Nobody knows Paul Paton the player better than his midfield partner John Rankin.
The pair have worked in tandem in the centre of the park for Dundee United since Paton joined the club from Partick Thistle in the summer of 2013.
They also travel to training together every day.
So you would expect him to come out and defend his fellow pro against the charge, upheld by the SFA’s judicial panel on Thursday, that he spat at Aberdeen’s Jonny Hayes.
However, Rankin went beyond that and couldn’t disguise his own anger that a man he called “an honest pro” has been left with such a stain on his character despite Hayes himself publicly saying he didn’t do it.
The governing body disregarded Hayes’ Twitter messages in defence of Paton.
United were adamant that the player would appeal but the SFA have closed that door and he will now miss Sunday’s home game against Celtic, the trip to St Johnstone on December 27 and the Ne’erday Dundee derby at Tannadice.
Rankin was as shocked as the rest of the players, management, officials and staff at the club when Paton’s plea of innocence was dismissed.
He certainly stepped up to the mark yesterday, launching a staunch defence of his friend and colleague.
“I work with Pates every day and train with him every day,” said Rankin.
“I know what type of boy he is – it’s win at all costs – but to be accused of something like that is disrespectful to him.
“I think everybody knows he has not done it and that’s probably the biggest insult, that he has been accused of that in the first place.
“Jonny Hayes has obviously come out and said he’s not done it and the Aberdeen players know he’s not done it. We in the dressing room know he’s not done it.
“He is not that way inclined.
“To be honest, he is really down that he has been accused of that, not only for himself but for the sake of his family as well.
“He is devastated but he knows that we, his teammates, have his back.
“I am getting angry just speaking about it because I travel with him every day and know what type of guy he is.
“He is an honest pro and he goes and works his socks off every day in training and during games.
“So to be accused of something that’s so dirty is hurting him.
“When you see Jonny Hayes’ reaction and what he has come out and said, I think Pates will take comfort from what other players are saying as well as those in his own dressing room.
“This is the last thing he wants but to know that your fellow pros agree with what you are saying should be a comfort.
“What goes on on a football park is different from other walks of life. You don’t get that in the office.
“Even the changing room can be cut-throat when you hear what can be said but this (spitting) is not something that Paul Paton would do.
“He has a young family and there’s his parents to consider as well so for him to be labelled with that…
“It would anger me and it’s obviously angering him.
“He has probably got a hundred wee cars going around in his head just now and doesn’t know which one to jump into.
“It is horrendous and I feel for him, I really do.”
As well as telling Paton how much they believe in his innocence, Rankin stressed that his teammamtes would love to perform as well as possible on the park in the games he will miss so that he returns to a winning side.
“It is not great to be without him for these games but we need to deal with it as a group of players,” said Rankin.
“It is about how we react and hopefully we can get a good number of points over these matches.
“Paul has been one of our most consistent players and we will miss him over the next few weeks.
“But it is what it is and other players at the club need to sit up and be counted.
“For him to know he will miss games of the stature that we have coming up will be tough.
“You look at the matches and we have the champions in the making on Sunday, St Johnstone in a Tayside derby and they obviously beat us in the cup final and then the big one against Dundee that everybody looks forward to.
“This is the time of year when a British or Scottish player looks forward to having so many crucial matches and for him to miss that is a real shame.”