Fabricio Coloccini(credit:
mikebrown59)
Newcastle manager Chris Hughton has defended Fabricio Coloccini following the Argentinian’s red card at the weekend.
Coloccini was dismissed for an apparent elbow on Bolton’s top goalscorer, Johan Elmander, during the Magpies’ 5-1 hammering at the Reebok Stadium.
But Hughton insists there was nothing malicious in the incident.
The Newcastle boss said: “No arguments with the red card.
“With Coloccini it is worth stating that he is not a malicious player. It was a frustrating afternoon for him. I think Elmander was going to do him for pace. I don’t think there is maliciousness in it.”
But with Coloccini facing a three-match ban, Hughton admits Newcastle need to clean up their disciplinary act, with Joey Barton also on the sidelines after punching an opponent during a recent game.
He added: “It is something we have to be a bit careful about because of the size of the squad.
“It was a big blow to miss Joey in the fashion we did, and now of course we will miss Coloccini, presumably for three games.
“It is a big blow for us. We do have a tight squad. Now we will go into more testing times over the Christmas period.”