Pereira: No problem with Van Persie

Fenerbahce coach Vitor Pereira insisted there is no problem with star striker Robin van Persie, who has been a notable absentee from the starting line-up in recent weeks.

Van Persie, 32, has cut a frustrated figure for the past fortnight, having come off the bench and scored in back-to-back matches against Besiktas and Bursaspor.

The former Manchester United striker, who has already voiced his unhappiness with his role as a substitute, shared a frosty handshake with Pereira following Fenerbahce’s 3-2 loss at Besiktas.

Pereira, though, has played down talk of a rift ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash against Celtic in Glasgow.

“I have a great relationship with my team and players,” the Portuguese manager said.

“Sometimes the tensions are high. We want this team to get better and improve professionally. Robin van Persie is part of the team and we all want to get better.

“Our relationship is based on trust in each other, confidence. We have our objectives. We have a normal relationship.

“Sometimes high-tension stuff happens, but in football we can solve these kind of situations perfectly.

“Many times in football to win games you need these kinds of tensions. If we are all in the calm tone you can’t win the games.

“These kind of things are normal to us, the people who work for the club. We live it and forget it, but I understand the press point of view, you would like to make news about it. It happens fast but we solve it fast too.”