Eddie Howe has fired out a warning over “discipline” after Anthony Gordon apologised for his petulance.
The £40m winger showed anger towards the bench when he was substituted late on against Brentford last week. Howe hauled the ex-Everton star off during injury time because he went down holding his ankle, and the Toon were under pressure for their fifth win in a row.
Gordon, an England U21 international, was collared for a chat after the game by senior pros Matt Ritchie and Kieran Tripper, and has since apologised to Howe and held talks about his “overly-emotional” attitude.
Howe is in a forgiving mood saying he wants the £40m man to keep a cooler head and needs “refining around the edges”, and says that sort of dissent can lead a team to look ragged.
Howe said of Gordon: "He accepted he was overly emotional. He felt the need to apologise. Part of me understood why he acted like he did. I didn't condone it. You don't want to see any player react like that because, suddenly, you will have a team that looks like it doesn't have the discipline that it needs.
“I made a decision based on Anthony going down holding his ankle, based on the fact there were seconds left on the clock, to try and do what I felt I needed to do to win the game. He needed to accept that and, if he had an issue, come and see me in private.
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“That's how I felt he should have reacted in that situation, but it's a young player learning about the game and learning about us at the same time. I've got no issue with him.
“We've had success this year based on that one principle: the team is the most important thing. Of course, we want individuals within the team to excel and have great seasons and a number of players have, but never at the expense of the team. That has to be at the forefront of the players' minds."
But Howe wants Gordon’s passion and spark to show on the pitch, not off it, adding: “His enthusiasm, aggression and motivation are high. He is determined to do well and achieve. It is a hallmark of his, and we love that. In certain moments he needs a cool head.
“You want good people off the pitch, good pros living their life right and on the pitch lads who want to win, passionate about what they are doing. Take that away and he is not the same player. Just needs a bit of refining around the edges. When he came on he changed the game for us.”
Miguel Almiron is back from injury and could be on the bench, but Allan Saint-Maximin is due back from France next week after rehab on his hamstring injury. Bruno Guimaraes ankle problem won’t stop him playing and Howe says his side must be on top form from the start against Villa.
He added: “I want us to be relentless in the pursuit of winning. A team determined to win and do everything they can. I didn’t see it for the first half last week, it was disappointing but it returned in the second half.”
Howe faces Unai Emery, who turned down the Toon job, meaning Howe was offered it. He said: “Without a doubt it was (a life changing moment). I am here because Unai turned the job down, so I’m delighted that he did! Fate has a strange way of working and now we come together.”
