Ken Bates blasts at Kilkenny: ‘He’s a petulant sod with big ideas of himself’

Kilkenny, 25, left Leeds after failing to agree a new contract in the summer and scored for his new club Bristol City on his first return to Elland Road on Saturday.

The Australia international ran gesturing towards the directors’ box and blew kisses at Leeds chairman Bates and chief executive Shaun Harvey after he had scored.

Kilkenny said after the game, which Leeds won 2-1, that his actions were inspired by having been ignored by Bates and Harvey before the game, as well as comments from Bates that he had joined “a smaller club”.

Bates said today: “He can’t justify or excuse his behaviour. It shows exactly why we weren’t sad to see him go.

“Neither myself or Shaun ever go down to see players on match days. Why would we?

“The fact is he asked for a wage which we didn’t think he was worth.

“He’s a petulant sod with big ideas of himself. We might report his behaviour to the FA because we’ve got CCTV footage of it.”

Kilkenny, who made 144 appearances in three and a half years at Leeds, had been angered by his treatment at the hands of “certain directors”, as well as comments made by Bates last week about the player during a radio interview.

Kilkenny said after Saturday’s defeat: “I was made out to be the bad guy by certain directors and I wasn’t.

“I said all along that I wanted to stay and obviously the powers above me had a decision to make and they didn’t see me at the club.

“I didn’t want to celebrate in front of the fans but I needed to make a point to the chairman and his chief executive because everybody here said hello to me except for the chairman and the chief executive, which is disappointing.

“I’ve seen that the chairman said I left Leeds to go to a smaller club and that was very disrespectful to me and Bristol City.

“That’s really disappointing but that’s him - what can you do? I did blow a kiss, but I can’t stress enough that it wasn’t to the fans.”

Kilkenny, who rejected a new contract at Leeds in October and was not made an improved offer, insists he never wanted to leave the club.

He added: “It’s hard to speak out when you’re a Leeds player and things are going on around you.

“I was really close to Jermaine Beckford and they let him go on a free transfer. It’s hard to see that, but you can’t say anything.

“Over the years it’s happened over and over again and people have blamed the players, but now people are starting to see that when it happens four, five or six times, there’s something else going on.

“I can only give my opinion about what I’ve seen at the club. I didn’t want to say anything, but after what Ken Bates has said, I have to say my piece.

“I’ve only ever said that I love the club and didn’t want to leave, that’s all. After things that he’s said, I think some people need to stand up to him.”

Leeds will be without suspended defender Paddy Kisnorbo for the third-round tie against United, as Simon Grayson’s side look for a repeat of their FA Cup heroics at Old Trafford in January 2010 when Beckford’s goal clinched them an unlikely upset.