Joe Cole keeps TNT Sports role after admitting he dodged Hull City's shock win over Man United

Joe Cole has retained his TNT Sports punditry role despite publicly admitting he deliberately ignored the broadcaster’s request to cover Hull City’s opening Premier League fixture, a match that ended in a shock 2-0 win over Manchester United.

The former Chelsea and West Ham midfielder revealed on the Dressing Room podcast that he put his phone on do not disturb when TNT Sports tried to assign him to Hull’s home clash with Michael Carrick’s side. “I want to make a confession here today, right. TNT Sports have contacted me for the new season,” Cole said. “They’ve tried to slip in the Hull one on the first day of the season. I put my phone on do not disturb!”

The admission drew a sharp reaction from Hull supporters, particularly given Cole’s pre-season verdict on the newly promoted club. He had written the Tigers off before a ball was kicked, saying: “Hull are gone, man. They’ve spent 70 mil, I’ll be stunned if they stay up. They’ve come here through the back door, they’ve slipped in.”

Hull have emphatically defied those predictions. After beating fellow promoted side Coventry City and claiming that opening-day victory over United, they followed up with a goalless draw against Aston Villa at the MKM Stadium — a result that left them third in the Premier League table after three games, behind only Arsenal and Manchester City.

Tigers manager Sergej Jakirovic was measured but encouraged after the Villa stalemate. “I would sign immediately if you’d offered me [seven points]. Immediately,” he said. “But also it’s great for us that we show that we can compete on this level, that we can be dangerous. Still, we are growing here. In every game we will grow and we will be better.”

Mohamed Belloumi struck the crossbar as Hull pushed for a winner against the Europa League holders, underlining the ambition Jakirovic’s side have shown in the early weeks of the campaign.

Despite the controversy, TNT Sports have assigned Cole to their Champions League coverage this week, where he will appear alongside presenter Reshmin Chowdhury and fellow pundit Martin Keown for Napoli’s tie against Arsenal. Hull, meanwhile, face a Carabao Cup trip to Sunderland before another Premier League test — a visit to Chelsea.