Former Chelsea star Andy Townsend believes Ross Barkley’s recent behaviour has put him on the back foot at the club.
Barkley is currently sidelined with an ankle injury which kept him out of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Valencia on Wednesday.
But the midfielder was recently pictured partying in Dubai without a shirt on, and was later accused of lacking of professionalism.
The former Everton man did have permission from the club to be abroad, but Frank Lampard was left disappointed with his man’s behaviour.
He said: "There are two separate issues. One is the headlines this week. Ross knows how I felt about the first headline. I backed him then and I still back him now.
"But he showed a moment of a lack of professionalism as far as I'm concerned. It's not something that I want to be a pure dictator because I understand that all my players are humans and have lives.”
And now Townsend believes the England international has been "immature and a bit daft".
“We’ve all been players, we’ve all enjoyed whatever, nights out with the lads, without the lads, when you shouldn’t be doing what you’re supposed to be doing, there very few players on the planet that haven’t been down that road at some point,” he told Sky Sports’ The Debate.
“Where he’s silly is that he’s now giving others the chance to have the shirt, where he worked hard at the start of the season, I’d seen a bit of an improvement in his game because he’s always been a bit in and out, he’s always looked like he’s got ability but he’s never been able to stitch it together for a long enough period, with a bit of end product to put him in a position where he’s able to grab a shirt and hold onto it.
“He kind of started nudging towards that way at Chelsea towards the start of the season, now he puts himself on the back foot. That’s where he has been immature and a bit daft, in that respect.
“Frank has already said he’s not going to hold a grudge or hold it against him but he goes to the back of the queue and he has to step forward again. That’s where I think he’s been very silly, he’s given others the chance to have that shirt and maybe they’ll be a little bit smarter in keeping it.”
