No Grudge For Johnson

Damien Johnson has said he will shake Paul Robinson’s neck, sorry hand next time they meet.

He revealed that he doesn’t hold any ill feelings towards the player after the challenge that left him in hospital with a fractured jaw.

Johnson said he simply accepts it as ‘one of those things’ that can happen in football and doesn’t believe it was a deliberate attempt by Robinson to do him.

‘The gaffer’s the gaffer, he wasn’t happy about it and I’ve seen bits and pieces of what he has said.

‘To be honest, as far as I’m concerned it’s gone now. I bear no ill feeling to Paul Robinson, these things happen in football.

‘He puts himself about, I put myself about. I don’t think anyone deliberately goes out to hurt another professional, and I’d guess it would be pretty difficult to set out to break someone’s jaw.

‘The gaffer’s said what he’s said and a few other people have similarly told me what they thought about it. But for me it happened, it’s gone and I’m on the mend.

‘The last six weeks I’ve been fine, I’ve not sat there and gone over and over it and become bitter. When we play them next and if I’m involved, I wouldn’t have a problem shaking his hand.

‘He came in the dressing room afterwards to see if I was OK, that was fine.

‘I think he took a bad touch and that gave me a chance to get the ball, I was sprinting at him.

‘I got there and I don’t really recall anything after that. I know I was knocked out for a bit. I’ve seen pictures of Maik Taylor standing by me, but I just don’t remember him coming over.

‘After a while, when the physio asked me if I knew where I was, and I just said ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ – it clicked when I saw 20,000 people in the stands!

‘I knew there wasn’t long left and it was such a massive game for us, when the initial shock had rubbed off, I knew something wasn’t right.

‘I headed a ball and I heard a noise like a ‘crunch’. I thought to myself ‘please just let me get through this game’. When Gary McSheffrey scored our second goal I was happy because the points were in the bag.

‘Even though I had a broken jaw, had I come off and left us with 10 men and they had equalised, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.’