Out-of-favour Norwich City midfielder Julien Brellier has spoken of his frustration at being left out of the side under new boss Glenn Roeder. The 25-year-old Frenchman was brought in as a free agent from Hearts by then-manager Peter Grant last summer and arrived with rave reviews from north of the border.

Out-of-favour Norwich City midfielder Julien Brellier has spoken of his frustration at being left out of the side under new boss Glenn Roeder.

The 25-year-old Frenchman was brought in as a free agent from Hearts by then-manager Peter Grant last summer and arrived with rave reviews from north of the border.

But the former Inter Milan player, nicknamed 'Le Juge', struggled with niggling injuries during the Canaries' pre-season campaign and failed to cement a regular place in Grant's side. And Brellier's fortunes haven't fared much better under Roeder since he took charge at Carrow Road in November.

“I'm not injured, although I have had a few injuries since I came down here,” said Brellier. “The team is playing quite well, getting some good results and generally doing much better now. I just have to wait, although I don't really like that,” added Brellier, whose seen the Canaries win four of their last five matches since he was dropped following the 3-0 humilation at Plymouth in early November.

“I haven't been playing a lot so it's not a good moment for me.”

Although Brellier will hope to be called upon when needed by Roeder, events in Edinburgh have reminded him why he left Hearts during the summer, where he admits he felt treated like a “slave”.

Fellow Frenchman Ibrahim Tall has recently found himself banished from the SPL side's first team after the player failed to agree an extension to his soon-to-expire contract with Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov.

He said: “It's not strange for the Hearts players, they can't do anything about it. It's the politics of the club. I experienced this situation and I know it's not good. You feel like a slave and it's not great.

“If you don't like the offer, you can't say 'yes' just so you can play. You can't treat a player like that. Last year was the same situation with me,” said Brellier, speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News.

“The last time I spoke with sport director Anatoloy Korobochka I didn't even want to know if it was him or Romanov keeping me out the team. To be fair, I think it was Romanov but I'm not sure. I had a great time with Hearts but it just finished like that. In the last week of the season they asked me to leave. They knew that maybe in my head I was ready to play but they wanted the best team to play against Kilmarnock.

“They asked me to leave, just like that. It was only three or four days before the end of the season.”