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Cape Town - West Brom defender Joleon Lescott believes he was the unfair victim of double standards during his time at Manchester City.
The 32-year-old joined the Baggies in June on a free transfer after spending nearly four years at the Etihad, during which time he made 160 appearances for the club.
However, the latter stages of his stay was not a happy time, with his axing for last season's Capital One Cup final against Sunderland particularly hard to swallow. The England international played every one of the Citizens' games in the build-up to the final, but Manuel Pellegrini then omitted him from the side that beat the Black Cats.
"I played every minute, captained the semi-final then not playing in the final - that was the hardest part," Lescott told the Manchester Evening News.
"I played as many minutes if not more than anyone in the League Cup. He just read out the team and my name wasn’t in there. That was hard.
"Then he explained the reason why he didn’t pick Joe Hart and it was because Costel Pantilimon had played more minutes.
"I was like, ‘If that’s the reason for him, why isn’t that a reason for me?’ That was the final thing. Mentally that was the hardest of times, hearing that explanation and thinking logically, ‘How can that be the reason?'"
It was not only Pellegrini who Lescott feels did him an injustice, with Roberto Mancini's decision to confine him to the replacements after he played a staring role in the 2011/12 title-winning season difficult to accept.
"The first I heard of it was an interview from Mancini saying I had lost confidence," he explained.
"I thought that was strange because we had won the league, I had gone to the Euros, scored, and I didn’t think my confidence could get any higher."
The 32-year-old joined the Baggies in June on a free transfer after spending nearly four years at the Etihad, during which time he made 160 appearances for the club.
However, the latter stages of his stay was not a happy time, with his axing for last season's Capital One Cup final against Sunderland particularly hard to swallow. The England international played every one of the Citizens' games in the build-up to the final, but Manuel Pellegrini then omitted him from the side that beat the Black Cats.
"I played every minute, captained the semi-final then not playing in the final - that was the hardest part," Lescott told the Manchester Evening News.
"I played as many minutes if not more than anyone in the League Cup. He just read out the team and my name wasn’t in there. That was hard.
"Then he explained the reason why he didn’t pick Joe Hart and it was because Costel Pantilimon had played more minutes.
"I was like, ‘If that’s the reason for him, why isn’t that a reason for me?’ That was the final thing. Mentally that was the hardest of times, hearing that explanation and thinking logically, ‘How can that be the reason?'"
It was not only Pellegrini who Lescott feels did him an injustice, with Roberto Mancini's decision to confine him to the replacements after he played a staring role in the 2011/12 title-winning season difficult to accept.
"The first I heard of it was an interview from Mancini saying I had lost confidence," he explained.
"I thought that was strange because we had won the league, I had gone to the Euros, scored, and I didn’t think my confidence could get any higher."
