Midfielder Alan Judge has revealed his daughter Emily requiring surgery in London was chief among the reasons a summer move to QPR appealed to him.
The Blues turned down a number of offers from the Championship side for Republic of Ireland international Judge, who had signed a new contract at Portman Road in April.
"QPR did come in for me. I know it was said that the move did appeal to me and, yes, it would have meant playing in the Championship but there were a number of other reasons why I would have been interested and they are personal reasons,” Judge said in a lengthy interview in Saturday’s programme.
"My daughter Emily needs two operations and she needs those operations in London and I was living five minutes away from the hospital.
"You ask any parent what comes into your mind first - your family, your kids. The welfare of my family is number one for me. Always will be. I’ve kept it quiet until now. Only a few people know about it at the club.
"I don’t want to go into the details of the surgery. There are two stages but they are big operations.
"I had to think about everything as a parent as much as a footballer and that’s why I felt staying in London and going to QPR was maybe the right thing to ask about. Sometimes more important things than football take over.
"I spoke to the owner and he said he understood my situation but wanted me to stay and that was the end of it. I was happy to get on with it from there.
"I can understand it that the fans can get disappointed if they hear a player wants to leave. They are entitled to their opinions but sometimes they are not aware of the full facts.
"I heard some comments that I didn’t care about the club and all that but those people don’t know me. I’m not like that. I’ve always given everything wherever I’ve been.
"When the supporters watched me play against Sunderland they probably though ‘Crikey, what’s going on with him?’. It was the same at Peterborough. I sat outside the dressing room after that game and thought to myself ‘I can’t even cross a ball’.
"The gaffer overheard me talking to myself and he knew where my head was and said it will come right in time.
"I feel I’m getting there now though. I’ve got over the [wrist] injury which put me back six weeks and my family have moved down to Ipswich this week which is massive for us as a family.
"My daughter will have her operations at the end of September so there is still the worry over that naturally but life is a bit calmer now and that will help my football.”