ZANDER DIAMOND has blasted the Aberdeen boo boys who drove him out of the club.
The stopper quit the Dons in the summer after Pittodrie punters turned on him.
Matters came to a head when he was jeered off after being subbed when he was crocked with two games of the season left.
Diamond, 26, admits the entire episode soured his relationship with the only club he'd ever played for and made it easier to quit the north-east for Oldham.
He said: "The time was right to move on. I'd had several great years there, having come through as a youth player.
"I don't have regrets, but fans are fans — they can love you one minute then hate you the next. It was my time to get hostility off them and a minority singled me out.
"You just need to deal with it, but the relationship went in the end.
"I fell out of love with Aberdeen Football Club. I spoke to the directors and the chairman and it was best for both parties to go our separate ways.
"I left on a low note though. I got subbed in the St Johnstone game with an injury and the stadium went into a rapture of boos.
"Craig Brown said he was appalled, but that moment will stick with me forever.
"You move on though, and it was a learning curve for me getting booed off."
Diamond's misery was to continue as he agreed to join Hearts, only for the move to fall through over doubts about his ankle.
He added: "In football you learn not to take things for granted.
"I met Jim Jefferies in March and I was looking forward to working with him, but they said my ankle wasn't fit enough.
"I'm not going to run Hearts down. Jim did tell me about the way they work. He said it doesn't all happen in Scotland, it needs to go to Lithuania and things like that.
"It got drawn out so long I knew something wasn't right and when it didn't happen I just got on with it."
Diamond instead joined League One outfit Oldham, with boss Paul Dickov impressed by his leadership qualities on and off the park.
He was handed the captain's armband less than a month into the season and is loving life again with the Latics.
Diamond added: "Coming down to Oldham was a fresh start, a good test for me and a great platform.
"I'm 26 and it was something I needed in my career, a break from Scotland.
"When I signed I was the oldest player which was a bit weird, but the manager said I was here for off the park as well, to help the youngsters because it is a really young squad.
"There's a determination to prove my injury isn't going to come back. Hopefully I can prove wrong the doubters who said I was finished."
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3853199/Ill-NEVER-be-able-to-forget-the-boos-of-the-Dons-fans.html