Coventry boss Adrian Boothroyd will talk to disgraced striker Marlon King when he is released from prison.
Disgraced striker set to be released from prison
Coventry boss Adrian Boothroyd will talk to disgraced striker Marlon King when he is released from prison next week but has no plans to offer him a contract.
King was jailed for 18 months last October for sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm to a woman in December 2008 but will be out in time for the new football season.
Boothroyd managed King during the pair's time together at Watford but insists he will be offering nothing more than a supportive ear to the forward for the time being.
King's agent, Tony Finnigan, has claimed interest in the former Wigan, Hull City and Middlesbrough man's services is high despite his spell behind bars.
Grave mistake
Boothroyd told
talkSPORT: "People put two and two together and come up with the answer that he will be joining Coventry as soon as he gets out.
"Marlon's still in prison and I'm sure as soon as he does come out he may well give me a call. We may well have a chat but that's as far as it will go.
"I don't condone for a second what happened with Marlon since he left Watford but I know Marlon. I know Marlon King the dad, Marlon King the husband and Marlon King the footballer.
"I'm not going to just throw someone on the scrapheap just because he made a mistake, as grave a mistake as that might be."
Moral responsibility
Boothroyd accepts that dealing with King represents a potential ethical minefield but is ready to confront that head on.
"Clubs have a moral responsibility to fans and to communities but we all have a responsibility as human beings not to turn your back on people," he said.
"It would be the easiest thing in the world not to take the call but I think it's something that needs dealing with.
"Will people want to sign Marlon King? I'm absolutely sure. Will they have to think long and hard about what they do? Absolutely. Will they have to weigh up the pros and cons? Absolutely.
"And when you know him and you've worked with him and you know the good and the bad then you have to take that decision. But we are nowhere near that decision yet."
