Griffin ready for Stoke exit

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Stoke City captain Andy Griffin admits the club will likely try to sell him over the summer following a fall-out with manager Tony Pulis.

The experienced full-back has not figured in Stoke's first team since his infamous on-field spat with team-mate Ricardo Fuller against West Ham on 28th December.

Griffin insists that his absence is not due to that incident - he has since made peace with Fuller - but rather a separate disagreement with Pulis.

With Stoke having impressed in the second half of the season in his absence, Griffin is resigned to the fact his days at the Britannia Stadium are numbered.

"I would say they are bleak to say the least," he told the Stoke Sentinel, when asked about his prospects.

"I haven't started since the game at West Ham, so I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to understand where I stand in the manager's thoughts.

"All I can say is I had a fall-out with the manager and, as a result of that, was not in the team. Sometimes I wasn't travelling and was cutting the grass at 3pm on a Saturday.

"I have no hard feelings towards the manager, it is just a shame it has happened. In football, players fall out with each other and with managers all the time. It is one of those things.

"But it is nothing to do with what happened with me and Ric (Fuller). That was all cleared up."

Having grown exasperated by a lacking of playing time, Griffin admits that at this stage of his career he will have to look elsewhere for regular football.

"I have just turned 30, feel as though I was playing well and still believe in my own ability. It is disappointing, but that is what happens when you fall out with the boss.

"But if and when I go, I will thank the manager for bringing me back home. I suppose it is just a case of waiting to see what happens in the summer. If nothing happens then I will be back in pre-season and will give my all.

"I have nothing but happy memories of Stoke. The club deserve to be where they are now and their fans deserve to be in the Premier League."
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