Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert admits speaking with Christian Benteke about his recent axing.
Benteke, 24, was axed from Villa's starting line for Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Chelsea after scoring just two Premier League goals since returning from injury in October.
"Listen, he (Benteke) was good about it," Lambert said. "It wasn't a hard decision. That is football management. I expect to get a reaction from him."
He added: "It wasn't a hard decision. The decision to leave him out wasn't any harder than to leave anybody else out.
"That is football management. I expect to get a reaction from him. I think it would help him, it gives him that little bit of respite from it.
"Christian, by his own admission, knows himself he hasn't been playing well, but you need to protect him as well. He has only been in this country three years."
