he was unhappy. According to Kinkladze's agent, Manchester City, as well as Spanish clubs Valencia, Mallorca and Málaga, were all interested in signing Kinkladze. However, Todd was sacked on 14 January 2002 with Derby second from bottom of the Premier League, and John Gregory was appointed as manager on 30 January 2002. Kinkladze stayed at the club, playing regular first team football in the remainder of the season, but Derby continued to struggle, and Kinkladze endured relegation for the third time in his career. The club, who were £35 million in debt, started an end-of-season clear-out to reduce their annual £17 million wage bill. Derby's actions included off-loading of some of the highest earners, and the manager informed Kinkladze that he had no future at the club. However, Kinkladze, whose contract ended in summer 2003, was reluctant to leave the club and turned down a move to Turkish champions Galatasaray. As the club continued its attempts to terminate Kinkladze's contract, he trained with the reserve team up to 29 September 2002, missing Derby's first five matches of the 2002–03 season. He was brought back to the first team following two defeats, introduced as a substitute after an hour's stalemate against Stoke City on 31 August. His introduction proved crucial in turning the game into a 2–0 win for Derby, as he took part in the build-up of both goals. He then missed a number of matches through injuries, featuring in around half of Derby's games in the remainder of 2002. In October 2002, Georgian national team manager Aleksandr Chivadze unexpectedly omitted Kinkladze and captain Georgi Nemsadze from the team for their match against Russia, causing a stir in Georgia. Kinkladze, surprised and disappointed, said: "When I was out of form, he constantly phoned me, asked me about my play and called me to the team. Now I'm fit, scoring goals, but he didn't call me and even didn't phone." Both Kinkladze and Nemsadze returned to the starting line-up for the next European Championship qualifying match on against Ireland. By January, because of the financial crisis at Derby, Kinkladze had not been paid for more than three months. He intended to quit, but although his agent admitted interest from German side Hamburg and a second enquiry from Galatasaray, no move transpired and he remained at the club. He played for Derby more often in the second half of the season, and