Sunderland’s Jason McAteer will make a sentimental return to Anfield on Sunday declaring: "I never wanted to leave Liverpool."
The Republic of Ireland winger became one of the first casualties of Gerard Houllier's clearout that paved the way for the batch of signings that helped Liverpool win five trophies last season.
McAteer is still hurt by the ‘Spice Boys’ tag he, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman and co were given.
"Gerard Houllier has turned the club round," said McAteer. "He has brought in the players he knows he can handle and got them playing the way he wants them to play.
"We were not pushed out but I don't think he did us any favours by brandishing us the "Spice Boys" and giving us a reputation that was wrong and not deserved and I stand by that.
"We were a very professional group of lads and just two or three players off winning the Premiership. There is a social culture in football, maybe not as much now with so many foreign players coming in, but at the time every club had a social culture and we were doing nothing wrong. That's the way it was but we were seen as the underachievers and got this tag."
McAteer, who joined Sunderland for Stg£500,000 after an unhappy spell with Blackburn Rovers, added: "I'm a Liverpool fan it really hurt me to leave. I have not been back to watch them since and the only time I have been back to Anfield was to do Kenny Dalglish a favour and play in a testimonial for Ronnie Moran."
McAteer, however, insists he was not forced out and could have stayed and battled for a regular first team place. But he realised that if he wanted to enhance his international career a move was in his best interest.
"The new manager said he did not want me to leave," said McAteer. "He said I was a squad player but he could not tell me what the next season was going to bring. He understood I had an international career to consider - he was very much aware of players' international careers - but he put it to me if I wanted to go to Blackburn I could."
"I had four fantastic years at Liverpool and the only bad day was the day I left. They were a great bunch of lads, some of them are still my best mates and it's such a special place to play football.
"It's so traditional, so many great things have happened there and there's such a great aura about the place. There's no better feeling when you run out at Anfield. Nobody can take that away from me."