Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce accused striker Ross McCormack of being 'unfit' and having a bad attitude during his post-match press conference on Saturday.
The 30-year-old - a £12m summer signing from Fulham - was left out of the matchday squad for the club's 2-2 draw with Preston North End at Villa Park, with Bruce later telling reporters that he had been dropped due to missed training sessions.
"In my opinion, he's not fit enough to play so he won't play unless his attitude towards training and missing training improves," he said. "If that improves then I'll consider him again. If he continually keeps missing training, like he has done, then that's going to be the situation.
"There's been too much indiscipline around here. Not in 20 years of management have I gone down this route before but I feel as if I have to make a stand. I won't put up with it on my watch. He's decided that the team will pick itself. How can I pick him when he doesn't want to come into training?
"It's happened more than once, let's put it that way. I wouldn't be saying it if had happened once. Everybody can have an excuse, but once it's more than that, I'm not going to accept it."
Asked if McCormack had an excuse for missing training, Bruce said that "the latest" reason was that McCormack's electric gates had failed to open.
"But the fence was 4ft 6ins and he couldn't jump over that as it was raining!" he added.
McCormack has failed to rediscover the form from his time at Fulham and Leeds United since his switch to the Midlands, having found the net just three times in 17 Championship appearances.
Neil Wilkes
