Andy Griffin just a rumour

A tad to far

The South Wales Echo revealed yesterday a possible target of Cardiff City boss Dave Jones was Andy Griffin. The Stoke right-back joined Championship rivals Reading on loan in January and played against the Bluebirds in the 0-0 towards the end of last season.

Reading want to take him back and throw their hat into the ring publicly after the rumour about the possible interest from Cardiff. Reading first team coach Nigel Gibbs said: “We’ve always got lists of different players we’re interested in. But we have thrown our hat into the ring with Andy Griffin and it’s no secret how much we want him.

“We will react to the situation regarding him for now rather than being pro-active. Andy was a great signing when we brought him on loan in January. He was one of the most reliable players we had.

“His positional awareness was fantastic and I remember when I went to see him play for Stoke reserves writing exactly that in my notes.

“Brian’s knowledge of players from his scouting days is second to none. You’re never 100-per-cent sure about any signing until they come to the club.

“But we had a lot of good references on Andy from other people. He is a total professional and his experience was vital for the group.”

Both clubs could be disappointed has the player family are happy where they are with their kids settled in school. He doesn’t want to disrupt his family and from that it’s sound like he would like to stay in or close to Stoke. He said before the Cardiff speculation, “The family is in Stoke, the children go to school around the corner, so I don't want to uproot the family.

"Reading manager Brian McDermott has said he would like me back and has let that be known.

"He knows me as a character and what kind of player I am, but we will have to wait and see what happens on that one. I'm not going to just dismiss an offer from them, but I'm not sure what will happen over the summer. I'll stay by the telephone and wait and see.

"I'd have to look at Reading. The location is not perfect, but if that one was to progress further then it's something I would have to take into consideration.

"The bottom line for me is that I want to play football and I've got to say I enjoyed doing that again while I was at Reading."