IF IT is true that Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland swore at manager Alex McLeish during the game at Newcastle then he should be punished.

If you or I were to do that we would be out of work within minutes so why should someone who plays football get away with it?

The Villa boss was only saying what previous manager Gerard Houllier also said, that Ireland has to work harder.

Why shouldn’t any manager have the right to urge his players to work harder and do certain jobs to help the team try to win?

More than a thousand Villa supporters made the 200-mile-plus journey in difficult weather conditions to support the team so the least the players could do for them was give 100 per cent.

For some players to apparently sulk, instead of walking 50 yards to applaud the fans for their commitment at the end of the game, was a disgrace and says more about the way the game has gone than anything else.

Words just fail me when trying to explain Charles N’Zogbia’s tweet saying that for the first time he is not enjoying playing football.