Murphy pleads for midfield mate Bullard to stay

JIMMY BULLARD is a man in demand.

The Fulham midfielder has a queue of suitors which would put a supermodel to shame ahead of the January transfer window, but his greatest admirers of all are in his own squad.

Captain Danny Murphy has become the latest to plead with Bullard to stay put at Craven Cottage. Bullard has 18 months of his current contract left and is trying to negotiate a new deal but there are fears it will fall through because of the player’s wage demands.

Bullard opened the scoring in Fulham’s 3-0 demolition of Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage on Saturday and Murphy, who also scored from the penalty spot, hopes the midfielder can reach an agreement with the club.

“I’ve a simple philosophy on it which is you want to keep this squad,” said Murphy. “It’s the best we’ve had since I’ve been here and the best Fulham have had in a long time.

“There’s no way we want to see any of our good players leave. As players, you can only do your own job to a degree and can only have so much input into situations.

“I hope Jimmy can sort it out because we know what his qualities are and know he’s a great asset on the pitch.

“In negotiations you have to find a balance to what he wants and his security, but his performances are tremendous.

“I think the squad is looking so much stronger than it has in the past and he’s an integral part of that.

“He’s a friend, so I want him to stay, he’s a top player. But like any situation, if a bigger club came calling I can’t say he’d definitely stay as everyone has ambitions.”

Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz has warned his team-mates they must stop their slide soon.

The Teessiders have not won for six games and Pogatetz admitted: “We have to get some points as quickly as possible.

“Of course it’s worrying because that shouldn’t be happening. Our standards should be higher than that.”

FULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer 7, Pantsil 7, Hughes 7, Hangeland 7, Konchesky 6, Davies 7, Bullard 8 (Andreasen 85, 5), Murphy 8 (Etuhu 79, 6), Gera 6 (Zamora 31, 7), Dempsey 7, Johnson 7.

Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Stoor, Kallio.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Turnbull 6, McMahon 6, Riggott 6, Huth 6 (Taylor 85, 5), Pogatetz 6, Johnson 5 (Emnes 80, 5), Shawky 6, Arca 4 (Mido 46, 5), Downing 5, Aliadiere 6, Tuncay 5.

Subs Not Used: Jones, Alves, Wheater, Walker.

REFEREE: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) 3: Should have sent off Julio Arca for a terrible lunge at Andy Johnson, while the penalty decision was pretty shocking.

MATCH RATING: *** Fulham are increasingly impressive and this was one of their best displays of the year.