Liam Rosenior insists his relationship with Enzo Fernandez "is in a very good place" despite him dropping the Chelsea midfielder.
Fernandez was sat behind the Chelsea bench on Saturday as his team-mates thrashed Port Vale 7-0 to book a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
He was left out after making comments around his future during the international break amid links with Real Madrid, and will also miss next weekend's Premier League game with Man City by way of punishment.
Fernandez's agent has spoken out to call his player's treatment "completely unfair" but Rosenior believes the outside perception of the Argentina international's situation may not be correct.
"Me and Enzo are in a very good place," said Rosenior. "I saw him today [Saturday]. I had a really good conversation with him on a one-to-one. Things aren't what people maybe think they are."
Asked about the comments of Fernandez's agent Javier Pastore, Rosenior said: "That's his opinion. I don't have anything to say on someone else's opinion.
"Enzo knows what I think of him and it was brilliant to see him here to support the players today. We'll move forward and make sure we have a really good run-in to the season."
Asked if Fernandez had apologised to Rosenior and the Chelsea players, the head coach said: "The conversations I have with my individual players when it comes to things like this stay within. The dressing room is sacred.
"I made it clear what I think of him as a person. He's a top, top guy. But at the same time I want us to focus on the football and achieve what we want to achieve through the season."
Speaking on Friday about Fernandez's punishment, Rosenior said: "A line was crossed in terms of our culture. We had to make a sanction."
What did Fernandez say?
Fernandez has been regularly linked with a summer move to Real and he cast doubt over his Chelsea future after their heavy Champions League last-16 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, telling ESPN Argentina "I don't know" when asked if he would still be at the club next season.
"My focus is here now. Then the World Cup coming up, so we'll see after that," he added.
During his time with Argentina in the international break, Fernandez told Marcos Giles, a media personality, "I really like Madrid - it's similar to Buenos Aires".
Fernandez was then questioned on whether he would consider living in Madrid, saying: "Yes, of course."
Merse criticises decision to drop Fernandez
Paul Merson speaking on Soccer Special:
"I think Enzo has sat down with him [Rosenior] and told him 'I want to leave'. I've seen Marc Cucurella have a meeting with him. But I think Enzo has gone in and said 'I want to leave'.
"One thing you have to do as a manager is never chop your nose off to spite your face. Let the fans look after that situation. Not you.
"The fans will let you know if they are unhappy with Enzo. But play him on the pitch.
"He is one of Chelsea's best players. It's disappointing as a Chelsea fan, and it's only good news for Man City."
What is Fernandez's contract situation? Could Real sign him?
The Chelsea vice-captain has a contract until 2032, and the Blues would only consider an offer of more than £100m for one of their key players.
Fernandez is not regarded as untouchable by Chelsea, who are planning to sign a new midfielder this summer.
Asked on Friday whether the 25-year-old is happy at Chelsea, Rosenior replied: "I can't speak for him.
"What I do know is that when he's been on the pitch, even in the loss at Everton, there was no lack of commitment in his performance.
"In terms of speaking for him and what he wants in his future, that's not for me to speak about."
Real Madrid are planning on signing a midfielder this summer with Fernandez and Manchester City's Rodri among their targets.
It remains to be seen whether they would ever spend more than £100m on Fernandez when cheaper options will be available.
Chelsea signed Fernandez from Benfica for a then-British record £106.8m three years ago.
He was close to former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who left the club in controversial circumstances at the start of this year.
Fernandez agent calls decision 'completely unfair'
Fernandez's agent Pastore has called the decision "completely unfair" in an interview with The Athletic.
Pastore said: "Enzo didn't understand the situation. When the coach told him, he accepted it because he's a highly professional guy who's always fully committed wherever he is and respects decisions.
"But we don't understand the punishment because he doesn't mention any club or say he wants to leave Chelsea, far from it.
"He only mentions Madrid, the city, because he was asked which European city he'd like to live in one day.
"He said Madrid because of the language, because it's similar to Buenos Aires and because it's logical - it's only natural for an Argentine to say that - and also because of the culture and the weather.
"But at no point does he say he wants to leave Chelsea or London."
Pastore also revealed talks over a new contract have stalled, adding: "There have been talks about renewing his contract, yes. We started discussing it around December or January, but we couldn't reach an agreement.
"As Enzo's contract still has six years to run, we decided not to renew it because the terms weren't right for us or for the player. Given what Enzo is capable of today, he deserves much more than he's currently earning.
"We haven't reached an agreement and it may be that this annoyed the club, given that he is a hugely important player, but these are things that have to be managed.
"We felt that rather than renewing on terms that wouldn't make the player happy, it was better to leave things as they are and focus on playing and performing well… We don't want to get into discussions about figures, contracts and negotiations when the timing wasn't right.
"Our plan after the World Cup is to meet with Chelsea again and, if there is no agreement, to explore other options."