Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed that Anthony Gordon has apologised for his reaction to being substituted at Brentford following a conversation with the £40million winger this week.
The January signing was not happy when he was brought off in the 95th minute of Saturday’s 2-1 win in west London, having been introduced as a substitute at half-time.
Gordon rejected Howe’s advances following the late change by throwing his arms in the air, and he was clearly annoyed at the head coach’s decision, despite the game being all but done.
The 22-year-old has avoided formal disciplinary action, but Howe did feel it necessary to speak one-on-one with him at the club’s training ground.
‘He felt the need to apologise,’ said Howe. ‘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. 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.’
Howe added: ‘He accepted he was overly emotional. We moved on very quickly and had a 10-15-minute conversation, where it’s really important that I help him. He’s a young player. He has so much talent and ability but he needs help to get to where his career should go.
‘He is determined to do well and achieve. It is a hallmark of his character and we love that. But in certain moments he needs a cool head. He has trained very well this week and we have moved on very quickly.’
Howe has built a solid team ethic at Newcastle and he has reminded Gordon - the last player the club signed - of the need to get up to speed with the squad’s collective mentality.
‘We've had success this year based on that one principle - the team is the most important thing,’ he said.
‘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.’