Outspoken Cottagers captain stands up ITV



As a former Wales manager, Mark Hughes knows all about players dropping their international commitments at short notice. But is now seems he is behind an international withdrawal with a twist.

His Fulham skipper Danny Murphy has decided not to appear as a pundit on tonight’s ITV coverage of the England v Montenegro match. The decision follows a week of controversy for the ex-Liverpool midfielder.

Last week, Murphy told the Leaders in Football conference that Blackburn’s Sam Allardyce, Stoke’s Tony Pulis and Wolves’ Mick McCarthy send their players onto the pitch “so pumped up there are inevitably going to be problems”. His comments have drawn a written response from the League Managers Association, which called his comments “inappropriate”.

Murphy is said to have met Hughes after training yesterday and the pair decided by “mutual consent” that it was best for him to keep a lower profile this week rather than face the inevitable further questioning on live TV.