Andy Hinchcliffe received a major boost from manager Howard Kendall as the big Anfield derby match countdown began in earnest. The blues’ boss blasted lingering rumours concerning a rift between himself and the former Manchester City full-back and emphasized the point by handing out a glowing tribute to the man who scored in their wim over Nottingham Forest.
Howard Kendall said “Andy was outstanding. It’s a pity the goal was surrounded by so much controversy, because those sort of strikes aren’t easy when you have all the players lining up and the goalkeeper ready to pounce. Hopefully this will disprove that story once and for all. Kenny has done well. But I made the decision to recall Andy at Chelsea on how well he had been looking in training. I’ve explained before that the only reason I sold Andy from City was that I was getting another left-back and a considerable cash adjustment, which enabled me to go for Tony Cottee. And I felt at the time we needed a goalkeeper. Andy could consider himself very unlucky to be left out earlier in the season when Martin Keown recovered from injury. “
