"The way I finished last season I was confident I could carry on where I left off but Gerard Houllier had arranged for me to go on loan to Crewe," he said.
"I was gutted over it because basically he was telling me that I wasn't in his plans for this season.
"It was clear that his intentions were to sell me and this put me on a downer, but thankfully this all got scrapped when the new gaffer came in.
"The new manager has been very positive towards me. He said he would give me a chance."