5:00pm Monday 8th February 2010
By Andy Naylor
Nicky Forster may not kick a ball for Albion again after falling out with boss Gus Poyet over his desire for a contract decision.
Poyet dropped Forster from the squad for Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Leyton Orient.
The Uruguayan is furious at the way the 36-year-old striker made his grievance public on Friday.
Unless Forster clarifies his actions Poyet will continue to leave his top scorer out in the cold.
Forster is among a number of players out of contract in the summer who were told by the manager a month ago no decisions are being made yet on new deals.
Poyet reiterated the position when Forster pressed for an answer again before training on Friday.
By the time training had ended Sky Sports News were reporting Forster had handed in a transfer request.
He later claimed he is on the transfer list by mutual consent but that was denied by Albion, since the transfer window has closed. Poyet refused to discuss the affair after the match on Saturday. “I don’t want to talk about Nicky Forster,” he said.
“I will talk about all the players here today. They really, really care about the football club.”
Forster’s replacement, Liam Dickinson, said: “At the end of the day it is between Fozzy and the club and what ever has gone on there should stay between them. That wasn’t in the lads’ minds. We went to Orient to get a result.”
Meanwhile, Albion have cooled their interest in 33-year-old former Hull, Charlton and Birmingham midfielder Bryan Hughes because of his wage demands.
The transfer window for loan deals re-opens tomorrow but Hughes is a free agent after cancelling his contract with Hull.
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