Jamie Ward has spoken about his “horrific” experience of being frozen out at Nottingham Forest – and how he would be happy to join Charlton Athletic permanently.
The 32-year-old attacker was part of a group of players told by boss Aitor Karanka at the end of last season that they had no future at the City Ground.
Dubbed the “bomb squad”, they trained with the Reds’ Under-23s and were told they were free to find other clubs.
Ward went on to join the Addicks on loan transfer deadline day last month, on a deal which runs until January.
He made his debut for the League One side last weekend, in a 2-0 win at Bradford City, having been away on international duty with Northern Ireland prior to that.
“It felt great to get those minutes in the tank but not so good playing the game,” he told South London Press. “Football wasn’t the winner with me. I was a bit rusty.
“It has been a long time since I trained with first-team footballers this season. Apart from when I’m away with Northern Ireland I’ve been with the rest of the lads in the bomb squad.
“You lose that bit of sharpness when you are training with the Under-23s.
“It was horrific (being in the bomb squad). It depends how you get treated and that varies from club to club.
“I know a lot of clubs where you are treated a lot better than we were at Forest.
“It wasn’t great at the start. Things got better eventually, because they had to. There are guidelines they have to follow, things like that.
“I can’t go into it too much or I am liable to be fined, and the club would love to do that.”
Ward made the move to Forest from Derby County in 2015, and has featured 62 times in the Garibaldi.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at Cardiff City and the previous campaign had a spell at Burton Albion.
“There was a four-year contract on the table so I think I would’ve been stupid to turn it down,” he said of joining the Reds.
“I have a family to worry about. They are the most important people in my life, the most important thing is securing a nice life for them and myself as well.
“You have to think about other things rather than just all football. People don’t understand that.
“My Forest career hasn’t gone too great, having three loans. I had injuries and there was a lot of change in manager at times. Little things like that never helps.
“It didn’t help when I came back from the Euros (in 2016) and our new French one (Philippe Montanier) didn’t know who I was when I walked in the building.
“I knew I was off to a bad start then. I had to get on with it, I knew I wasn’t going to play and was trying to find another club.”
And with his contract at the City Ground running out at the end of this season, he says trying to earn a permanent switch to The Valley is something which appeals.
“Yeah, definitely, as long as everything is good for my family,” he said. “We said in that last window that I was ready to move anywhere in the world.
“It (being in the final year of his contract) is just one of those things. I’m not the only player whose deal is up at the end of the season. There will be a lot of footballers fighting for contracts between now and the end of the season.
“It’s a case of me just trying to perform, do as well as I can to try to secure another two or three years for my family.”
