"His agent left a message and said that he [Ghaly] wasn't happy with the standard of players here," Bruce told the Birmingham mail.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing - and I've kept the message on my voicemail."

The Premiership newly-promoted club announced on Monday the signing of the Egyptian international midfielder from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-year deal for £3million ($6million).

The deal was subject to the talented player being granted a work permit.

Birmingham then made a U-turn and opted against capturing Ghaly, providing an initial ambiguous explanation for their decision.

However, Bruce has cleared the confusion and insisted that the 25-year-old's behavior is not tolerated at St Andrews.

"When he had his one-to-one session with (fitness coach) Dan (Harris), he was moaning we 'don't do this, don't do that' at Tottenham, it 'wasn't right' and 'ridiculous'."

"He had a right petted lip on. Yes, strong words were said and he was told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't like it, he should clear off," Bruce added.

Bruce was willing to give Ghaly a chance to forge a good reputation with Birmingham, but the player was not mature enough to grasp it.

"Hossam Ghaly came from Tottenham's reserves and we were quite prepared to give him an opportunity to play regularly and establish himself."

"He had had the summer off and after reporting back hadn't trained properly for a couple of weeks or so as the transfer negotiations got going. For the previous four or five days he'd done nothing. He was way, way behind in his fitness."

The former Feyenoord ace is no stranger to controversy, having fallen out with Tottenham coach Martin Jol after throwing his shirt as a result of being substituted in a Premiership game against Blackburn Rovers.