Forster has scored 15 goals this season

Brighton manager Gus Poyet has said it is up to striker Nicky Forster to resolve the dispute between them.

Forster has been dropped after making a statement to the media that appeared to imply he was leaving the club because he had not been offered a new contract.

Poyet told a fans forum on Thursday: "I want him to clarify things and it looks like he does not want to do this.

"He made a statement as if he had left the club. All the time that is the case, then he is not in the team."

Poyet told the Albion in the Community event that contract issues would be settled once the club's league position improved.

"We sat all of the out-of-contract players down on 15 January and told them all that we would not be in a position to discuss contract extensions until such time as we are safe from relegation," he said.

606: DEBATE No player is more important than the club and Forster should not have made the comments he did scruffylooking

He added: "Of course, these players are all free to talk to any other clubs at any time they like. That is the risk I am taking."

Forster is Albion's top scorer this season, with 12 league goals and three in the FA Cup.

Poyet said any other complaints would be dealt with in the same way, regardless of who it was.

"We are not a one-person team. I have 25 other players to consider and if one player acts like that and I take no action, then all of a sudden I have 25 players acting like that."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version