Gus Poyet’s suspension by Bordeaux following his rant against the club’s owners was followed by his players refusing to train in protest against the treatment of the former Brighton and Sunderland manager.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham midfielder hit out after the 2-1 win over Marioupou in the Europa League. Poyet had been informed the striker Gaëtan Laborde had been sold to Montpellier without his knowledge.
“I am not happy. It is one of my worst days at the club,” he said. “What the club have done with Gaëtan Laborde is a disgrace. I think we have to stop here. I told the club not to let him leave until we had bought someone else. They have not recruited and they let Laborde go. I arrived at 11.35am. Laborde was not here. He was in Montpellier. Nobody told me anything.
“I need an explanation from the club: from the owner or the president. They are going to explain to me tomorrow [Friday] and we will see if I carry on or not. Am I going to resign? I don’t know.”
Poyet met club officials on Friday morning, with L’Equipe reporting he left 10 minutes later having been suspended for a week. Several members of his squad refused to train in protest but were persuaded otherwise after an hour of talks with the club’s sporting director, Stéphane Martin.
Only appointed in January having spent 18 months in China with Shanghai Shenhua, Poyet is expected to be replaced by caretaker Éric Bédouet for Sunday’s match against Toulouse. It appears unlikely Poyet will return.
