• ‘It’s a horrible feeling but we just have to get on with it’
• Bullard apologises to Women’s Institute for Barmby bust-up
Jimmy Bullard believes his former manager Phil Brown deserved the chance to see out the season with Hull City. Brown departed last week following a run of four successive defeats and with the Tigers entrenched in the bottom three. But the decision was still a surprise given Brown’s achievements in his three and a half years with Hull and coming so close to the end of the season.
It also followed a match against Arsenal where 10-man City looked set to hold on for a draw until a late mistake by the goalkeeper Boaz Myhill. Asked whether Brown, who was quickly replaced by Iain Dowie, deserved more time, the midfielder Bullard said: “I felt so, I really did. Coming after the Arsenal game, where I felt like we did really well, it was a bit of a shock for me.
“I was surprised but it’s happened to me before when Chris Coleman ended up leaving Fulham. If you’re down in that relegation zone or your team’s on a bad run, the manager’s getting put under serious amounts of pressure.
“Chairmen, owners, they want results. They’re thinking: ‘We can’t change the players, can we change the manager?’ That’s the way it is. It’s a horrible feeling but we’ve just got to get on with it.
“He had a great three years. I’ve spoken to him and he respects the decision. I didn’t get into great detail with him because he was upset and obviously we were. But he’s a man and I suppose he took it like a man and held his chin up high.”
Bullard admitted feeling a sense of responsibility for Brown’s fate. “We step on the pitch and, when your manager gets pushed out, you blame yourself,” he added. “Obviously we haven’t done enough to keep him here. I know he’s a good man, and that’s a big part of why I signed. Sod the football side, I liked him as a man.”
One of Brown’s final tasks was to face the media following a fight in training between Bullard and Nicky Barmby ahead of the Arsenal game. The incident was made more embarrassing because it was witnessed by a large party from the Women’s Institute.
Bullard said the pressure of Hull’s situation had been a factor: “There were a few words said and it just got out of hand. We did have a little roll around but one thing I do apologise for is to do it in front of the old ladies. It shouldn’t have happened and I apologise on Nick’s behalf as well.”
Despite the incident, Bullard insists the spirit within the camp is good following their first week working with the former Crystal Palace and Charlton manager Dowie. With former club Fulham due at the KC Stadium on Saturday, Bullard continued: “Always when there’s a new manager been brought in, there’s life brought in, training’s a bit sharper, a bit more intense. Players have got to prove what they can do to the new manager.
“As a team, we’re all behind one another without a shadow of a doubt. We’ve got a good team spirit and, if we start believing in what we can do, which we do, as soon as we put a little run together, I think we’ll be fine.”
Hull CityPhil BrownPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk
