Former Orlando Pirates striker Kermit Erasmus feels he was pushed out by Stade Rennais after failing to make an impact at the French Ligue 1 outfit.
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The 28-year-old, parted ways with the French side after the club terminated his contract, having failed to make an appearance during the 2017-18 campaign.
Erasmus believes he was slowly falling out of favour at Rennais and he felt the club did not respect him enough to properly deal with his situation.
‘They gave me the permission to seek playing time, and that’s when I went to Lens. When they pushed me it was really towards my last year, in January (2018). How I was treated then, that’s when I felt there was no respect between them and me,’ Erasmus told Goal.com.
‘They did the usual. What you have seen happen, what’s common in football, when the club is not interested or don’t see you having a future as an impact player for the team, they move you to the youth dressing room, and you change and play with the youth team, the basic things. I felt there was no respect. When [Sabri] Lamouchi came in, after the first three days of his arriving, we trained with him, I could see the same thing happening to me that happened to me with [Christian] Gourcuff [former Rennais coach].’
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He added: ‘I sat with him, and I asked him the same question I asked Gourcuff, ‘what do I need to do to get my chance, because I feel like the same thing is going to happen to me that has happened before?’. He told me the same thing [that] he sees me as a quality player, but he wants me to work harder and show more and express myself more. This was like on a Friday, and on a Sunday, he was to select 25 players to go on a three-day training camp because he had just arrived in the middle of the season, and then Sunday evening, we were in a WhatsApp group, and we got a message with the names of 25 players going on the training camp, and I wasn’t one of those players.
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‘That’s when I felt there was no respect. Be honest with me. I am a man. Have the balls to tell me that you don’t see me in your plans, that you don’t need me as a player, then I know where I stand. That’s when I felt there was no respect. That’s the only time that I was really unhappy with what was said between me and him. Throughout my whole stay at Rennes, I tried to be as professional as possible even though it was difficult.
‘So that they can terminate your contract and don’t have to pay. I stayed as professional as possible regardless of the situation. That’s the only thing I can do; work hard, because at the end of the day, my life continues after the club, my career continues after the club. The most important thing for me was to work hard and keep my fitness levels high to put me in good shape for whatever was next in store for me,’ Erasmus concluded.
