Saido Berahino: Stoke striker says he was 'very lost' at West Brom

Stoke striker Saido Berahino says he was "lost" at West Brom and has apologised to fans for his behaviour.

Berahino joined Stoke on 20 January for a fee of £12m, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal to bring an end to a turbulent period at the Hawthorns.

The 23-year-old has not played since September and described his situation at West Brom as "very hard".

"I just thank Stoke for having so much faith in me, for coming window after window, wanting to sign me," he said.

The West Brom academy product scored 20 goals in 45 appearances for the club in 2014-15, attracting interest from Tottenham.

Berahino reacted angrily to a bid from Spurs being turned down on transfer deadline day in summer 2015 and two months later tweeted that he would never play for West Brom again under then-chairman Jeremy Peace.

"All I've ever wanted to do is play football and when that is taken away from you, you are lost. I was very lost," he added.

Tony Pulis said his decision not to play Berahino since September was because of a lack of fitness.

The player was put on a personal training plan in October after tests showed he was eight pounds over his ideal weight.

Nevertheless, the Baggies offered him a new deal for a third time in December, with his contract due to expire at the end of the 2016-17 season.

"Of course I have got some regrets - obviously I could have handled it much better. You live and learn, I guess," Berahino added.

"I take all my actions, all the wrong things that I did, and, as I've said before, the West Brom fans deserve an apology from me for the way I've gone on."

Discussing West Brom's decision to turn down Tottenham's bid in 2015, he said: "They rejected bids and that was the end of it.

"No-one ever sat me down and told me, 'the reason we are not selling you is because of X,Y,Z.'

"They just left it and I carried on doing what I was doing."