Cureton Speaks about QPR (Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times)

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Cureton: no point to prove
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times -13 September 2006
JAMIE Cureton insists he has no unfinished business when he lines up against QPR on Saturday for the first time since leaving Loftus Road.

Cureton, released by former Rangers boss Ian Holloway after a disappointing 18 months at the club, is successfully rebuilding his career with Championship newcomers Colchester United.
"It'd be nice to do well against QPR, but I don't want to go into the game thinking I've got to prove something," Cureton told the Times.
"I was given the opportunity to play for a big club and it was an exciting place to be, especially in the promotion season. I felt comfortable at QPR and got on well with everyone.
"My only disappointment was that I hadn't shown people at the club what they were expecting from me. It was still a bit of a shock when Ollie told me he felt it was best for my career if I moved on, but I understood his reasons.
"I still speak to some of the QPR lads - Birch, Cookie and Biggy - so it'll be nice to have a chinwag, but I'm pleased Danny Shittu's not there any more. I'm sure he'd have given me a kick or two!"
No-one could describe Cureton's Rangers career as unremarkable - the striker provided fans with two highly memorable nights and several more mediocre ones.
His dramatic injury-time winner against Port Vale in February 2004, just a few weeks after his arrival from Korean side Busan Icons, was pivotal in getting the Rs' promotion push back on course.
Nine months later Cureton claimed the match ball with a stunning hat-trick as QPR beat Coventry 4-1, part of a seven-match winning streak that lifted them to third place in the Championship - but never scaled those heights again in the remainder of the season.
"I never really got settled and got a run of form. A lot of the time I was being played out wide and that was probably a factor," recalled the 31-year-old striker.
"I'd done well in a wide role when I was with Ollie at Bristol Rovers and he knew I could do it, but I hadn't played there in the five years since I'd left.
"We had a lot of forwards at the time, so I could understand why he put me there. Despite that, I felt there might have been an opportunity for me to get another year."
But Cureton was one of six out of contract players released in that summer of 2005, and signed for struggling Swindon, where he failed to make much impact until a loan spell with Colchester revitalised his prospects.
Seven goals in 10 appearances persuaded the promoted Essex club to sign Cureton on a permanent basis during the close season and his recent hat-trick against Derby secured their first ever victory in the second tier.
"It was great for me personally to score three, but the most important thing was to win and do well as a team," said Cureton.
"Everyone's tipped us to go down and the longer you go on without getting that first win, the more the pressure mounts. Now we've got that out of the way, hopefully we can move on.
"I'm pleased with my form now and hopefully this will be the season when I show I can play at this level again."..

(Kilburn Times