Blackburn Rovers defender Andre Ooijer has played down a training ground bust-up with Holland teammate Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Ooijer was in the starting line-up for last weekend's 1-0 Group G loss to Romania, but was named on the bench for the fixture with Slovenia before coming on as a second-half replacement in the 2-0 victory.

Ooijer found himself in trouble with Oranje coach Marco van Basten earlier in the week after kicking out at team-mate Huntelaar in training, but the 33-year-old is adamant he lost his starting place on Wednesday for "technical reasons".

"It never crossed my mind that it had something to do with the foul on Huntelaar," he told Sportweek magazine. "You always want to play and feel disappointed when you don't play.

"But we must not forget the goal is to make it to the Euro 2008 tournament. I must also respect what the coach decides."