TWO weeks after being told he would not be receiving a new contract at Sunderland, a furious Martin Woods claims he only learned the news after his father heard it on the television.
Sunderland insist he was informed well in advance of it going public, but a clearly dissatisfied Woods has used his own personal experiences to insist the sooner Niall Quinn's proposed take over of the club takes place the better.
And the 20-year-old, who only signed from Leeds almost a year ago, is reluctant to sign for another club until it has become perfectly clear that he has no future on Wearside should Quinn's attempts materialise.
But it is not the future which has annoyed Woods it is the past, and he accuses chairman Bob Murray and the Sunderland board of failing to consider his own personal feelings.
Without a permanent manager in place, members of the Sunderland board had to come up with a list of players who were not going to figure on the retained list by gathering information from men most likely to know - like Kevin Ball.
And Woods claims it was only when he was on his way to play for Scotland under-21s against Northern Ireland a week ago that he learned his fate.
"I feel no loyalty now to Sunderland. They haven't been fair. I was told three months ago I'd be getting a new contract but they seem to have thrown me to one side," said Woods.
"It typifies the way the club are doing things, it's just not right. I can't believe they've released our captain Gary Breen as well.
"It was my dad who phoned to tell me he'd seen on Sky Sports News I was being let go. The proper thing would have been for Sunderland to tell me first.
"I was gutted. The current board think because it will probably have nothing to do with them soon that they can do whatever they want.
They're not bothered about anyone other than themselves. They don't realise they're messing with people's livelihoods."
Woods reckons he has already been contacted by a few clubs who want him for next season but he is still considering his options.
The former Leeds man, who was nothing more than a reserve player last season, is desperate to make up for lost time in August and make sure his career starts to take off.
But, with the process for Quinn and his consortium to take control slow, he is delaying his decision for as long as possible to make sure that he has no chance of missing his chance of staying with the Black Cats.
"The board have said publicly they won't be offering me a new contract but things could change if the new men come in," said Woods.
"It's still in my mind if Niall arrives and speaks to the football people at the club they might offer me something. Coaches have told me not to do anything rash or hasty, they'll speak to Quinn's people hopefully.
"It won't be the new owners' fault so I'm not going to dive into anything - I won't sign with anyone until the start of July."
* England Under-21 striker Cameron Jerome has admitted his excitement about his imminent move to Birmingham.
The 19-year-old Cardiff striker, a former Sunderland target, is due in Birmingham today to undergo a medical after the clubs agreed a fee which could rise to £4m.
Jerome's agent has already agreed personal terms on a four-year deal at St Andrews.
Birmingham have agreed to pay £3m for Jerome with two further installments of £500,000 due to be paid depending on the success of his new club.
''I am excited by the move and sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realise what is going on around you,''said Jerome.
''It was only a year or so ago I was playing for the Cardiff youth team.
"Birmingham are a big club and they want to get back to the Premiership straight away, hopefully I will be able to help them do that.''
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