Shorey hints at Fulham switch

Defender enjoying his football; Murphy calls for league focus

Last updated: 26th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Shorey hints at Fulham switch

Shorey: Happy at Craven Cottage

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Nicky Shorey has told Fulham he is willing to consider a permanent move to Craven Cottage.

The Aston Villa left-back joined the Cottagers in the January transfer window and has been a mainstay in Roy Hodgson's starting XI for Premier League fixtures.

Shorey's spell in West London expires in the summer, but the former Reading man has not ruled out extending his stay.

"At the moment I am not too sure what will happen, but I'm not in the picture at Villa so I do have to think about that," said the one-time England international.

"I'm enjoying my time here and it will definitely be something that I consider when the time comes."

Strange

Shorey should feature at the KC Stadium against Hull City this weekend, but the defender will not play against Wolfsburg in Fulham's quarter-final Europa League tussle on Thursday as he is ineligible.

And the 29-year-old admits watching games like the famous win over Juventus from the sidelines has been tough.

"It's a strange situation really, and in a lot of ways it's worse than being injured," he said.

"When a player misses games through injury it's an enforced absence, but when you are fit and ready to play but still not getting a look in it's hard to take. It was a frustrating time and hopefully one I won't experience again."

Kick-on

Fulham's hopes of silverware looked like it was beginning to take its toll on their league form last weekend as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to UEFA Champions League chasing Manchester City.

And skipper Danny Murphy, who scored from the penalty spot in that reverse, has told his team-mates not to forget their league duties as they go in search of European glory.

"Regardless of what is going on in other competitions, we still want to kick on and maintain our top-half placing," said Murphy, whose side were knocked out of the FA Cup this week.

"All through the season I've talked about our character and strength and every member of the squad deserves credit because over the past eight months everyone has played their part.

"When you look at the difference between now and last season, when we played a similar team for the majority of it, it shows how much the squad has developed. I think it has made us a stronger club."