Stan Collymore and Joleon Lescott in Aston Villa relegation spat
Villa defender Joleon Lescott has become embroiled in a social media spat with former striker Stan Collymore following the club's relegation from the Premier League.
Lescott enraged fans with his remark, made shortly after yesterday's 1-0 defeat at Manchester United which sealed Villa's fate, that relegation would be a "weight off the shoulders" of players.
His comments were quickly criticised by Collymore, who played for Villa between 1997 and 1999 and is now a presenter on TalkSport.
And their row then appeared to escalate when Collymore later tweeted a picture of a private message exchange between the pair, in which Lescott suggested they "sort it out like men".
The conversation read:
LESCOTT: We need to sort this out. You think I'm a t*t I got a similar opinion of you. Tried to get in touch via Jack which you didn't want so now I'm askin you do you really wanna get together and sort this out as men.
COLLYMORE: Sort it out as men? Your (sic) not talking to some of the lightweights in the dressing room now.
You'll see me in good time, probably this season. In the meantime try not to say anything else stupid on Twitter or in post match press comments because to be honest the car thing was ****ing embarrassing and today to say the weight was now off the shoulders was a good insight into the shambles that is the dressing room.
Collymore then deleted the tweeted and posted another message which read: "Sorry, didn't mean to send that. Phone was in my pocket."
Lescott used the same excuse to explain why a photo of a brand new Mercedes appeared on his Twitter account shortly after Villa's 6-0 home defeat to Liverpool in January.
The 33-year-old defender, who joined Villa in a £2million move from rivals Albion last September, is one of several players to be targeted by fans as the club have slid toward the Championship.
His comments in the wake of their relegation have only further damaged the relationship.
Lescott had said: "Now it's confirmed maybe it's a weight off the shoulders and we can give these fans what they deserve, some performances.
"Throughout the season we have given reasons for people to jump on us. It's part of football, we have to take that on the chin. It's a tough time at the minute. At the back of our minds is next season to get promoted."
Villa's defeat at Old Trafford was their ninth in a row. The club's record run of defeats stands at 11, a mark which was set in 1963. They have four games left to play before completing the Premier League campaign.
