Strikers are a temperamental breed. They moan when their team-mates don’t play the perfect through ball, they get upset if they fail to score for a couple of games and just try substituting them midway through the second half. This is the crime Mark Hughes was supposedly guilty of last Saturday when he replaced Benni McCarthy in the 61st minute of Blackburn’s 3-1 win over Newcastle. The South African was reported to have subsequently stormed down the tunnel, got changed and left the ground immediately.
“Mark is aware of the fact Benni wasn’t in the dressing room after the game and he will be meeting with him today to see if there are any issues he wants to raise.
“But he will be surprised if there are.”
Given that Hughes was regularly hot-headed during his playing days, he will possibly have a degree of sympathy with the club’s top goalscorer. This is an asset that Blackburn can ill-afford to lose if they’re to grab a UEFA Cup place or even win a trophy like the Carling Cup this season. Nevertheless, you can guarantee that Sparky will want to make it loud and clear who’s the boss – and it ain’t McCarthy!