Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has revealed that former manager David Moyes brought him in for a one-on-one training session following his headbutt on Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross.
Moyes gave all the other players and coaching staff the day off, with only the Belgium international required to report for training.
Fellaini told the Mirror: “He can be scary.
“I remember when I was banned after the Stoke game, he gave everyone the day off – everyone: The players, the entire staff – but I came to the training camp to do a training session with him.
“It was just me and him, and it is not easy to go into the camp to face him like that.
“I understood, because I knew I had made a mistake, but you know it’s not easy when you know you have let him down. Just going in there knowing you have to look him in the eye was hard!
“He put me through a tough session… it was a full-on session, running, shooting, passing, everything and very intense, and afterwards I was upset.
“I said afterwards, ‘Arggh, this is bad’, but I am happy when he looked after me, so I understand.”
But Fellaini respects Moyes’ ability to get tough when he needs to.
He added: “It was his way of telling me I had let the team down – it is how he is good manager, and he made sure I knew I had to face him.
“That way, I knew it was my mistake and I had to make up for it, to try hard to make it up to the team. It didn’t make the journey in to face him any easier though. He is a great manager – he knows when he has to be tough.”