Hodgson defends his playmaker

Roy Hodgson has defended Jimmy Bullard after press criticism for the midfielder, with the Fulham boss insisting he is not to blame.

Sections of the media accused the former Wigan man for being wasteful in front of goal in Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to West Ham, as the Cottagers fell to back-to-back defeats.

After Fulham dominated for long periods against the Hammers, fingers were pointed at Bullard by some pundits but Hodgson refuses to portion any blame on the England squad member.

The Cottagers boss insisted: "We can't blame him for that. He has scored goals and produced wonderful crosses that maybe kept us in this league, so I will be the last one to criticise him for it."

Hodgson added: "He's disappointed because he sees every one of those situations as a great goal-scoring opportunity and I do as well. It just goes to show how well we did in the second half to get so many opportunities, despite the fact we were playing with 10 men."