Sky Blues clear Westwood air

Boothroyd attempts to end war of words with highly-rated keeper

Last updated: 9th September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Sky Blues clear Westwood air

Westwood: Spurned contract offer

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Coventry boss Aidy Boothroud has held 'clear-the-air' talks with Keiren Westwood regarding his future.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper has turned down the offer of a new contract with the Sky Blues and was dropped for their last outing against Millwall.

At the time, Westwood was told that he either committed to the club or ran the risk of spending the rest of the season in the stands, with his current deal set to expire next summer.

The highly-rated shot-stopper responded by making it clear that he would not be bullied into penning fresh terms and intended to stand his ground.

The war of words was threatening to get out of hand, with the issue providing an unwelcome distraction for all parties.

In an effort to put the record straight Boothroyd admits he has sat down with Westwood to try and resolve the matter, but the Sky Blues manager accepts that the Republic of Ireland international is still likely to leave.

Respect

He said: "We've had a good chat this morning (Thursday), a clear-the-air chat. Keiren has come out and said how he feels and I have total respect for that, I won't be hitting him with a big stick.

"Every player has a right to turn down their contract, I would love him to stay. It is his right and, as he said in the press, he's going to give 100 per cent up until the end of his contract, and I trust that he'll do that."

Westwood, who has never actually said that he wants to leave, said: "It's got very messy these last few weeks and it's not what I've wanted and I'm sure it's not what the gaffer wants. We're going to try and move forward together.

"There's no point going back and forth arguing, we want to do what's best for the club."

While a truce appears to have been struck, it is likely that Westwood will be offloaded in January as Coventry chairman Ray Ranson is loath to risk losing the keeper on a free transfer next summer.

He said "He won't be leaving for nothing, that's for certain."