Karl Henry won't change, says Mick McCarthy

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy today revealed captain Karl Henry has been affected by being made Public Enemy No 1 — but vowed he wouldn't change.

Henry removed himself from the glare of national publicity this week following the Bobby Zamora leg break at Fulham and has not undertaken any media duties.

That followed hot on the heels of his series of hard but fair tackles on Newcastle's Joey Barton which were highlighted on Match of the Day.

Wolves will be back in the spotlight tomorrow when they visit Tottenham in the Barclays Premeier League.

McCarthy revealed Henry, who shares the same agent Eric Walters as Zamora, had spoken to the Fulham striker, who will be out for five months following the innocuous tackle.

Asked whether his skipper had been affected, McCarthy said: "Yes, of course it has.

"Karl felt deeply for him, and I believe he has spoken to him, which I'd expect him to do.

Empathy

"If you're involved in any such incident then as a fellow professional then you're going to have great empathy, certainly sympathy towards him, but then we all have.

"But it's not going to stop him - it was a great tackle and those things sadly happen.

"He has been highlighted and the irony is in the Fulham game he got booked for dissent.

"But Karl's coping great and he's had a fantastic start to the season. He really has, he's been terrific.

"And he knows my view on it because I've told him he just needs to keep playing the way he is."

McCarthy is angry at any suggestion at wrongdoing on Henry's part.

"It was a fantastic tackle, and there should be no blame or any fingers pointed at Karl.

"There were one or two that I thought were a little out of order, but he - and I guess Bobby know his wasn't intentional, which is the main thing."

By Tim Nash