Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was given a dressing down by Alex McLeish following his tantrum on Saturday.
Blues ace blasted following substitution theatrics
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was given a dressing down by Alex McLeish following his tantrum on Saturday.
The forward was substituted 39 minutes into Birmingham's clash with Doncaster, as McLeish looked to counter Mehdi Nafti's dismissal with tactical alterations.
However, the former Arsenal man was unhappy at being sacrificed and headed straight to the dressing room after leaving the field.
McLeish admits to giving the Ghana star a blast at half-time, but insists the incident has now been resolved.
"I explained to him that you don't go to the dressing room, you support the team from the dug-out when you come off," McLeish told the
Birmingham Mail.
Understanding
"He apologised and said he was disappointed but he understands he has to learn the defensive side of that system.
"If we can get him going the other way he will be a big threat to teams and sometimes we have to put up with his lack of defensive knowledge.
"He is still 20, 21 so it is something we are trying to put into his game. I don't want to take a gifted player and say he has to defend for us but Wayne Rooney does it and the top players in the England team did it in the week. It is part of the modern game at the top level.
"We certainly give the players the fitness to do it, it is just the understanding he needs. He was apologetic because he knew he should have been staying and supporting his team-mates. He said he just wanted to dig a hole for himself but he knows in future he must come into the dug-out.
"But we shook hands and he apologised, which is fine. I am okay with that. I wasn't happy with him at half-time, I don't mind admitting that. I told him that in front of the players and he realised he was out of order."
