QPR striker Jay Bothroyd admits his spell at Perugia changed his career.

He was sold by Arsenal for throwing his shirt at the respected coach Don Howe, a petulant reaction to a substitution. Coventry spent £1 million on him before he had played a competitive game but he was a player content to let things drift.

Bothroyd told the Sunday Telegraph: "When I came through Arsenal's youth team there was no pressure, it was just fun and jokes, messing around, doing tricks in training, trying to chip the keeper. In Italy everything was really serious, regimental, and it helped me.

"It was really hard at first. The first month I was there my phone bill was £5,000. I couldn't speak the language so I was always on the phone home. I thought I'd made a massive mistake. After three or four months I met some Italians who spoke English and I started to socialise with them and I started enjoying life. I lived between Rome and Florence, both great cities. I would definitely go back."