"On Neil Kilkenny, in terms of hearsay and homework, I know he's a good young talent and good with the ball and that.
"And I want my players here to have ability on the ball, no doubt about it. But, again, with the people I am determined to bring in, he would have been down the pecking order.
"I've nothing against the manager or the coaching staff," he said.
"He gave me a call when I was at Oldham [on loan] and said I could come back but he couldn't guarantee that I would play, or I could look to go.
"I said I'd look to go. I respect him for being so honest and straightforward. I would have loved to have stayed at Birmingham, but I want regular first-team football."
