Boss Roy Keane slammed Crystal Palace’s players for their role in Jon Stead’s red card during the first half of the 3-1 defeat at Selhurst Park. Town have confirmed that they will appeal against the red card shown to Stead by referee Paul Taylor seven minutes before half-time.
Keane was unhappy with the way the Palace players surrounded the referee after Stead’s tackle on striker Freddie Sears: ”I'm still amazed when people seem to enjoy seeing players get sent off. Some players get involved when they should have nothing to do with it.
"Other players, other managers, trying to get players sent off. It's ridiculous. That's the horrible side of football.
"It's up to the official but officials are put under pressure in different ways - but when players are sprinting up to the referee trying to get a fellow pro sent off?
"They're all supposed to be in a union together, they'll no doubt be at a dinner together at the end of the season.
"But I'll have nothing to do with it. I never want to see other players get sent off - even if there were a few tackles going in on our lads - unless there's something obviously over the top the player's going to get a red card.
"But know your players, Jon Stead's not that type of player. It was a typical striker's tackle. But let's not talk all day about the tackle.”
Keane wasn’t happy with the way his side reacted to the blow of losing a man: "It's never easy when you are a man down but I was very disappointed with the way we reacted after Steady went off.
"There are lots of ways to lose a game and I didn't like the way we lost that one.”
"We didn't keep the ball well and we gave away two bad goals. The third one I'm not worried about because we were throwing men forward.
Keane says the lack of two senior players had an effect: "It shows you that we miss Grant Leadbitter and Jon Walters and I was hoping I wouldn't have to say that and I think our best players were the younger ones, Jack Colback, Jaime Peters and Connor Wickham, when he came on.
"Jack has the chance to go on and be a top player because he's got the right character. There are a lot of good players out there but the ones with the right character go on and achieve something."
Town have confirmed that an appeal will be made, which means that Stead will be available for Monday’s home game with QPR. The striker says he was amazed when referee Taylor showed him the red card: "I was hoping we would appeal because I felt it was a yellow card at worst.
"To look up and see the red card was a massive shock to me. It wasn't two-footed, I didn't leave the ground. It was just a mis-timed tackle and a yellow card would have been plenty.
"If anything I thought it was a foul on me [by Claude Davis] before the tackle but I didn't lunge at anyone or try and hurt the player.
"I tried to speak to the referee before he showed the card but their players made it difficult in the way they were surrounding him and that was disappointing. We're all fellow professionals playing the same game.
"But as soon as they saw the red card, some of the Palace players turned around and said to me 'It wasn't a red card, you are unlucky.'
"I'm hoping the appeal comes through because it kills me. I've just got back in the team and now I could be out for three games."
If Stead’s appeal is unsuccessful, he will miss the games against Blackpool in the FA Cup and Leicester and Coventry in the league.
Even Palace manager Neil Warnock, who was Stead's boss at Sheffield United, thought the referee got it wrong, although that didn’t surprise him: "I didn't think it was red. I expected it to be red but I didn't think it warranted a red.
"I know Jonathan Stead and he isn't like that. It's one foot and it's studs showing but he didn't go over the top or anything. It wasn't red but I know Paul [Taylor] the referee quite well and I thought it would be red.”
Warnock felt the match was normal post-Christmas fare: "I thought it was a typical Boxing Day game. It's the first time we have come from behind to win this season.
"We were close against Barnsley, we usually give teams a goal start if we can, make them feel at home.
"I thought at half-time it was there if we kept a little bit of discipline. We could have had more goals and they had the busiest goalkeeper, even before the sending off.
"We are a genuine bunch of players trying hard and I thought the fans were super today and it's a great Christmas win for us.”