CHRIS Eagles admits his first-hand experience of the riots have made it difficult to concentrate on his Wanderers debut.

Tomorrow’s game at QPR should be a joyous occasion for the versatile midfielder, recruited from Burnley over the summer.

But instead, the scenes of destruction he has witnessed in Manchester and accounts of the damage caused near relatives’ homes in north London have cast a shadow over his preparations for a Premier League return.

Speaking to The Bolton News, Eagles revealed that he had been shocked by the extent of the damage caused to Manchester city centre after visiting a friend on Tuesday night.

“It was frightening,” he said. “I saw people jumping through the windows of Starbucks and H&M. They were just kicking in the windows and running through, coming out with stuff underneath their arms. I couldn’t believe it.”

Of a more pressing concern was his family, many of whom live in the areas first affected by the riots last weekend.

“It all started where my auntie lives in Tottenham and my mum’s cousins all live in Lewisham,” Eagles explained. “They have all now gone to my mum’s in Watford because it is too dangerous. People were rolling cars down the road and putting them in walls. It is scary. My mum’s cousins have lived there all their lives.

“And they were on the phone to her the other day crying. They have never seen anything like it.

“It’s scary for the elderly people who are seeing their city getting ruined. But it was the same for me when I went into Manchester. The damage they did was frightening because we have got to live there.”

The uncertainty for Eagles, and no doubt any player who enters the arena tomorrow afternoon, is likely to continue.

Despite the Premier League taking the decision to press ahead with the game yesterday, there still exists doubts that policing required for the game could be better off used elsewhere in the capital.

Tottenham’s home game against Everton was postponed because of safety concerns on the roads around White Hart Lane, still bearing the scars of the disturbances, but the areas around Loftus Road have been largely unaffected.

Nationwide, incidents have appeared less frequent over the last couple of days, but the fear of fresh violence has not escaped the Wanderers squad.

“If you are playing you never know what might happen,” Eagles said. “They could ransack the pitch. You don’t know what they are capable of. Hopefully, it will stop soon and they have put their points across. The people are listening that need to.

“But we want to be safe. If a fire blows up you could get caught in the middle of it.”

Eagles does believe that the nation’s top-flight footballers could play a part in easing the situation. But, rather than issue an appeal for calm through the press, the former Manchester United man believes a more hands on approach is necessary to communicate with the youngsters chiefly involved in the violence.

“I think the kids would listen if Premier League footballers got a chance to talk to them,” he said. “It’s no good doing it through papers. They don’t read the papers. You would need to speak to them one-on-one in their community centres or youth clubs.

“Rio does a lot in south London and that way you can get your point across.”