JAMES Beattie's future at Stoke City is back on the agenda after he forced the club to carry out an internal investigation into his dressing-room spat with manager Tony Pulis.

Beattie submitted an official complaint following allegations that he and Pulis were involved in a physical confrontation after the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on December 5.

A grievance procedure was then set in motion which will force witnesses, including several players in the dressing room at the time, to give their first-hand account of events.

Beattie is believed to want an apology from his manager for events in the dressing room and for subsequent media coverage.

Stoke chairman Peter Coates confirmed the internal investigation, adding: "We have been through the process and it is now coming towards its end.

"We are sorry it has got into the press, but these things happen. As far as we're concerned, it's yesterday's news."

Supporters will be astonished to hear that Beattie has taken the rare step of instigating such proceedings against his own manager.

Some will regard it as an understandable attempt to drag the world of football into the 21st-century workplace.

But others will consider a professional dressing room subject to different rules.

Only this week, Ipswich manager Roy Keane suggested arguments between men in the dressing room are best settled by fists, not throwing teacups.

The alleged confrontation was sparked because Beattie believed the players had been given both the Sunday and Monday off following the Arsenal game on the Saturday.

But Pulis denied this and insisted kit and training schedules were proof his players were due back on the Monday, while the same schedules had been sent to the Football Association to comply with random drug-testing requirements.

Beattie still has one year left on his current Stoke contract, but his future at the Britannia Stadium is already in doubt following recent minor knee surgery that could effectively sideline him until the end of the season.

Beattie was an instant hit with fans after seven goals in 16 games in the second half of last season, following an initial £2m move from Sheffield United. But consistent problems with form and fitness have restricted the 32-year-old former England striker to just two league goals in 11 starts and a further 10 sub appearances this term.

Beattie had wanted an extension to his current contract, but his decision to trigger proceedings against his own manager suggests he has now abandoned that idea.

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