Thomas Frank has backed Ivan Toney after leaked speculation over the Football Association's (FA) intended ban for his alleged breaches of betting rules, as well as suggestions he had trained badly while on England duty.
The Brentford striker has been charged with 262 alleged violations by English football's governing body, which took place over a four-year period.
There has been no official FA update on the matter but reports, initially by The Daily Mail on Tuesday, claimed Toney had pleaded guilty to the majority of charges and could face a six-month ban.
Those reports suggested the 26-year-old also denied some of the violations, though Toney was left bewildered by reported leaks within the FA, posting on Instagram that he was "shocked and disappointed" by them.
Toney earned a first England call-up in September but was left out of Gareth Southgate's squad for the World Cup.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Bees head coach Frank said: "The most important [thing] is Ivan. He is amazing in many aspects, the way he copes with pressure, or distraction, and this is of course a bigger one.
"This has been ongoing since November, and yet he just carried on scoring goals, performing for the team, driving the team. It is so remarkable.
"We are 11 games unbeaten [in the Premier League], so I guess that is a decent response."
Only Erling Haaland (27) and Harry Kane (18) have scored more than Toney's 14 goals in 21 Premier League appearances this season, and Frank praised his forward's ability to maintain his form despite the outside noise.
"It is like life, sometimes things get thrown at you and you need to deal with it," he said.
"I would say that we share the disappointment of Ivan in terms of the leaks, that is for a confidential case. It surprised us massively.
"The timing of the leaks, just before the World Cup and the March international [England] team [announcement].
"The talk about that there is a potential ban as long as up to six months, that disappoints us.
"Then we share the disappointment that the talk about Ivan trained badly with the England squad. What is that?
"It is his first time with the England squad and I never met a player who did not want to do everything they can out on the training pitch, that wants to do well to impress the gaffer.
"I can only talk about Ivan what I see out here [in training] and around the place, he is a fantastic person around the group.
"He has that unique emotional intelligence to be aware of the lowest player to the top players and staff members.
"He has trained well and to me he is clearly number two in England as a striker. He has proven that with the goals and the performances."
Kudos for Mohammed Kudus as West Ham boss David Moyes reflects on comeback win
David Moyes gave the kudos to Mohammed Kudus after the Ghana winger helped West Ham come from behind to beat Europa League minnows TSC Backa Topola 3-1.
The Hammers made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure on a stormy night in Stratford, but headers from £38million summer signing Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek got the Hammers off to a winning start.
East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium.
The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface, and they fell behind after a mistake by Angelo Ogbonna.
“Tonight I thought we did enough to win although I didn’t think we were great in a lot of things we did,” said Moyes.
“The goal was probably our own doing but I didn’t fear the worst. It was a game where we had the lot of the ball and gave us a chance to see if we could do what teams have done to us lately.
“The mistake changed the game – but it also made us more determined.
“Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn’t really see where we would get one from.”
The Hammers had 78 per cent possession in the first half, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton.
But Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line and Petar Sanic raced clear to give the Serbians a shock lead.
However the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic.
Kudus got his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed the third – with both coming from James Ward-Prowse corners – to finally ease West Ham nerves.
TSC coach Zarko Lazetic said: “We are disappointed and a little bit angry. We respect the other team, but we felt we definitely had an opportunity.
“Our tactic was to come and win and we feel sorry it didn’t happen.”
Late goal sends Seagulls tumbling to defeat on their Europa League debut
Brighton were taught a harsh lesson on their Europa League debut as Greek champions AEK Athens ran out 3-2 winners after a pulsating encounter at the Amex Stadium.
Substitute Ezequiel Ponce struck the winner on the counter attack six minutes from the end of normal time as Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to heed the signs after falling behind twice previously in the first half.
Joao Pedro equalised from the penalty spot in the first period then again in the second, both times after VAR had intervened in Brighton’s favour.
The hosts had the better of the play but they lacked the clinical edge of AEK, who scored with two excellent finishes from set-pieces. The first goal was a superb header from Djibril Sidibe, followed by a sliding finish from Mijat Gacinovic as Brighton were undone by nerves and their own naivety.
The opening goal came after 11 minutes and was against the early run of the play.
AEK’s first attack saw them win a corner on the left after a low cross was turned behind. As the ball was whipped in, no one had picked up the lurking Sidibe who with a late dash into the box caught Brighton out with a superb 15-yard diving header that whistled past Jason Steele.
De Zerbi’s side had been badly caught out, and seconds later it could have been two. Levi Garcia, who would torment Brighton in the first period with pace and clever movement, raced beyond the defence and went through on goal, but Garcia’s tame finish was too close to Steele.
Garcia wasted another glorious chance to double the lead from an almost identical position, this time slipping his effort just beyond the far post.
Pedro nodded wide from a free header inside the six-yard box as Brighton finally put together an attack to concern the AEK defence, but within a minute he had made amends for his profligacy.
When defender Ehsan Hajsafi dangled a leg as Pedro looked to cut inside to shoot the referee initially booked the striker for diving. But after a pitchside VAR review the booking was rescinded, Pedro stepped up and coolly rolled his penalty beyond Cican Stankovic to score Brighton’s first European goal.
At that stage it appeared that they had had their reprieve for the way they had left themselves vulnerable to AEK’s threat, but five minutes before the break there was another fine delivery from a set-piece and another critical lapse in concentration.
Brighton held a high line on the edge of their own box as a free-kick was whipped in from 40 yards out, but as blue shirts charged back towards their own goal none could prevent Gacinovic from sliding to get a foot on the ball to turn it beyond Steele.
There was still time for Jan-Paul Van Hecke to deny Orbelin Pineda what would have been a deserved third for AEK on the stroke of half-time.
There was relief then around the Amex when the referee was directed pitch-side for another VAR review after Pedro’s tumble inside the box under Damian Szymanski’s challenge had at first been waved on.
As in the first half, the decision was overturned, and Pedro got to his feet to replicate his earlier composed finish to draw Brighton level again.
De Zerbi was booked for remonstrating too forcefully on the touchline, before Pedro was handed the chance to seal his hat-trick and an opening night win when he spring the offside trap and went one-on-one with Stankovic. This time the goalkeeper got the better of their duel.
Then came AEK’s final sting. A raking ball from the back was nodded out wide by Ponce to Niclas Eliasson, who returned the ball to his fellow substitute. Although Steele blocked Ponce’s shot, the rebound ricocheted off the Argentinian and into the net for the winner.
Late goal sends Brighton to defeat on their Europa League debut
Brighton were taught a harsh lesson on their Europa League debut as Greek champions AEK Athens ran out 3-2 winners after a pulsating encounter at the Amex Stadium.
Substitute Ezequiel Ponce struck the winner on the counter attack six minutes from the end of normal time as Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to heed the signs after falling behind twice previously in the first half.
Joao Pedro equalised from the penalty spot in the first period then again in the second, both times after VAR had intervened in Brighton’s favour.
The hosts had the better of the play but they lacked the clinical edge of AEK, who scored with two excellent finishes from set-pieces. The first goal was a superb header from Djibril Sidibe, followed by a sliding finish from Mijat Gacinovic as Brighton were undone by nerves and their own naivety.
The opening goal came after 11 minutes and was against the early run of the play.
AEK’s first attack saw them win a corner on the left after a low cross was turned behind. As the ball was whipped in, no one had picked up the lurking Sidibe who with a late dash into the box caught Brighton out with a superb 15-yard diving header that whistled past Jason Steele.
De Zerbi’s side had been badly caught out, and seconds later it could have been two. Levi Garcia, who would torment Brighton in the first period with pace and clever movement, raced beyond the defence and went through on goal, but the hosts were saved by Garcia’s tame finish that was too close to Steele.
Brighton were dominating the ball and largely camped in AEK’s half, but they could not plug the gaps that their opponents were finding on the counter attack.
Garcia wasted another glorious chance to double the visitors’ lead from an almost identical position when he again stole in behind the defence, this time slipping his effort just beyond the far post.
Yet Brighton’s play with the ball gave home fans reason for hope and soon they converted it into chances. Pedro nodded wide from a free header inside the six-yard box as Brighton finally put together an attack to concern the AEK defence, but within a minute he had made amends for his profligacy.
When defender Ehsan Hajsafi dangled a leg as Pedro looked to cut inside to shoot the referee initially booked the striker for diving. But after a pitchside VAR review the booking was rescinded, Pedro stepped up and coolly rolled his penalty beyond Cican Stankovic to score Brighton’s first European goal.
At that stage it appeared that they had had their reprieve for the way they had left themselves vulnerable to AEK’s threat, but five minutes before the break, another fine delivery from a set-piece, and another critical lapse in concentration.
Brighton held a high line on the edge of their own box as a free-kick was whipped in from 40 yards out, but as blue shirts charged back towards their own goal none of them could prevent Gacinovic from sliding to get a foot on the ball to turn it beyond Steele.
There was still time for Jan-Paul Van Hecke to deny Orbelin Pineda what would have been a deserved third for AEK on the stroke of half-time.
There was relief then around the Amex when the referee was directed pitch-side for another VAR review after Pedro’s tumble inside the box under Damian Szymanski’s challenge had at first been waved on. As in the first half, the decision was overturned, and Pedro got to his feet to replicate his earlier composed finish to draw Brighton level again.
De Zerbi was booked for remonstrating too forcefully on the touchline, before Pedro was handed the chance to seal his hat-trick and an opening night win when he spring the offside trap and went one-on-one with Stankovic. This time the goalkeeper got the better of their duel.
Then came AEK’s final sting. A raking ball from the back was nodded out wide by Ponce to Niclas Eliasson, who returned the ball to his fellow substitute. Although Steele blocked Ponce’s shot, the rebound ricocheted off the Argentinian and into the net for the winner.
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