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Neil Danns and Barry Bannan will be given a reprieve at Bournemouth after Neil Lennon agreed to end their exile.
Wanderers’ midfield pair hit the headlines when details emerged of a drunken episode in the club’s hotel last Wednesday, which led to them being axed from the squad travelling to Brentford.
It is understood complaints were made to Lennon by guests at the Bolton Whites Hotel about the players’ behaviour and comments directed towards some of the staff.
Swift action was taken and while Lennon initially said Danns and Bannan were “suspended indefinitely” he now looks ready to give them a second chance at the Goldsands Stadium on Monday, feeling he has made his point.
Both players have been hit with a two-week fine, warned about their future conduct and have apologised to the parties concerned.
“They are back in training now,” Lennon told The Bolton News. “Missing the weekend was punishment and they’ve been heavily fined as well.
“I think sometimes when you fine players it doesn’t hurt them enough, you need to go a little bit further.
“The fact they weren’t involved in the squad really hurt them, so the line has been drawn. It has been dealt with and we’ll put a line through it now.”
While no public comment has been made by anyone, with the exception of the manager, Lennon assures Wanderers fans that the pair have expressed their regret and now want to finish the season strongly.
“No question they’ve been very contrite, which you’d expect from them because at the end of the day they are two good boys,” said the Northern Irishman.
“I don’t want to over-kill it. We’ve dealt with it internally as best we can. Obviously it went out in the public domain and some people will have their opinions on it but you can’t keep beating them over the head with the same stick.
“I think the suspension was enough and the fine will be the maximum required for that behaviour, and that’s it. I don’t think they’ll do it again, put it that way.”
Lennon was quick to stamp down his authority last week, which prevented the issue becoming too much of a distraction ahead of an important game at Brentford, and knows from experience how to handle such problems.
“Trust me, I was no angel as a player,” he said. “Martin O’Neill can give you a book full of stories about me.
“He dealt with me in a certain way as well.
“You feel a bit like poacher turned gamekeeper as a manager but you do need to put a marker down and send a message out to the rest of the squad that this won’t be tolerated in any shape or form.
“The game is changing, it’s getting quicker, the players are getting stronger. I don’t mind players having alcohol at certain times but the days of heavy nights and days are becoming a thing of the past as the game evolves – which is probably a good thing.”
It now remains to be seen whether the issue could be a prohibitive factor in Bannan returning to the club next season.
The Scotland international had been an unmitigated success on the pitch since arriving on loan from Crystal Palace but, says Lennon, could prove too expensive to bring back in the longer term.
“I’ve been really pleased with his performances and I like him around the training ground, he’s an infectious sort of character on and off the field,” he said. “Has he made us better? Yes he has.
“But he’s not our player at the end of the day. I spoke to Alan Pardew briefly yesterday and touched on a number of things – but whether we can do a deal for Barry is another thing. I have to be realistic about that.
“The wages would be something that may put a block on things.”
Lennon also admitted he had discussed a possible return for Paddy McCarthy, who will miss the remaining two games of his loan spell because of an ankle injury sustained last week at Brentford.
No decision has yet been made on the Dubliner, who still has 12 months left to run on his deal at Selhurst Park – but Lennon thanked Pardew for loaning out two players who have made a difference for the Whites in the last third of the campaign.
“They have been very good to us Crystal Palace, I like Alan a lot and he’s done a brilliant job wherever he’s been in the last five or six years,” he said.
“It was good to have a talk with him – not just about those two, but others as well.”
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Wanderers’ midfield pair hit the headlines when details emerged of a drunken episode in the club’s hotel last Wednesday, which led to them being axed from the squad travelling to Brentford.
It is understood complaints were made to Lennon by guests at the Bolton Whites Hotel about the players’ behaviour and comments directed towards some of the staff.
Swift action was taken and while Lennon initially said Danns and Bannan were “suspended indefinitely” he now looks ready to give them a second chance at the Goldsands Stadium on Monday, feeling he has made his point.
Both players have been hit with a two-week fine, warned about their future conduct and have apologised to the parties concerned.
“They are back in training now,” Lennon told The Bolton News. “Missing the weekend was punishment and they’ve been heavily fined as well.
“I think sometimes when you fine players it doesn’t hurt them enough, you need to go a little bit further.
“The fact they weren’t involved in the squad really hurt them, so the line has been drawn. It has been dealt with and we’ll put a line through it now.”
While no public comment has been made by anyone, with the exception of the manager, Lennon assures Wanderers fans that the pair have expressed their regret and now want to finish the season strongly.
“No question they’ve been very contrite, which you’d expect from them because at the end of the day they are two good boys,” said the Northern Irishman.
“I don’t want to over-kill it. We’ve dealt with it internally as best we can. Obviously it went out in the public domain and some people will have their opinions on it but you can’t keep beating them over the head with the same stick.
“I think the suspension was enough and the fine will be the maximum required for that behaviour, and that’s it. I don’t think they’ll do it again, put it that way.”
Lennon was quick to stamp down his authority last week, which prevented the issue becoming too much of a distraction ahead of an important game at Brentford, and knows from experience how to handle such problems.
“Trust me, I was no angel as a player,” he said. “Martin O’Neill can give you a book full of stories about me.
“He dealt with me in a certain way as well.
“You feel a bit like poacher turned gamekeeper as a manager but you do need to put a marker down and send a message out to the rest of the squad that this won’t be tolerated in any shape or form.
“The game is changing, it’s getting quicker, the players are getting stronger. I don’t mind players having alcohol at certain times but the days of heavy nights and days are becoming a thing of the past as the game evolves – which is probably a good thing.”
It now remains to be seen whether the issue could be a prohibitive factor in Bannan returning to the club next season.
The Scotland international had been an unmitigated success on the pitch since arriving on loan from Crystal Palace but, says Lennon, could prove too expensive to bring back in the longer term.
“I’ve been really pleased with his performances and I like him around the training ground, he’s an infectious sort of character on and off the field,” he said. “Has he made us better? Yes he has.
“But he’s not our player at the end of the day. I spoke to Alan Pardew briefly yesterday and touched on a number of things – but whether we can do a deal for Barry is another thing. I have to be realistic about that.
“The wages would be something that may put a block on things.”
Lennon also admitted he had discussed a possible return for Paddy McCarthy, who will miss the remaining two games of his loan spell because of an ankle injury sustained last week at Brentford.
No decision has yet been made on the Dubliner, who still has 12 months left to run on his deal at Selhurst Park – but Lennon thanked Pardew for loaning out two players who have made a difference for the Whites in the last third of the campaign.
“They have been very good to us Crystal Palace, I like Alan a lot and he’s done a brilliant job wherever he’s been in the last five or six years,” he said.
“It was good to have a talk with him – not just about those two, but others as well.”
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