Hughes plays down Richards 'row'

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The incident came near the end of yesterday’s session. Hughes called the players together and questioned the defender’s attitude.

Richards shouted at Hughes and then stormed off to the changing rooms while the rest of the squad stayed put.

Training ended a couple of minutes later but furious Sparky ordered Richards into his office and gave him a stern dressing down for his behaviour.

The player then left the club’s Carrington base looking clearly unhappy.

The 20-year-old has come in for heavy criticism from fans for his performances this season.

He has lost his place in the England squad after bulking up in the gym at the expense of his pace on the pitch.

There have also been concerns about him off the field and his bling image.

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Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has played down reports of a training ground bust-up with Micah Richards.

Newspaper reports claimed the 20-year-old had a row with his boss on Friday but Hughes, speaking after the 2-1 win at Everton, insisted it was minor.

"People seem to be making a big thing of the little exchange we had," said Hughes. "These things happen time and time again at training grounds.

"If it had been a serious incident he wouldn't have played on Saturday."

Richards put in an impressive performance as goals from Robinho and Stephen Ireland earned City only their second away win of the season at Goodison Park.

And Hughes was keen to stress that it was a case of much ado about nothing.

"Our training ground is a little bit open and every day we have long-range lenses pointed in our direction," said the Welshman.

"I didn't pay much attention to the incident at the time. It was something and nothing and it didn't affect Micah's performance, I thought he was excellent.

"The fact that I played him today shows you the strength of it."