June 6 2006

Wayne Andrews

WAYNE ANDREWS says he never got a chance to prove himself at Crystal Palace.

The striker moved to Coventry on a free transfer last Friday after being released by the Eagles.

He was restricted to just five league starts since his move from Colchester United two years ago. Ironically, his only Palace goal was against Coventry in a 2-0 home win in November.

And the 28-year-old admits he was frustrated at not getting a decent run in the side.

"I know I can play in this league but I wasn’t given a chance," he said. "It was hard because I was competing with Clinton Morrison and Jon Macken who made big-money moves for a place alongside Andy Johnson.

"I would have had to score two or three goals to keep my place in the side which wasn’t easy.

"I scored one goal in 40 appearances but most of them were as a substitute for the last five minutes. I spent a lot of time on the wing and didn’t like it but I learned to play it well at Palace."

Despite his lack of opportunities, ANDREWS says he has no regrets from his time at Selhurst Park.

"I had to make the move from Colchester and it was unfortunate I didn’t play in more games," he said. "But I had a good rapport with the crowd and they could see I always gave my all.

"I have a lot of time for Iain Dowie even though he didn’t play me much. He gave me my break into league football when he was at Oldham.

"I learned lots of things from my spell at Palace and wouldn’t have got this move to Coventry had I not played there."

ANDREWS signed a two-year deal with the Sky Blues and is relishing the new challenge.

He added: "I wanted to stay at Palace but was told my time was up. I’m really happy to go to a big Championship club and their stadium is brilliant.

"I’m going to knuckle down and hope to get into the first team. I’m looking forward to working with Dele Adebola and think I can work off a target man like him."