Miami (AFP) - United States defender Tim Ream said Tuesday Gio Reyna has been welcomed back into the fold by team-mates despite the acrimonious feud that erupted following the World Cup.
The US squad are training in Florida this week ahead of the team's CONCACAF Nations League game in Grenada on Friday, the squad's first competitive fixture since they exited in the last 16 in Qatar.
The months since the World Cup have been dogged by a welter of revelations detailing tensions between Reyna and his family and former coach Gregg Berhalter.
Berhalter's contract expired after the World Cup, and US Soccer say a decision on whether he will be re-hired or replaced will not be made until later this year.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Ream said Borussia Dortmund star Reyna had impressed US team-mates with his work ethic in training in Florida and that the squad was keeen to leave the controversy behind.
"The main thing is making sure that everyone knows we're here for a reason and what's happened with Gio in the past is in the past, and what happened at the World Cup happened at the World Cup," Ream said.
"We moved on from that as players," the Fulham centre-half added.
Berhalter stoked controversy after the World Cup by indirectly revealing that Reyna had almost been sent home from the tournament due to his attitude in training.
Reyna later hit back, saying the behind the scenes bust-up should have remained private while acknowledging he reacted poorly after being told by Berhalter he would only have a "limited role" in Qatar before the tournament.
'Working hard, training hard'
Ream however maintained on Tuesday that there had been no questions about Reyna's attitude during this week's camp in Florida.
"The biggest thing for us as a leadership group and all the guys in camp is to see that he's working hard, training hard and wanting to be here," Ream said.
"And up until this point it's been nothing but positive..
"And to see him come in here with that attitude and the workrate and the desire to be a part of the group -- and to be back on level terms with everyone, without having to overly address it, has been a big positive."
Reyna's feud with Berhalter took a dark turn in early January after US Soccer announced it had launched an investigation into decades-old allegations of domestic violence by Berhalter.
Berhalter later admitted kicking his then girlfriend and now wife during an argument in 1991, describing the incident as "shameful."
US Soccer's investigation concluded last week that the incident should not prevent Berhalter being re-hired as coach.
It also emerged that US Soccer had been tipped off about the 1991 incident by Reyna's parents in apparent reprisal for perceived mistreatment of their son by Berhalter.
Former US captain Christian Pulisic last week described the Reyna feud as "childish" and called for Berhalter to return as coach.
While Ream praised the "fantastic job" Berhalter performed in bonding the squad up to and during the World Cup, the defender did not categorically back the coach's return.
"(Gregg) laid very, very good foundations for the team, whether he comes back or not," Ream said.
"For us as players, it's not something that we really worry about or are concerned about, because it's not our job to hire for that position.
"If they bring him back.Obviously we'll continue to work on him.
"If they don't, we'll continue to work under somebody else, and that's the nature of what we do."
