Spurs fan Mackie leaves past behind
Tottenham fan Jamie Mackie is desperate to play at White Hart Lane on Sunday – and says he bears no grudge against El Hadji Diouf.
An appearance against the club he has always supported would crown a magnificent comeback by the QPR forward, who spent most of this year on the sidelines.
Mackie broke his leg in an FA Cup match at Blackburn in January and Diouf, then a Rovers player, was accused of hurling foul-mouthed abuse at the player as he lay injured.
It led to Rangers manager Neil Warnock labelling Diouf a “sewer rat”, but Mackie has insisted he has no bad feelings towards the much-maligned striker.
“I’m a Spurs fan but I want to beat them and will be buzzing if we do.”
“How do I feel about it all now? Fine. At the time, you look for people to blame and you’re emotional,” Mackie said.
“What was said afterwards was said and I dealt with it at the time. I don’t hold grudges. I just get on with things.
“It wasn’t nice that another player said things like that, but it’s in my past now. People like that don’t enter my thought process anymore.
“He doesn’t affect me. If he was directly affecting me or possibly a team-mate one day then it might become an issue, but life’s too short.
“It’s not an issue for me. If I was still injured it might be, but I’m not so it isn’t. I worked hard and got myself back. It’s something in my past now.”
Mackie was a Spurs-mad teenager who idolised Teddy Sheringham and “deep down always believed” he would one day play in the top flight.
“I played at every level and always felt I could get there. It’s why I worked so hard,” he explained.
Sunday’s breathtaking win against Chelsea sets Rangers up nicely for another televised London derby in which few fancy their chances of a victory.
But Mackie believes the pressure is off his team because of that result at Loftus Road last weekend.
He said: “Beating Chelsea takes a bit of the pressure off because we were going into three massive games and people will have said we won’t get any points.
“We’ve got three points now and can go into the Tottenham game being really positive and believing we can get something there.
“I’m a Spurs fan but I want to beat them and will be buzzing if we do. Then afterwards I’ll want them to win again.
“A lot of my friends support Spurs too. People have been asking me for tickets for this one. When we were playing Barnsley the phone wasn’t ringing!”
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