Di Canio involved in bust-up

Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio was involved in a heated confrontation with striker Leon Clarke following Tuesday night's Carling Cup defeat by Southampton.

After his side were beaten 3-1 at home in the second-round clash at the County Ground, the hot-headed Italian could be seen remonstrating with forward Clarke as the team left the pitch. The former West Ham striker appeared to manhandle Clarke towards the tunnel and the pair seemed to be pushing and shoving before being separated.

Chairman Jeremy Wray to try to explain the scuffle and said: "Clearly there was an incident and it would be wrong to apportion blame until we have all the facts."

Clarke refused to go into the dressing room and left the ground still wearing his kit while Di Canio went home without attending his usual post-match press conference.

Wray added: "Leon and the fitness coach were having words after the game and there was a disagreement between them. As Leon came off the pitch Paolo was conscious these things should be done behind closed doors.

"There was a misunderstanding there that carried on into the tunnel. It got to a situation where the whole thing blew up very fast. There was frustration on both sides.

"The whole issue was trivial but nobody responded in the right way.

"The manager was quite right to try to defuse the situation. Paolo was frustrated the whole thing was played out in public. He feels one of the players has let him down."

While all the talk was about Di Canio and Clarke, Saints manager Nigel Adkins was just pleased to get through.

Adkins said: "We passed the ball around really well in the first half but fair play to Swindon, they made a game of it in the second. We try to play football in the right way and I was very pleased with another solid performance and we look forward to the next round."