Do you happen to remember where that was? In DWM 384 (I think this is what you're recalling elsewhere in your post) RTD himself said unprompted "Did you hear me say that I didn't like the Master, and didn't want him back? Well, I was lying!", so I assume he had done so before, but despite the fact that every fan seems to remember it I can never seem to find out where. The Doctor Who Confidential for "Dalek" has the softer "well, with the right story..." formulation I mentioned, and that's the only pre-"Utopia" quote on the Master I've found.No, I actually remember RTD saying once that he never cared for the Master and had no intention of ever bringing him back.
Sadly, all I remember is reading in 05 (around the time S1 ended) an interview with RTD where he was asked if we could ever expect the Master to pop up in future seasons, and he said no since he never really liked the Master.