Saido Berahino blamed the lack of father figures at Stoke for his disastrous spell at the Midlands club that ended with him being released despite having three years left on his contract.

Berahino has been criticised for his conduct while at the Championship club.

Getty Images - Getty 2 Berahino scored only five goals in 56 appearances for Stoke

Former teammate Glen Johnson launched a brutal character assassination on the striker live on talkSPORT for his attitude, regular lateness and lack of effort.

Berahino’s spell at Stoke came to a grinding halt in February 2019 when he was arrested for a drink-driving offence and had his contract terminated.

The 26-year-old joined Jim White on talkSPORT to put his side of the story across.

He said: “I kind of had father figures at West Brom and that’s what helped me break into the first team and make my debut because I had father figures around me.

“At Stoke when I got there it was like being back alone and not knowing who to speak to. Obviously, at that age people expected me to be professional enough to handle certain situations but I don’t think I’ve spoken to a player who has been in my situation before where everything changes in a blink of an eye.

Zulte Waregem boss Francky Dury lauds Saido Berahino after Glen Johnson criticism

“I made one mistake that cost me by tweeting about Jeremy Peace (West Brom’s chairman) which I obviously regret and won’t go into. It’s stuff like that where I never really had somebody to guide me as much as I would have loved to.

“Looking back now I don’t regret it as it’s made me the man I am now and I’ve come out the other side and it’s made me very strong.

“Making that jump to a new league, not knowing what the league is about, what the country is about, constantly speaking to you and telling you ‘look we can improve here, you are still young’. Giving you that hunger again it just reminded me of my time at West Brom. I always thank him for what he’s done for me as he gave me a platform to enjoy myself and not worry about anything.”

Berahino accepted that people like Johnson were entitled to their own opinion and wanted to prove people wrong.

Johnson said that clubs should avoid signing the striker and defended the criticism he directed at the player.

Getty Images - Getty 2 Berahino has been involved in a number of controversies during his career

“I missed a lot of football. Not being able to enjoy myself at Stoke was my self harm. I wanted to be able to prove to myself I can get back to the level I was at before and just try and enjoy my football again.

“It took the leap from moving from home and isolating myself in a new country away from everyone to be able to do that. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it this season. I don’t blame anyone. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

“Whatever Glenn Johnson had to say I’m pretty sure more people that were agreeing with him. For me it was about proving to my family that I can still get back to the level I was at before.”

The former England Under-21 international now plays for Zulte Waregem in the Belgium league and is now starting to rediscover his love for the game.

He is also having to adjust to being a senior player in the squad with people looking up to him for advice.

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He added: “The greatest thing about being in Belgium is there is no such thing as a lot of distractions. I live about two minutes away from the training ground. Two minutes from the stadium. I’m constantly just watching football games from different leagues.

“My outside life has really been about having my family around me and making sure they are okay. My girlfriend and my kids and I’m focused now.

“It actually hit me when I got to Belgium that certain players 24 or 23 were coming up to me for advice. That’s when I started seeing myself as not a youngster anymore that I used to call myself at Stoke and West Brom.

“I was having players come and ask me about certain things and certain experiences and finishing drills, just because where I have been and the leagues I’ve played in.

“That was one of the things I had to take as a senior player when I was coming in and being in a team committee and one of the players the coach would come to and ask about how we can improve the team and what we could do differently.

“It was a big responsibility for me and I quite enjoyed it.”