COLLINGWOOD vice-captain Scott Pendlebury says Travis Cloke's contract negotiations are not destabilising the playing group and has backed him to remain a Magpie.
On Friday, AFL great Leigh Matthews questioned Cloke for talking about his contract in great depth on Thursday night's The Footy Show, and wondered what his teammates thought about his individualistic approach.
"All he did was talk about what he's doing as an individual when it should be all about the team," Matthews told AFL.com.au's Access All Areas.
But Pendlebury, who plans to return from a cracked fibula on Friday night against Carlton, said the players understood the contract situation and weren't concerned about his comments.
"No it's not at all [destabilising]. Around the football club, nothing gets made of it; if anything, they take the mickey out of him a fair bit," Pendlebury told Triple M before Collingwood's clash with Fremantle at the MCG.
"It's all light hearted and as long as we keep playing the way we're playing, no one's going to worry about it."
"It's Trav being honest. It is an individual contract and while we are in a team sport, it's your contract that gets brought up,"
"It's not a group contract that we all sign.
"He's got to do what's right for him and at the same time, the footy club's got to do what's right for the footy club.
"It will get worked out and Trav will stay in the black and white."
Pendlebury signed a new four-year deal in March, and said he understood where Cloke and his family were coming from.
"They're working through his contract, and as Trav's said numerous times, he's trying to get the best deal for himself and his family," he said.
"I was no different to that. I did it pretty quickly and that's a credit to my management team and the football club for working something out I was happy with.
"No doubt, when both parties are happy, something will get done and I'm pretty confident he'll stay; it's just a matter of the right deal."
Pendlebury has missed two games since he hurt his leg against Gold Coast in round 10.
He trained on Saturday morning - with veteran Chris Tarrant, who he said had a sore shoulder and moved well - and is aiming to face the Blues.
"I was sort of eying West Coast [last week] and then scans confirmed I had a small crack in the bone," he said.
"It's just about now trying to wait for that bone to get strong, or as close to strong as possible.
"I was touch and go for today and just decided another six days is probably the best thing to do."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.
