Former Sunderland boss Michael Beale has hit back at reports of disharmony and unrest in the dressing room following the defeat to Birmingham City.
As the clock ticked towards the 88th minute at St. Andrew's, it felt like the end. The then Sunderland head coach was about to find himself under the Black Cats' spotlight once again, appearing to snub Trai Hume's handshake as he walked round the pitch after being substituted.
The clip went viral with Beale refuting accusations he avoided the Sunderland defender on purpose, after it was brought to his attention in his post-match press conference.
"Trai passed a fitness test to play today and he was on a booking, so it was easier to keep Leo [Hjelde] on when we made the change," he told BBC Radio Newcastle. "If I've missed him, I'll have to go and see him now and say that to him. Listen, he is probably as close to me as any other player in the squad. There was nothing there between me and him, I honestly didn't see him."
The head coach would then take to Instagram to double down in his defence.
"Trai Hume is a fantastic player for our club. He gives everything for his teammates and the staff. I wasn't aware that I missed his handshake until being asked about it post game. I immediately went to see him to apologise.
"Trai passed a fitness test this morning to play the game and I cannot hold him in higher regard as a man or professional. He is an example of everything that is good about a young footballer and our team."
A defence that didn't wash with supporters and it would be his final act as Sunderland head coach.
It isn't the defining moment behind Beale's departure, but from the outside looking in, part of an amalgamation of problems that had been piling up for a number of weeks.
The incendiary press conference leading up to Stoke City game, the beginning of his problems with Sunderland's hierarchy not taking kindly to his comments, neither did the fans.
The 'background noise' as dubbed by Beale, beginning to reach a point of no return. It felt then, like his days were numbered.
Like many in football, Beale faced unacceptable personal abuse on social media, which he rightly called out, but his damnation of the red and white fanbase as a whole was unfair.
A three game winning streak would follow that outburst, but that only papered over those cracks. Defeat at Birmingham City was the final straw. Beale remained in his post on Sunday evening, contrary to reports on social media.
Monday proved to be an eventful day, with fans claiming they'd found an account on X, formerly Twitter, with allegations it was linked to Michael Beale. The account, under the name of @Player__ID had responded to both Rangers and Sunderland supporters with a staunch defence of the head coach.
Those claims are unconfirmed and Michael Beale is yet to respond to any accusations.
The account in question had replied to a number of Sunderland fan accounts and journalists, referencing Beale's record at Ibrox Stadium, the form guide since taking over the Black Cats and hit out at an 'embarrassing agenda' in refence to an article calling for the head coach to be sacked at the midway point in January.
It also posted screenshots from Wyscout to defend accusations aimed at the head coach regarding a lack of width to Sunderland's play in February.
The final activity came in replying to a number of Sunderland accounts with an alternative angle of the Trai Hume handshake incident at St. Andrew's, captioned "Wide angle footage from Saturday. Ball in play, speaking to Ba and watching the game."
The account in question was deleted just hours before Sunderland's official confirmation of Beale's departure. We Are Sunderland made attempts to speak with Michael Beale regarding the social media account, but he did not respond.
As news broke of Beale's departure, reports surfaced claiming Sunderland's players were unhappy they had been called into training in the aftermath of defeat, while he took time off.
Beale contacted us directly to rebuff those claims. He exclusively told We Are Sunderland: "Just want to clarify that no players were given extra training after the game at Birmingham. All players were off as scheduled on Sunday and back into training yesterday as normal. Saturday was our third game in seven days and the day off was needed for everyone as planned.
"I hope the club find the right manager moving forwards. The fans deserve to get back to the Premier League where a club of this size belongs. I wish the club every success moving forwards.
"The players and staff were a pleasure to work with and reports of issues behind the scenes are a long way wide of the mark."
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Sunderland's players were informed of the decision to part ways with Beale just before lunchtime on Monday, with Mike Dodds in charge for the remainder of the campaign.
After announcing Beale's departure, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “We are disappointed that Michael is leaving Sunderland AFC. Our desire is to improve and unfortunately that hasn’t been evident, as such we take full accountability and feel that acting decisively is in the best interests of the Club.
"This has been a difficult few months for Michael, who leaves with our best wishes for the future. Our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike Dodds in the remaining games to ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish. We will be updating our supporters further as and when significant developments are made.”
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