Thomas Frank has issued a warning to talisman Ivan Toney after a video of the striker saying “f*** Brentford” went viral on social media.
Toney apologised to Frank in private, as well as publicly to fans, after the clip taken while he was on holiday in Dubai during the Premier League’s winter break emerged last week.
“It’s a thing that Ivan needs to learn from and I'm sure he will,” Frank said, ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Everton. “There’s no reason to expose himself or the club to a situation like that.
“The big thing to say about Ivan is everything he does on the training ground, in the dressing room, in the matches, is spot on.
“He's a big, big driver of the team, grown into a leader, performed fantastically for us in more than 20 months. So, I'm very pleased with all that but situations like that he needs to cut out to maximise his potential.”
Frank is weighing up whether to start first-choice goalkeeper David Raya at Goodison Park. The Spaniard has been out with a knee injury since October, but came through a behind-closed-doors friendly against Aston Villa this week.
New signing Christian Eriksen will arrive in the UK on Sunday but it is too early to say when he will be ready to make his debut.
