FORMER Middlesbrough midfielder Kevin Thomson has described how a breakdown in his relationship with manager Tony Mowbray convinced him it was the right time to end his nightmare on Teesside.

Peebles-born Thomson, who agreed to have his contract terminated early on January 31, had a horrible two-and-a-half year spell in the North-East and in an interview with the Scottish media alleged a failure to diagnose a broken leg properly got him off to the worst possible start with Boro fans.

The 28-year-old struggled to make an impact following his £2.5m switch from Rangers in the summer of 2010 and claimed he never returned to full fitness after an injury he suffered in only his second match against Leicester.

Club sources insisted last night the player received the best available treatment and had scans regularly during a period when he suffered a number of aborted comebacks. They would never have intentionally allowed a player to play with a broken leg.

And Thomson also believed the situation with Mowbray, his manager at Hibernian when he first made a name for himself, had also deteriorated to such an extent that he felt he could not play for him any longer.

Thomson said: “I probably played 30 games with it (the broken leg). People knocked me that I only played 56 games in two-and-a-half years down there – but I broke my leg in the second game against Leicester in August and it wasn’t diagnosed properly and didn’t have a plate in it until the January 18 months later.

“People knock you and keep knocking you. I never got on well with the Middlesbrough fans and in the end I didn’t get on well with the manager, Tony Mowbray, which was probably a frustration thing for both of us as we always had a great relationship.

“He wanted me to be the Kevin Thomson I felt I could be and everyone knows I can be but the prolonged diagnosis probably stood in my way.

“The only frustration was that in the end people were doubting what was wrong with me, the manager himself and the physio at the time. It was frustrating as they thought I was a bit soft and I knew I wasn’t.

“I’d take the dogs a walk and I’d get stuck. When I walked on uneven grass and my bone moved, because it was broken, that would be me. I would be standing at the bottom of the garden and couldn’t move. I’m just glad that people see I’ve worked hard to get through what I’ve got through and I’m still here at 28 and feel I’ve plenty years left in the tank.”

Thomson, part of the Hibernian team that lost 3-0 to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final yesterday, never played for Middlesbrough again after the defeat at Leicester on January 18.

After failing to recapture the sort of form Mowbray knew he was capable of, he felt he could not stick around at the Riverside any longer after something the Boro boss said.

He said: “I’d had enough. I recall after one game Mowbray said to the media maybe it was time for Kevin Thomson to pull up his socks and get on with it.

“It was a quote that gave me a kick in the teeth to be honest. That was the nail in the coffin. I phoned my dad and said ‘I’ve had enough’.

“My dad played the game. He was with Berwick Rangers, he’s a proper fitba’ man, he loves the game. He knew this time it was for real.”