Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has finally opened up about the controversial training ground events of last season where he was accused of walking away from the team’s preparations.
After being told to train away from the first time after their Europa League thrashing at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais, it was reported that the Frenchman, as well as Belgian winger Kevin Mirallas, had taken the option from coach Duncan Ferguson to leave the training ground if they were not prepared to dedicate themselves fully.
Having stayed silent on the issue for so long, Schneiderlin has given his version of events, revealing then-caretaker manager David Unsworth had told him to take a break after playing in the European clash.
He told the Times: “We did a warm-up of five minutes and David said his squad. I didn’t hear my name.
“There were four or five of us and he said, ‘You are going to train on the other side of the training ground.’ Duncan said, ‘I am going to put you as the man in the middle. You are tired. Don’t worry. I know it is frustrating.’
“Duncan said to me, ‘Morgan, I understand you are tired, you played two days ago. There is no problem, if you want to rest and go inside, you can rest and go inside.’ I said, ‘Thank you’ and I went inside.
“When the story came out [after Watford], I spoke with David. He said, ‘Morgan, no problem.’”
Opinion
It has taken plenty of time for the truth – or what Schneiderlin insists is the truth – to come out about the alleged incident and it should provide closure for fans who still had their doubts over the loyalty and desire of the former Manchester United midfielder. It makes perfect sense too – the Frenchman would indeed have been tired after his exploits in the defeat to Lyon and after a light session, Duncan Ferguson and David Unsworth were happy to give him the chance to recover. He is still at the club which means that Sam Allardyce and Marco Silva have had no issues with him dedicating himself to the cause and the fact he is being named among the starting XI by the Portuguese manager shows that there is a level of trust there. Schneiderlin has perhaps taken too long to rubbish the claims made and that has allowed Everton fans to get on his back whenever there is a bad performance, so even with this clarification, he could well find himself under fire when he puts in a sub-par display.