Furious Paolo di Canio has slammed his Sunderland players minutes after the Premiership season ended.
Despite a 1-0 defeat at Spurs on the final day Sunderland stayed up courtesy of Wigan’s midweek defeat at Arsenal.
That result prompted party time among the Sunderland squad with full-back Phil Bardsley pictured in a Sunday newspaper lying in a casino with £50 notes around his head.
Bardsley won’t be seen again in a Sunderland shirt with di Canio determined to change the mentality of players at the club.
“I thought at Swindon in League Two there were ignorant, arrogant footballers who did not have a chance at the top level,” the former Celt explained. “But I have to tell you, I have found a worse environment in terms of discipline at this club.
“This is what I have found in the last few weeks, so we have to change it completely.
“It will be very hard if I do not receive the maximum support from the board. At the beginning, I thought it would be difficult.
“Week by week, day by day, I have discovered we have more problems than I expected.
“What we discovered this week is only one aspect of the problems we have. It doesn’t mean everybody goes out every night and has a drinking session, but in general I go mad at some things.
“What happened to Bardsley is part of what else has happened in the last few days.
In a week, I have given seven fines into players’ hands.”
Referring to the Bardsley picture di Canio added: “It disgusted me to see this image for the club. They have to behave well. They cannot be coming in at two or three o’clock, full of alcohol.
“I didn’t see the pictures, but the morning after, I told my assistant manager I don’t play Phil on Sunday.
“Why? Because when I spoke to him he looked at the sky. He couldn’t listen to what I had to tell him. He was blurry.
“I didn’t know what had happened then, but I soon discovered. I read my player. Something had gone wrong, and I discovered it was a really bad situation.
“There were other players out as well, but the other players left the two guys before they got into the casino. They were not there until early in the morning.
“They all went out together and watched the Wigan game – they are allowed to do this. They had a drink and celebrated, but went home before midnight. What I saw after that is not acceptable for my club and my squad.”
As much as i despised what he said when he had a “little problem” and his political viewpoint, i have to say that Di Canio is spot on here..modern UK footballers are a disgrace
Like you gb,If I can get his right wing posturing out of my head,I agree with DI Canio.We saw for ourselves what a clown Bardsley was when he played for the Govan Team so maybe he can point his Porsche in the direction of his pals in the third division.These Vain ordinary footballers have so much to learn when It comes to Life values.
Not a Di Canio fan after the unedifying way he used our club to get his move to mid table mediocrity in the EPL. However I do think perhaps in this case his ‘it takes one to know one’ approach will benefit his club and I fully support and applaud his outing of the spoiled brat culture/syndrome that is the norn in the EPL and elsewhere.
This brattish louty culture is a sickness in the modern game and the route of it is greed.
We are all culpable. The sooner we as fans insist on TV corporations, chairmen, directors and players respect the game as a whole and respect those who ultimately pay their wages, the better.
I dont pay money to watch football to then see my money being waved at me in a hedonistic manner by some two bit player surrounded by 50 pound notes when it is a FACT that it costs 12.40 euro to feed a child for a school year in a place of education. A YEAR! (www.marysmeals.org)
Its time we football fans started taking the moral high ground. Di Canio needs fans endorsement but will he get it?
End of rant. (or maybe just the beginning…..)
Paulo is correct to many halfwits playing the game who can’t control there self off field and don’t respect the game or the fans who work hard all week that pay there wages.
Love Paulo could not care less about what his politics are But he hit the nail on the head footballer today could care less about the fans
epl footballers are all paid 2 much the sooner thy cap wages the better, bardsley is a muppet no where near gd enuff 4 sunderland, would even struggle 4 a game @ sevco =D