeds.

Derry said "I don't want to be looked upon as the guy who gave the team away. It wasn't me. The accusations hurt but I can look every fan and every one of my team-mates in the eye and say I wasn't responsible. I'd never do that. Dennis understands that it wasn't me, and he wouldn't have asked me to come back and play for Leeds on New Year's Day if I'd been responsible. It's obviously in the past now, but I wouldn't want my time at Leeds to be clouded by people thinking I'd betrayed the club."

He also told the paper that he had "tears in my eyes" when his family left their Harrogate home on Monday night, and that his son Jesse will be raised as a Leeds United supporter. "It's been home to us for a long time, and we'd all say it was the best place to live in England. It helps when you're playing for one of the country's best clubs. Signing for Leeds United was such a proud day for me, and there can't be a single player who wasn't sad to leave the club. I've had good times and bad times, and some of the bad times have been very difficult. But the whole experience has been unforgettable. It's been an absolute privilege. You don't choose to play for Leeds United, the club choose you. I'm honoured that they did”.

"But if I'm being honest with people then I'd say that Dennis Wise is not someone I got on with personally. When I captained Leeds for Dennis' first game as manager I thought then that the relationship would be a long one, but times change and they change quickly. I had horrendous injury problems but when I recovered in November I wasn't invited to train with the first team, and I was honest enough to accept the bigger picture there and then. I'd have been happy to fight for my place at Leeds but Crystal Palace were offering me a better chance. Neil Warnock showed faith in me at exactly the point when I needed it, and I'm joining Palace for him as much as anyone else."

And commenting on his failure to come back for the Oldham game, he said "People who know me would say that I'm a man of my word, and I had a contract with Palace which I felt I should honour. The fact that Leeds didn't ask for a 24-hour recall clause spoke volumes in my opinion. I didn't feel I was wanted there”.

Derry has been in excellent form since he went to Selhurst Park and has played a key role in the upturn in Palace’s fortunes since Warnock took over. He would certainly be worth a place in Leeds current team on merit, but you could say that he’s too good to be playing in League One. I don’t know what sort of reaction he’ll get from most Leeds fans when he comes back to Leeds as a visiting player, but I’ll wish him all the best. Certainly one of our most committed players when he did wear the white shirt, it’s a shame that he is leaving under a bit of a cloud, forced out though a personality clash with the manager.

Photo: Action Images

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