Elliott Whitehead is aiming to reignite his career at Catalan Dragons after admitting he had gone stale at Bradford and that his relationship with Francis Cummins had turned sour.

The homegrown second-rower, 23, is heading to the south of France to join Laurent Frayssinous’ side on a deal until the end of 2015.

Whitehead admitted he had underperformed for much of the season but said that stemmed from his unhappiness at the club, which he attributes to his differences with head coach Cummins.

Whitehead also denied telling the Bulls he wished to join a “top-four club” when he handed in a transfer request around three weeks ago.

He told the T&A: “I felt like I wasn’t improving under Franny and we didn’t really see eye to eye.

“I don’t really get on with him and he doesn’t get on with me. He’s the head coach so you have to follow his methods but I wasn’t enjoying it and just wanted to be out of there.

“I told Bradford I wanted to leave but never said anything about wanting to join a ‘top-four club’.

“I was pretty disappointed when I read that because it made me out to look like I’m slagging Bradford off.

“But that wasn’t the case. I’ve got a lot of respect for Bradford and I’ve got a lot of time for many people there.”

Whitehead’s dip in form this year came after a fine 2012 campaign which encouraged hopes that he could win England honours this season.

It is understood that concerns over his fitness levels led to him clashing with Cummins in recent weeks.

Whitehead said: “I don’t think I’ve played well this year at all.

“I haven’t been happy here and I haven’t been happy with my rugby.

“If you weren’t happy in a job you would try and move somewhere where you would enjoy it. Hopefully that will happen for me now at Catalan.”

Whitehead’s agent, Andy Clarke, has come under fire for his role in the saga which led to the Bradford-born forward quitting the club.

But Whitehead insisted: “It was my decision. Everyone thinks it was something to do with my manager but he had nothing to do with it.

“I was the one who wanted to move. I rang him up and said ‘listen, I’m not happy here, I’m not enjoying my rugby.’ “He got on with his job and was professional about it.

“The timing probably wasn’t the best but I just wasn’t enjoying my rugby and it was getting worse and worse.”

Whitehead agreed a lucrative, long-term contract with the Bulls last year and stressed his desire to leave was not financially motivated.

“It’s not about money – it’s about me getting away and hopefully becoming a better player now,” he said.

“I was on pretty decent money at Bradford, so I could have just seen my time out there and taken the money.

“Obviously money is an issue because it’s only a short career but I want to go to Catalan and just try and become a better player.

“I think moving over there will do me the world of good. There were a few teams interested when I handed in my transfer request and I chose Catalan.

“I’m grateful for Salford showing an interest but I just thought it would be better for me to move away from around here and try and progress somewhere else.”

Whitehead could make his debut for the Dragons at Huddersfield on Friday and should face the Bulls at the Provident Stadium in August.

He added: “I’m close with a lot of the boys at Bradford and I always will be.

“I’m grateful for Bradford giving me the opportunity to be the professional rugby player I am now.

“I also want to thank the fans for their support during my time at the club.”

Cummins chose not to comment after being informed of Whitehead’s reasons for leaving Odsal.