Marcus Bean's Mistake in Leaving QPR

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Ealing Gazette/Yann Tear - Bean says: 'I made a mistake leaving QPR

NEW SIGNING Marcus Bean admits he probably jumped the gun in quitting QPR two seasons ago and should have stayed in west London.

The Hammersmith-born midfielder is glad to be back in the capital to bring an end to an unhappy spell in the north with Blackpool and Rotherham.

And he is relishing the opportunity to revive his career under Andy Scott at Brentford.

But the 23-year-old admits it was probably a mistake quitting London in the first place, even though he only played 44 times for rangers between 2002-6 and never seemed tp feature prominently.

"Maybe in hindsight I was a bit hasty to leave," Bean told the Gazette.

"The decision was down to me. Ian Holloway had plans for me for the future but I really felt I wanted to play on a regular basis.

"He brought in a couple of new midfielders and said I was one for the future and I felt my time was up."

The regrets may not go down that well with fans of his new club - who have little affection for their neighbours from Loftus Road.

But they ought to admire his honesty and trust that Scott has identified a player determined to make the most of his return to more familiar territory.

And there will be no hankering for his former club, even if he was with them from an early age. There have been so many changes at Rangers since he left that he no longer has any mates there.

"Maybe in hindsight the grass isn't always greener," Bean said.

"I was young at QPR and I can't blame the manager for how I was treated and the fact I didn't play enough," he said. "But moving didn't turn out as

I'd hoped. It didn't work out for me at Blackpool and I got homesick.

"I played a lot of games to begin with and did really well, but it didn't carry on that way and it's good to be back in London now.

"My problem in the past has been that the manager has said one thing and done another thing.

"Feeling wanted is probably the biggest part for me. I think I haven't felt wanted at times in the past."

That feeling must have been strong a year ago when Black-pool reached the League One play-off final at Wembley and Bean was not involved.

"It was hard watching the team from the sidelines in year's play-off final because you want to be involved in those kind of games.

"I was happy for the team, but it was gut-wrenching not to play."

Talking about the positive thoughts which persuaded him to agree a deal with Brentford,

Bean said: "The interest shown in me and the manager's desire to sign me made my mind up.

"The main thing was finding a club that matched my ambitions. The fact that it is a London club is secondary, even though I did get a bit homesick up north. I went down to Brentford for a couple of days and the manager seemed really positive. He said there would be sweeping changes and that he really wanted to get promoted this season.

"He seems really focused and very honest. He was a player until quite recently so he understands players and from what I understand, his man-management skills are very good.

"I want to play games this season and the manager's said that he's definitely looking to play me on a regular basis.

"We will be looking to gain promotion and I wouldn't have signed for a team that wasn't really pushing for that.

"I still feel capable of playing at a higher level than League Two." Ealing Gazette