Clarke: Door not closed on Odemwingie
Clarke admits it was “total lunacy” for Odemwingie to turn up at Loftus Road on Thursday before any deal had been agreed between the two clubs.
He also claimed Odemwingie had been “badly advised and should be looking for new agents”.
The move eventually fell through and Odemwingie is not being considered for tomorrow’s home Barclays Premier League encounter with Tottenham because he is not in the right frame of mind.
But Clarke hopes bridges can eventually be rebuilt between himself, Odemwingie, players and supporters after meeting the 31-year-old at the club’s training ground yesterday.
He said: “I was very disappointed with [Thursday’s] events. There was never a situation where Peter was not our player.
“I was surprised when he turned up at Loftus Road because he had not been given permission to do that.
“It is obvious there has been some form of misunderstanding by Peter of the situation, but West Brom never gave permission to QPR to speak to Peter.
“There was a moment when I thought a deal might happen. But it was total lunacy to turn up at QPR because the deal was not agreed.
“He jumped the gun. If I was Peter Odemwingie, I would be looking for new agents.”
Clarke has not written off the Nigeria front man’s chances of playing for Albion again, although he is not being considered for the Spurs game.
He said: “Peter is not in the right frame of mind to be involved this weekend.
“He will then come back when we decide the time is right for him to start training. There always has to be a way back.
“It won’t happen overnight but he is part of my squad and hopefully we will get to a situation some time in the future where there is a resolution and Peter can help West Brom.
“Has he played his last game for the club? As I sit here now, I can’t say for sure he hasn’t played his last game for the club. But I don’t think he has played his last game for the club.
“I have had a good relationship with Peter and this will test it a little but I’m hopeful going forward we will continue to have that.”
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas will hope his side can take advantage of any disunity at The Hawthorns and insisted yesterday his side have enough firepower to finish in the top four this season — despite their failure to sign Leandro Damiao on deadline day.
Villas-Boas made Internacional striker Damiao his top target last month but, despite a last-ditch attempt, Spurs failed to land the 23-year-old.
Missing out on the Brazilian means Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor will be Spurs’ only recognised senior strikers for the rest of the campaign, and the latter may not be available for up to another two weeks as he is away on Togo duty at the African Nations Cup.
“I am not sure if I agree with the idea [that Spurs are lacking up front],” the Tottenham manager said.
“We have scored goals from different players this season. It’s part of our team’s characteristics.
“Obviously Jermain is the leading guy — he has been lethal this season. I’m not sure (failing to sign Damiao) is going to be the decisive factor
“We are happy with our strikers’ efficiency at the moment and what the other players do for the team.
“[Lewis] Holtby also has that ability. [Gylfi] Sigurdsson hasn’t found that ability from last year, but if he gets that finishing touch, he’s one more that can add in terms of extra goalscoring ability.
“We have different options and you saw Gareth Bale the other day playing through the middle. We can adapt.”
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