A national newspaper headed a piece with the headline 'Steve's mad at thugs' judiciously lifted some of Steve's weekly column in the local Recorder newspaper and claimed that 'the West Ham skipper has been shocked by the number of players who want to kick lumps out of his team-mates'.
Keen to set the record straight, Steve says:
"It is strange because my comments weren't bad and I wasn't making a big deal about anything; they must have been struggling for things to write if they put that in.
"All I said was, talking about an incident with Anton the week before, that it should have been a free kick when Sheffield United scored their second.
"And I just said the league was 'angry' in terms of every game being a battle, that it is not plain sailing and that the lads can't go in there with the opposition not going to be up for it.
"That is more a complement to the lads playing in that league, that they give their all week in and week out - and it is particularly apt to Sheffield United because they never know when they are dead.
"They put these sort of comments in and use them in whatever way they want - but these things happen and it is not a life or death situation."
The report even claimed to be 'exclusive' - when it could have been read three days earlier in its original form - and Steve adds:
"They made it out to be an 'exclusive' but I was asked in the column about the league - and I said it was a bit of an 'angry' league because I had played in it before about seven years ago.
"I find it very strange that they can make out it is exclusive when they haven't even talked to you - it is somewhat misleading.
"I was always of the opinion 'exclusive' meant that you sat down and exclusively revealed something to them.
"It seems now that they can take something from somewhere else and call it exclusive - when it does in fact mean you have spoken to them and no one else."
Meanwhile, giving his opinion of Lawrie Sanchez taking over as Northern Ireland boss, Steve says:
"It was a bit of a surprise, to say the least, because Jimmy Nicholl seemed to have the whole thing tied up.
"But it was a financial thing and they couldn't come to terms with the pay-off Dunfermline wanted and to match what he was on there.
"Although I think Jimmy wanted it I think the gap between what he was on at Dunfermline and what Northern Ireland was offering was a million miles apart.
"So the man has got his family and his mortgage and whatever else and unfortunately Jimmy has missed out again.
"Hopefully Lawrie can lift them and find a few stray strikers about!
"Perhaps Jermain can be tempted - we will have to see if he has an Irish grandmother."