'I said "I'm gonna go out there and injure all your f***ing new lads"': Carl Dickinson reveals the sensational story of how he settled his contract with Watford when his deal was terminated in 2013... but insists he was 'never' going to hurt his team in training

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Carl Dickinson has revealed that he threatened to injure Watford's new signings in training after the club were only willing to pay off 50 per cent of his contract.

Dickinson confronted Gianfranco Zola, who was managing Watford at the time, and a member of the club's hierarchy. He eventually persuaded Watford to pay off the final year of his deal, with his contract being terminated by mutual consent in July 2013.

The defender was livid with the way in which he had been treated by the club's hierarchy.

Carl Dickinson threatened to injure Watford's new signings in training after the club were only willing to pay off 50 per cent of his contract

The defender was livid with the way in which Watford treated him as he attempted to leave

After joining Watford in 2011, Dickinson went on to make 47 appearances for the club. He was loaned out twice during that period as he took in spells at Portsmouth and Coventry. 

His time at Watford ended in difficult circumstances as Dickinson made it clear that he wanted the final year of his contract to be paid in full. 

Dickinson told Undr The Cosh: 'Listen, I've come in every day, I've never kicked off, you've got to let me go. 

'They were like 'Okay, we'll give you 50 per cent'. I was like f***ing hang on a second. I said I've never kicked off, I've never done anything wrong. And they were like 'this is what it is'. I said this is what this is, I said 'I'm going to go out there and injure all your f***ing new lads.''

Dickinson made the threat to then-Watford boss Gianfranco Zola and a member of the club's hierarchy

Dickinson stressed that he doesn't normally act in such a manner but felt that he had to get his point across.

Watford decided to let him leave two days later.

He said: 'I've never done anything like that and I've never wanted to be like that, but I got to the point where they'd done that much to me. I've never done anything wrong, I've come in and trained my a***e off every day, and I said all your new lads are going to get injured. Two days later I was gone.'

'I said this to Zola and a bloke that was above Zola but underneath the owners. There were that many people around the place, you didn't know who was doing what. 

'I said I'm at the point now where I'll go out there and train and I'm going to injure as many people as I can that are big players.'

The 33-year-old says that he regrets his words as it would have been unfair to injure others

Dickinson revealed that he regrets his words as it would have been unfair to injure other players. 

He said: 'I do regret it in terms of saying 'I'm going to injure lads', because it wasn't their thing. I could have ended up hurting a lad. I was never going to do it. It was just a threat to say to them.' 

After leaving Watford Dickinson joined Port Vale in League One and stayed with the club for three years.

Following that he had two seasons with Notts County and now plays for Yeovil Town in the National League. 

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