Former Derby County goalkeeper Stephen Bywater, who was pivotal in the Rams’ last successful promotion charge, recently revealed his reasons for leaving the club in an interview with Prost International.
Bywater featured 167 times in all competitions for Derby during his five year stay with the club, eventually departing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2012.
The 39-year-old was one of the highest earners within the club at the time and believes that his wage may have been the reason for Nigel Clough looking to shift him on at the end of the 2011/12 campaign.
Here is what he had to say on the matter.
“The club just said we’ve got an option if you want to go and play somewhere else and I just thought go on then, I’ll play somewhere else.
“Nigel Clough had come and he was trying to get rid of people that were on the bigger wage salaries at the time to reset the actual club structure and I must’ve been one of those players he wanted to get rid of for financial reasons.
“I’m one of them people, if I can help a club out I will go. So that was it.
“I went to Cardiff, came back and then I went to Sheffield Wednesday so I was always looking to help Derby County out as much as I could.
“Robbie Savage did it as well, he agreed terms to help the club out when he was leaving. That’s what a good pro does. He remembers the good times that he had with the club and then he tries to help them out the best he can, whenever he can.
Bywater’s career spanned for a further eight years following his Derby departure, featuring for the Owls, Millwall, Gillingham, Doncaster Rovers, Kerala Blasters and finally Burton Albion prior to retiring and embarking on a business adventure with luxury brand Hanbury Tenison.