Eddie Howe believes 'concerned' Allan Saint-Maximin's visit to his office proves the Frenchman did not mean to disrespect his Newcastle United team-mates.
Saint-Maximin has made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week following comments he made to French publication So Foot. Although Saint-Maximin spoke positively about the club and working with Howe in the in-depth interview, teaser quotes released ahead of the full interview coming out caused a stir.
Saint-Maximin declared that he had 'nothing to envy' from Liverpool star Sadio Mane in terms of 'pure quality' and, to illustrate that point, the 25-year-old claimed 'the day when I have a player capable of finishing, I will have seasons with 10-15 assists and I will change opinions'. This had been interpreted as a slight on Newcastle's strikers - Callum Wilson, Chris Wood and Dwight Gayle - but Saint-Maximin took to social media on Friday to insist he 'never said anything negative' about his team-mates and that he was 'looking forward to having an even better team so that we could progress collectively'.
READ MORE: Everything Eddie Howe said at his press conference
Saint-Maximin actually paid a visit to Howe's office on Thursday to explain what he meant and the Newcastle boss was satisfied with his response. Indeed, Howe noted that it's 'very difficult when things have been translated from another language'.
"It's just come across in the wrong way," he told reporters. "You will probably have to ask Allan what he meant by it, but it definitely wasn't meant I don't think as a criticism towards his team-mates.
"I think it was more based around him rather than his team-mates. It's difficult for me to comment on something someone else has said but, definitely, Maxi was concerned yesterday.
"He came to see me and if he meant those comments in the way that they have come across, and been published, then he wouldn't have been in my office concerned about the reaction. It's something that I'll try to speak to the guys today and make sure there's no fallout."
It is easy to see why Howe wanted to call a clear the air meeting with the squad. While January was, of course, a game changer, togetherness has been at the heart of Newcastle's turnaround under Howe in recent months after the 44-year-old inherited a winless side low on confidence.
One of the ways Howe has brought the group closer together is fortnightly timeline sessions where players stand up and speak about their journey to this point and the challenges they have faced along the way. Team-mates have learned more about each other as a result and Saint-Maximin actually referenced those 'very moving moments' in his interview.
Unsurprisingly, then, Howe was keen to address the squad on Friday because 'unity has been our strength' and 'it’s vitally important that we keep that at all costs'.
“Ideally I would not want any of my players speaking about anything other than themselves and their own careers," he added. "I don’t think players need to talk about other players or other players from other clubs.
“For me, it is always about us and always about protecting the team. Everything we say is about giving off united and positive messages even in difficult moments and that can be very tough, but that is my ideal and what I want my players to communicate.
“I have no concerns over his mood. I don’t think I will be fining him for that situation. It is more a case of education and making sure that players know what we expect of them.”
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