Derby County striker Chris Martin has opened up about the "strangest" season of his career.
Martin spent most of the 2016-17 campaign on loan at Fulham after he was allowed to leave the Rams on transfer deadline day at the end of August.
It appeared the Scotland international did not figure in Nigel Pearson's plans, despite being the club's leading scorer for the previous three years.
But when Pearson parted company with the Rams and Steve McClaren returned to the helm, Derby tried to recall him during the January transfer window.
They were unable to do so under the terms of the deal - and Martin, who was keen to return to the East Midlands, ended up staying at Craven Cottage.
The former Norwich City front man did, though, sign a new contract with Derby - and is expected to report back for pre-season training at Moor Farm later this month.
Martin is currently on international duty as Scotland prepare for their World Cup qualifier against England at Hampden Park on Saturday.
Looking back over the domestic season just finished, he said "It's been very tumultuous, shall I say.
"It's probably the strangest season of my career, especially off the field.
"Hopefully, there is a real positive twist to end an up-and-down season. Football is like that at times. It can be a roller coaster but not usually all in the one season.
"Sometimes you need to ride the wave and, hopefully, I can top it off with a real high against England.
"It's been crazy.
I don't want to go into too much detail but, if I told people what happened, they wouldn't believe me.
"Some strange things have transpired away from the football pitch. It's been a bit disappointing on the pitch.
"I've been inconsistent but there have been some contributing factors towards that.
"There were certain things said during the January transfer window that didn't come from myself.
That's the hardest part, trying to deal with things that I had no attachment to, really.
"I've seen a lot in my career and I'd like to think I'm fairly mature.
I tried to deal with it the best way I could but that contributed to what happened on the pitch.
"I was in and out of the team and that makes it difficult to make your mark. I'll put it down to experience and go again next season."
Martin scored 11 goals for Fulham, helping them reach the Championship play-offs, where they were beaten in the semi-final by Reading.
The 28-year-old is now focused on looking ahead to the future.
"It's over now," Martin added. "I've secured a new contract at Derby and I'll be heading back there for pre-season.
Source C. Watson at Derby Telegraph