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Liam Rosenior |
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Former Fulham defender Liam Rosenior is ready to bury the hatchet
with Lawrie Sanchez when he returns to Fulham this Saturday.
The two fell out shortly before Rosenior
moved to Reading on transfer deadline day in a swap deal with Seol
Ki-Hyeon.
Rosenior admitted they 'did not see
eye-to-eye' and he labelled Royals legend Sanchez 'disrespectful' after
being singled out for criticism following a frustrating Fulham defeat.
But Rosenior says it is all water under the
bridge and the 23-year-old will have no hesitation shaking Sanchez's hand
this weekend.
"In life as well as football, people get on
or sometimes they don't," Rosenior told The Chronicle. "But you still have
respect and I'd never refuse to shake anybody's hand.
"I'm not the type of person to hold a grudge, and I
hope certain people at Fulham feel the same way.
"I'm happy where I am right now and I hope
Fulham go on and have a good season. But I hope we can take three points
off them on Saturday."
Rosenior made the majority of his 92
appearances for the Cottagers under former boss Chris Coleman who is now
managing in Spain with Real Sociedad.
The youngster became a mainstay of his side
at right-back and was tipped for future full England honours by the
Welshman.
But his fortunes changed under Sanchez
following Coleman's sacking in April and Rosenior is now determined to
recapture his best form under Royals boss Steve Coppell.
"I played for Fulham against Reading last
year when we lost 1-0. I even went up front for the last 10 minutes.
"I was having a good time at that point in
the season. I came into my own and Chris Coleman started talking about me
gaining international recognition.
"That's the standard I want to get back to
with Reading. But I need to get my fitness up first then take it from
there.
"I played every minute of every game in the
Premier League for Fulham last season, apart from 30 minutes.
"So this is the first real break I've had
because I was also away with England U21s. Now I need to get my fitness
back because it's not up to my usual standards and my sharpness isn't
there.
"But I'm confident it will come and then
Reading fans will see what I can really do."
Steve Coppell is likely to keep the same
side which defeated Newcastle United last weekend, meaning Rosenior may
have to settle for a place on the bench at Fulham.
He relinquished his position on the right
side of midfield to Kevin Doyle, who was exceptional against the
Geordies.
But Rosenior insists he remains a right-back
at heart and has vowed to keep up the pressure on captain Graeme
Murty.
However, that means he may have to settle
for a place on the substitutes bench at Fulham this Saturday.
"I'm not expecting the manager to change the
side after a very impressive win against Newcastle," he admitted.
"I'm a right-back. The manager knows I'm
happy to fill in but he also knows my ambition is to be a top right-back,
not just in the Premiership but at international level as well. I really
believe I'm good enough to achieve that.
"Graeme Murty has done a tremendous job for
Reading but every successful team needs two players in each position.
"If I keep pushing maybe it will make him
perform better, and vice-versa, which can only benefit the side.
"But there's too much emphasis on starting
games, it's about the long-term and the most important thing is that we
keep winning."
And he added: "Whatever happens, it will be
great to go back to Fulham and see some old friends and familiar faces. I
hope to get a good reception. I had a good rapport with the Fulham fans,
my dad played for the club and I had a great time there.
"It's a shame I fell out with people but
I've moved on now."