Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has warned French winger Charles N'Zogbia to do his talking on the pitch rather than Twitter.
N'Zogbia, who McLeish signed from Wigan for £9.5m last summer, used the social networking site to vent his anger at being substituted during Sunday's 2-1 defeat at his former club Newcastle.
The 25-year-old tweeted: “First time in my life, I’m not happy playing football”.
But McLeish was quick to dispel rumours of a rift, insisting that the players reaction was just borne out of frustration on how things went at St. James' Park.
After reminding players of their responsibilities, Villa have decided to take no further action against the former Latics star, and also told the players that they have no plans to ban their use of Twitter.
McLeish himself now feels the matter has come to a close, and is hoping the N'Zogbia will use his frustrations in a more constructive manner.
He told The Independent: “I always tell these lads that these are the best days of their lives, better than coaching, better than managing, you can’t beat playing, but it goes by in a flash.
"If Charles is not enjoying football then he needs to do something about it on the pitch and that’s the same for every single one of the players, not just Charles N’Zogbia.
“It’s not a coincidence that the best moments Charles has had in a Villa shirt have come when he has been working hard, because that’s the best way to get your rewards in anything. He seemed to enjoy scoring his first Villa goal against QPR the other night and he’s got to remember that feeling, because that’s what being a professional footballer is all about.
“Years ago players would have hammered down the manager’s door when they were frustrated rather than tweeting it on the internet. But it amounts to the same thing, not just telling people you are frustrated, but doing something about it and playing well.”
