Eddie Howe has revealed that he will hold clear-the-air talks with his Newcastle United squad following Allan Saint-Maximin's interview earlier this week.
The news comes after the 25-year-old conducted an interview with French magazine So Foot, during which the forward appeared to criticise his teammates for his lack of assists this season.
Saint-Maximin said: "The day I have a player capable of finishing actions, I will make seasons with 10-15 assists, and I will change dimensions in people's heads."
In response to the revealing interview, Howe has moved to calm the situation and ensure that unity remains in the Magpies' squad, saying: "I don't think I will be fining him, it is more a case of education and making sure players know what we expect of them.
"We will be speaking with the squad and making sure there's no fallout from that, because unity has been our strength. It's vitally important we keep that at all costs.
"But I think I need to make this clear that Allan's quotes didn't come across in the way he meant them to. He was concerned yesterday (Thursday). We spoke, and in no way did he mean to damage the team and the unity we've built."
Following some backlash across social media, Saint-Maximin responded via his official Twitter account on Friday: "The interview I did with So Foot has been taken out of context and shortened on Twitter.
"I never said anything negative about my teammates, I simply said as any Newcastle fan would that I was looking forward to having an even better team so that we could progress collectively and that as a result I could also progress individually."
Saint-Maximin and Newcastle are next in action at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City on Sunday, with the Frenchman having netted five goals and registered four assists in 32 Premier League appearances so far this season.
Matthew Tranter
