Perth Glory skipper Rostyn Griffiths has played down any issue with coach Kenny Lowe despite his angry reaction at being substituted against Sydney FC on Sunday.
Griffiths was taken off with 12 minutes left as his side were trailing 2-1 at Allianz Stadium, tossing his captains armband to the ground and refusing to shake his Lowe’s hand.
Glory went on to concede two more goals to lose 4-1.
The 28-year-old insists there is no rift with Lowe, admitting it wasn’t right to “throw your toys out of the pram.”
But he says there’s nothing wrong with a player being disappointed when substituted and wanting to remain on the pitch.
“I don’t think any player should probably be happy to come off the pitch unless you’ve scored a hat-trick and you’re getting applauded by all the fans,” Griffiths said in the West Australian Newspaper.
“I was disappointed, but that’s just his (Kenny’s) game. Me and Kenny get on well. We spoke about it after the game and he hasn’t got a problem with that.
“He was a player himself, so he knows how people feel…there’s no issue. Looking back now, it’s not the right thing to do to come off and throw your toys out of the pram.
“No-one wants to see that, but hopefully that makes Kenny not want to take me off the next time.”
Sunday’s result has seen Glory drop to fifth spot and they haven’t won any of their last three matches in the Hyundai A-League.
But there could be some good news with Caltex Socceroo striker Adam Taggart (calf) expected to return for Friday night’s clash with Adelaide United at nib Stadium.
Defender Josh Risdon should also slot in at right-back if he recovers in time from his flight back from Thailand where he was on international duty with Ange Postecoglou’s side.
