I've been judged too harshly, insists Motherwell's Paul Quinn

Jul 20 2008 Scott McDermott In Austria

MOTHERWELL star Paul Quinn has had an unforgettable 12 months. Sadly for him it has had nothing to do with the club's achievements on the pitch.

While the Steelmen surpassed their fans' expectations by bagging third spot in the SPL and a coveted place in the UEFA Cup, Quinn was embroiled in a court case that threatened to ruin his career.

Accused and convicted of assaulting a man in a nightclub brawl, Quinn's reputation was dragged through the mud.

Add to that a broken jaw after he was attacked in another drunken fracas and being robbed at gunpoint while on holiday in America and it's clear it has been a horrific year for the 22-year-old.

Although he escaped a jail term for beating trainee civil engineer Andrew Smith unconscious Quinn was sentenced to 150 hours of community service when he appeared in court on July 1.

The shamed star was then stripped of the Motherwell captaincy by gaffer Mark McGhee.

But the former Scotland Under-21 full-back still maintains his innocence. He believes certain people were out to make an example of him and were keen "to see their picture in the papers".

Has he learned from the experience? You bet he has, so much so he has now banned himself from going to the pub.

Even in his home town of Wishaw Paul admits he can't enjoy a social life any more for fear of someone manipulating his status as a local SPL football star.

Listening to Quinn at Motherwell's training camp in Obertraun, Austria, it's clear he still feels persecuted and sees himself as an innocent man who has been wronged.

But he knows if he ever gets involved in a similar incident - innocent or not - his career at Well will be over.

Paul said: "Other people who don't even know me have said stuff that's just not true.

"The only thing I did was go to a club and I was then wrongly identified as being involved in an assault.

"I'm not looking for a sympathy vote as there are a lot of people worse off.

"I've not been out since then. I understand now that there are certain people who want to have a pop at me.

"One or two have got themselves in the limelight by having a go at me.

People who aren't used to seeing their picture in the papers quite like it. I'm from Wishaw and previously I would go out for a few drinks there.

"But I've realised I can't do that now. I just can't risk it any more as I haven't had the greatest luck so far.

"The problem is mud tends to stick but people who know me realise the things said simply aren't true.

"The people who matter in my life are right behind me and that's the most important thing.

"But if anything else happened - even if I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time - I know it could be my career at stake and I can't risk that.

'Nobody's going to take away what I love and that's playing football."

Despite Quinn's claims of innocence the court verdict has stained his character and you get the feeling that's what upsets him most.

But he's determined that with the help of the club and his boss McGhee - who has ultimately stood by him - he can get back to the kind of form on the pitch that got him the captain's armband in the first place.

Under previous Well gaffer Maurice Malpas (right) Quinn couldn't get a game but McGhee's arrival seemed to spark a real up-turn in his career until incidents away from the pitch took over.

Paul knows he has a lot to prove to a lot of people but is adamant bad times are well and truly behind him.

He said: "I need to put a few people who have doubts about me straight on one or two things.

"A lot has gone on off the field and it's only people who don't matter who have questioned me. My family, friends, manager and team-mates are all behind me.

"I know where I'm going to go now and exactly where I'm not going to go.

"Sometimes aspects of life go against you. I can't be seen to be involved in something that could be manipulated ever again.

"I'm just thankful the gaffer, in particular, has stuck by me.

"The previous boss played a different style of football that didn't suit me. But when Mark came in I did well under him. I'd like to think he's repaying me for that.

"He has kept faith in me through the off-field incidents.

"He wants me here and doesn't hold any grudges.

He's always saying the knock-downs can make you a better person and I hope that's how it turns out."