Troy Deeney doubled down on his view that Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong does not have a ‘nasty’ streak.The former Watford teammates have been locked in a public slinging match which began when Deeney argued Troost-Ekong was not the character to strong-arm the Nigerian Football Federation amid an ongoing pay dispute. Nigerian players went on strike over unpaid bonuses which plunged their pre-match preparations for a crunch World Cup qualifier against Gabon into chaos.Deeney’s initial criticism of Troost-EkongBut less than 24 hours later Troost-Ekong confirmed the dispute had been resolved, although it didn’t stop Deeney or former Sierra Leone international Michael Lahoud from criticising the Super Eagles skipper.Deeney felt Troost-Ekong, who he played alongside at Watford on 15 occasions, wasn’t the type to be ‘kicking doors down and demanding what must be done’ for the Nigerian players amid the pay fiasco, while Lahoud labelled the Nigeria international a ‘social media leader’.Troost-Ekong then responded to Deeney’s claims following Nigeria’s 4-1 thrashing of Gabon to book a spot in a World Cup play-off final against DR Congo.Troost-Ekong hits back“And also for my teammate, I was slightly disappointed because I supported him when he was the captain of my team at Watford,” Troost-Ekong said.“I’ve also gone on to captain Watford. So again, you could have just picked up the phone and called me.“If he didn’t respect me, then maybe he should take away the Nigeria shirt that I gave him that he has on his wall somewhere.”Deeney addressed Troost-Ekong’s reply on talkSPORT and reaffirmed his belief the 32-year-old wasn’t the character to have his players stick to a strike to get what they wanted.And when asked by co-host Sam Matterface if he’d pick up the phone and clear the air with Troost-Ekong, Deeney replied: “If I remotely cared about it, I would. But I don’t.“Will’s a good kid and that’s what I will say. He’s a good kid.Troost-Ekong didn’t take kindly to his captaincy being questioned by Lahoud and DeeneyGetty“In my opinion, when it gets to those situations with the federation, you do need to be a little bit nasty, a little bit horrible. The character I’d seen at Watford wasn’t that. He’s a nice kid that works hard for his team. “But one thing I will say that he’s kind of given Michael Lahoud credit for now, what did Michael say he would do? Go out and do all the press and be in front of it. He’s kind of played into his narrative. “But you know what happens when someone tells the truth? It hurts.“So, if I offended you Will, deal with it. Crack on.”Deeney issues direct message to ex-Watford teammateDeeney then looked down the camera and delivered a direct message to his former Hornets teammate.“Will, I do know you,” Deeney said.Deeney didn’t hold back when he gave his verdict on Troost-Ekong’s leadership skillstalkSPORT“If I was remotely being disrespectful, I’d deal with it the right way because you know me. “And the second part is, if you have to tell people how many caps you’ve had, you’re not really that secure yourself. “Just chill, Nigeria won, don’t talk about us, let us do the media stuff and you do your podcast. “Love you, bro. See you soon.”Troost-Ekong will look to put the saga with Deeney and the Nigerian Football Federation behind him once and for all when the Super Eagles take on Congo on Sunday at 7pm.