Despite the immense noise surrounding the pre-match gathering, the manager was quick to play down the gesture, insisting it was simply a display of team solidarity. He firmly rejected any suggestion of malicious intent towards the referees.
"I think in terms of the huddle, I think it's been blown out of proportion to be honest," he added. "It's a small, small thing amongst many, many serious things that we need to address, such as a massive game against PSG tomorrow. In terms of the huddle, the lads have always wanted to show unity and togetherness. I think they'll continue to do that. What we don't want to do is antagonise or bring the noise on ourselves. And we'll make the decision on where we do that on the pitch tomorrow."