West Bromwich Albion midfielder Keith Andrews admits he struggled with being frozen out at Blackburn Rovers.
Andrews, 31, claims he could handle that abuse, no problem, but that his patience snapped when under-fire Rovers boss Steve Kean bottled it and took him out of the firing line.
"When it started swaying the manager's decision, that's when it became an issue for me. Not the fact they were giving me stick - I'm a big boy now.
"You have to have a thick skin in this game. You put yourself out there for criticism and judgment.
"In an ideal world everyone loves you but we don't live in an ideal world."
Andrews, on a six-month deal with Albion, denies he refused to play for Rovers at the start of the season in order to engineer an exit.
He added: "It didn't get to the stage of being on strike. I told the manager I wanted a move. He was fine about it."The ex-MK Dons star said: "It was never a big deal if I got a bit of stick every now and again. It genuinely didn't bother me
until I got left out of a game because of it.
