Joleon Lescott insists tweet after devastating loss to Liverpool was a mistake

Aston Villa central defender Jolean Lescott insists the tweet he sent following his side's 6-0 hammering at home to Liverpool was a simple mistake.

The 33-year-old sent a photo of a Mercedes on his twitter account, which caused a barrage of negative feedback and forced the English defender to issue a statement of regret but insisted the phone was in his pocket when the tweet was sent and the entire situation was a misunderstanding.

He has been forced to reiterate his stance again and explained further what happened after the game. 

"What happened afterwards was an honest mistake. I was driving home and got a call from my brother (Aaron, his agent and a former Bristol Rovers defender), saying: 'What have you done? Have you just sent out a tweet?' 'No, I'm driving home.'

"I was on my phone in the changing room, said goodbye to my family, put the phone into my pocket, got in the car, I didn't lock my phone. It must have accidentally gone off, I don't know how, whether you believe it or not.

"It's not the first time I've put my phone in my pocket and accidentally dialled someone.

"I don't own that car. I wouldn't tweet that picture. A young player, a friend of mine, said: 'I'm thinking of getting this car, what do you think?' 'Yes,' I said, 'it's a nice car but be careful because the insurance might be high.'

"That was the only reason the picture was on my phone. Whether things have gone well or not, I'd never tweeted (after a game). There was no comment on the tweet. Just a picture.

"I don't see why people don't believe it was a genuine mistake.

"My brother said: 'It's been retweeted and the fans are going off. It doesn't look good.' I said: 'I'll be home in an hour and I'll address it then.' By that time I hadn't deleted it straight away or commented straight away, everyone had blown it out of all proportion.

"With results and the performance it wasn't great timing."

Lescott admits criticism from fans is part and parcel of football but claims reaction to recent events has been "intense".

He added: "I can take the criticism of on the field. I'm a grown man, I can look in the mirror and know I've worked hard in my career. I don't get carried away by criticism or praise.

"But the reaction was intense. People had a lot to say. Pundits, critics - these people act like they've never made a mistake before.

"For me to accidentally tweet a picture is not the biggest crime that a footballer has ever committed. But I can understand the feeling of the fans who feel let down."

Shortly after the incident, Lescott got into it with a fan on Instagram and issued what appeared to be an invitation to fight him down at the club's training ground, "I'm at the training ground tomorrow. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come down and try. FACT YOU WON'T."