Stephen Ireland: "I'm upset with what has been printed this morning because I feel like I've been portrayed in the wrong way.
"I was misquoted and things have been blown way out of proportion. That is the reason why I feel like I needed to say something because the quotes are very unfair.
"What I said during the interview has been twisted to sound particularly blunt and a lot of what was written about my hometown of Cork - which me and my family visit regularly - was just plain ridiculous.
"The comments regarding Birmingham were also taken way out of context as I had only been at Villa a few months and didn't even live there so I have no idea what Birmingham is like to live in and everyone I have met from Birmingham has been nice, my girlfriend's father is from Birmingham so why would I say that, it's just crazy.
"I can only apologise if anyone was offended, but the way the interview was written made me sound very harsh, and I am not that kind of person."
Come on Stephen ... we KNOW you said it!
MAGPIES IN EUROPE
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