RYAN Bertrand has hit out at Chelsea, accusing them of lacking “honesty”.

The 25-year-old left back has impressed in his season long loan spell with Saints so far, scoring only the second goal of his 195-game league career against QPR last weekend.

Saints are the seventh club Bertrand has been loaned out to by Chelsea, a run which started with a loan spell at Bournemouth in 2006.

This is his second successive loan to a fellow Premier League club, having spent part of last season at Aston Villa.

Bertrand said: “The situation became clear to me when I went on loan to Aston Villa.

“Right from when I was 17, I was getting those 15, 20, 25, 30-plus games a season until I hit a stumbling block. That’s when the alarm bells rang.

“Before that, I had a chance to move but I was advised that I didn’t need to do that.

“It all unravelled in front of my eyes, and certain things didn’t make sense in terms of what certain people had said to me. All I ask for is honesty, and I didn’t get that.”

Bertrand, who played for Chelsea when they won the Champions League final in 2012, added: “Since I left to go on loan to Villa, it’s been about me again.

“I’d never rule anything out, but It’s just been about getting out there and playing consistently without the thought process of what Chelsea think or whether I’m going back there.”

Saints have the option to make Bertrand’s loan move permanent next summer.