McCLEAN FINED BY STOKE FOR X-RATED POPPY OUTBURST

STOKE have fined James McClean for swearing at the club’s fans amid the row over his refusal to wear a poppy. In an Instagram post, McClean effectively called the Stoke fans who booed him against Middlesbrough ‘c****’. The club said yesterday McClean ‘has been dealt with under the terms of the club’s disciplinary procedure’. McClean himself said: ‘At last Saturday’s game a section of our supporters threatened and abused me because of my religious beliefs and upbringing. I am certain that no fair-minded person would regard that as acceptable but I recognise that as a professional footballer, and therefore a role model, I’m expected to tolerate it.’ MAROUANE FELLAINI will miss Belgium duty this month after manager Roberto Martinez agreed with Manchester United that he should rest after recently overcoming an injury. His club and country team-mate Romelu Lukaku, who has confided in peers that he has felt ‘exhausted’ at times this season, will be included in the Belgian squad but will have medical tests next week. NEWCASTLE UNITED manager Rafa Benitez believes the days of 40 points as the target for topflight safety are long gone. ‘If you analyse this season, the teams at the top are winning all the time. The teams at the bottom, we are losing more than in the past,’ he said. ‘I told you last year, 40 points is a guarantee to stay up. In the end it was 34. The gap (to the top) is getting bigger.’