SPORTS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013 Mackay vows to Photo of the day stay at Cardiff LONDON: Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay insisted yes- terday he’d no intention of resigning from the Premier League club following the exit of assistant Iain Moody. MacKay’s future at the Welsh capital side was called into question last week when Moody, who’d worked with him at Watford and was responsible for helping the manager recruit new players, left. Cardiff also announced that Alisher Apsalyamov, a 23- year-old from Kazakhstan, reported to be a friend of the son of the club’s Malaysian owner Vincent Tan, and with no known significant previous experience in football, had replaced Moody in an acting capacity. This led to specula- tion that Mackay might quit. However, the Scot, in his first public comments about Moody’s exit during a news con- ference yesterday ahead of today’s match away to Chelsea, said: “As far as I am concerned, again for clarification, under no circumstances was I asked to resign and at no time have I thought of resigning from the football club.” Mackay defended Moody by saying: “Iain is an absolute class act as far as I am concerned. He has done a very impressive job for the football club. “In one of the periods of success at the football club, which we have been in over the last two-and-a-half years, he has had a huge part to Competitor performs at Red Bull Mini Drome in Seoul, South Korea. play in the restructuring of my squad. “He helped bring in — www.redbullcontentpool.com more than 20-odd players and he is someone who had a huge part to play in the current success, who will be missed by everyone who works for out football club. “He leaves with my utmost gratitude and respect. I would say our loss will be someone’s huge gain.” England’s leaker won’t And he insisted Moody had not left because of exces- sive pre-season spending. “One thing I would clarify, as I have read a few things over the past couple of weeks, is be caught, Fowler says that we were absolutely under budget this summer. I want to clarify that. That is what I have to say about Iain.” Mackay, who refused to say if he’s spoken to Apsalyamov, SINGAPORE: Former England forward and Jamaican descent. Hodgson England also needed to accept they also emphasized his good working relationship with new Robbie Fowler yesterday said he issued a statement apologizing for were lagging other nations and Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman. doubted Roy Hodgson would ever any offence but he later told Britain’s improve if they want to make an “Over the last week he has helped draw a line under find the source of a dressing-room Daily Mail that “the players are as impression at the World Cup. “They some of the things that have happened and try and make leak which threatened to spark a race angry about this as I am”. Fowler, 38, get to a lot of tournaments and flatter things better going forward. “Any other questions in terms row around the manager. Fowler said who earned 26 England caps, will play sometimes,” Fowler said. of where that’s concerned, you can ask to discuss with the it was “disappointing” that a player Sunday’s IG Masters tournament “I think the manager (is) and there’s CEO (Simon Lim). “I want to protect the players. I want to leaked details of an ill-judged monkey along with other ex-Liverpool and some players who are very, very good, talk about football, we have a game against Chelsea. I am joke which Hodgson told at half-time Manchester United stars such as Louis but I think there’s other nations out the manager and my job is to look after the football side of of England’s World Cup qualifier Saha and Patrik Berger. there who are better than us at the the club so, with respect, that’s all I will be saying about against Poland. He backed Hodgson’s version of minute. that.” Hodgson apologized for the mis- events, saying the manager “didn’t “We’ve got to accept that and try Tan took over Cardiff in 2010 and helped finance their take but he was said to be furious that mean anything by it”. But he also said and push on a little bit more.” — AFP promotion to the Premier League last season as the club the controversy overshadowed returned to English football’s top flight for the first time in England’s success in clinching a World more than 50 years. But he also angered many Cardiff sup- Cup spot after Tuesday’s 2-0 win. porters by insisting the club change from its traditional “Obviously someone’s said some- blue kit to a ‘lucky’ color of red. Cardiff are currently 14th in thing, we’ve not got a clue who,” the Premier League, a point in front of south Wales rivals Fowler said at the Singapore offices of Swansea.— AFP property firm Castlewood Group, sponsors of the IG Masters Football Sixes tournament. “It is disappointing- Puyol back in Barcelona the fact is, he’s in a dressing room talking and all of a sudden it’s leaked. I squad after months out don’t think he’ll ever get to the bot- tom of it. MADRID: Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has been “But it’s not the first time and it cer- cleared to make his return to action against Osasuna tainly won’t be the last time that today after a seven-month absence following two knee things have been said and got mis- operations. The 35-year-old missed the final few construed.” The incident also suggests months of last season after first going under the knife potentially damaging disloyalty to in March and his comeback was delayed by a second Hodgson in the England camp as they operation to remove a cyst from the same knee in June. begin preparations for next year’s The Spanish international has been back training with tournament in Brazil. England’s his teammates for a number of weeks and his return to Football Association has backed the the squad is a welcome boost for Gerardo Martino with manager over the matter with chair- Barca facing seven games in the next 23 days. man Greg Dyke saying Hodgson was Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano have also been “a man of the highest integrity” and passed fit after overcoming the muscular injuries that has the body’s “full support”. kept them out of Argentina’s final two World Cup quali- Hodgson was reportedly using the fiers last week. However, Gerard Pique, Alexis Sanchez joke, about a monkey on a space mis- and Dani Alves have all been left out of Martino’s 18- sion, to make his point that his players man squad for the trip to Pamplona after playing twice should pass the ball more to winger for their national sides in the past week. —AFP Andros Townsend, who is of Cypriot Robbie Fowler.