Ellis was “furious” with the situation, according to Villa head of media and communications Phil Mepham, and now an internal inquiry is to be launched into the circumstances surrounding the release of the statement.

Hendrie has confirmed the matter was yesterday discussed among the players, with the upshot being several members of the first team are to speak with Ellis.

Following training, Hendrie told Sky Sports News: “We’re in the dark. A lot of the players don’t know what’s happening and we’re trying to find out. Hopefully it will be resolved.

“We’ve all had a chat in general about things, and we feel it’s been blown out of proportion.

“We don’t know what the conclusion is, but we’re going to speak to the chairman about stuff. There are a few players going to sort things out.”