Chris Ashton could have avoided messy spat with Northampton Saints It doesn't take much to sweeten a bitter pill. A short press release would have sufficed. It would take 60 seconds to knock out, here it is: "It has come to the stage of my career where I want to seek fresh challenges and yes I will be looking to move to anew club next season. In the meantime can I take the opportunity of saying I have enjoyed every minute of my five years with Saints and owe a considerable debt to Jim and the coaching staff and of course the players themselves who are a great set of lads. Let me also assure Saints fans that I will continue to sweat blood for the club, as I like to think I have always done, until the day I leave. End of statement. But no. It has dragged on horribly with little snippets leaking out here and there and a sort of tug of love developing which didn't cast anybody in a good light. Old friendships and alliances may have been damaged although hopefully once the dust has settled that won't be the case. Ashton has got to play and live with Saints' seven other England squad members throughout the next two months of Six Nations action. He might yet have to play in important Premiership play-off matches for Northampton, maybe even against Saracens, later this season although all depends on whether Saints and Jim Mallinder feel inclined to use his undoubted talents in such circumstances and see out his contract. And of course somewhere down the line he might have to play in an England team coached by Jim Mallinder. Ashton appears brash and cocky but he is also an emotional lad and the recent weeks will have taken their toll. He is also pretty short of game time having only played two matches since the beginning of December. Stuart Lancaster discovered early on in his tenure with England, ie the Danny Care case, that man management is a huge part of the England coaching job and his first task when England meet in camp on Monday might be to administer a little tlc to Ashton, or a kick up the backside whatever his prefered modus operandi is.