UK Sport

“It’s not that I don’t enjoy the club itself but he was the reason I came.”

The BBC rather kindly referred to the former Liverpool full back as England International Stephen Warnock, after coming on as seventh (that’s seventh) substitute in the cynical vote-winning friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain.

If Hughes does leave, surely Stephen won’t be issuing a tabloid “Come and Get Me” call to Mark’s new home in nearby Manchester - after his ringing endorsement of the mighty Blackburn Rovers.

But football’s like that. No sooner than a manager is appointed to a club than his whole backroom staff follows, retinue - or more pertinently - entourage-like: this is how they roll, in Sam Allardyce’s case it’s a mob deep roll. Super Sam, by the way, is said to be eyeing the possibly soon to be vacated Ewood Park hotseat - and why not? But when he arrives it’ll become the Ewood Park temporary stand, mark my words.    

Once the manager is safe and secure with all his old pals, the inevitable ‘not fancying’ of the squad they inherit follows. And then the immediate attempted signing of half of their old side - I’m a Leeds United fan, and my fellows will remember with pleasure I’m sure Howard Wilkinson’s comprehensive ransacking of his former Hillsborough cupboard, and Dennis Wise’s decision to buy Chelsea pea Jody Morris for his new pod in Yorkshire.     

The current annoying ex hanging around making soulful glances is of course Jose Mourinho - newly arrived at San Siro to the delight of the blue and black side of Milan. Jose still has eyes for Frank Lampard and maybe more of his Stamford Bridge lovelies.

In his press conference Mourinho also revealed that he had been first officially approached by Inter on the day after Liverpool knocked them out of the Champions League, but, according to the Italian journalist speaking on BBC Radio Five Live he let slip that he had been preparing for the job for seven months! Prescient indeed Jose, special even, sod it, that’s miraculous.