Ross McCormack insists he was not prepared to take the risk of jumping over the faulty electric gate at his home in order to get to Aston Villa training due to a fear of getting injured.
The striker angered Villa boss Steve Bruce by not turning up for training after the gates at his house got stuck, leaving him with no way out. Bruce demanded McCormack apologise, but the striker in question denies there was any row with the Villa boss.
Out of favour with Bruce, McCormack moved to Nottingham Forest on loan for the rest of the season on deadline day and has no regrets over how he handled the gategate saga.
"It's a true story, my gate was stuck. I had to wait until the gate company left", he explained at a press conference.
"I'm going to take whatever comes from it. Yes, Steve Bruce came round to have a look, but it's nonsense we had a blazing row", McCormack explained.
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And he dismissed calls from fans that he should have simply jumped over his fence or gate to make his way to Villa.
"People say I should have jumped over the fence – what if I'd done my ankle, or my knee?
"The fence is taller than me", McCormack said.
Aston Villa have snapped up Scott Hogan from Brentford to replace McCormack and it remains to be seen whether the striker will have a future at Villa Park after his loan spell with Nottingham Forest runs its course.
Villa snapped McCormack up from fellow Championship club Fulham in last summer's transfer window.
