Bullard's rescue act against Leicester may not save his Fulham career

Rescue act: Danny Murphy and Jimmy Bullard

Danny Murphy and Jimmy Bullard rescued from embarrassment last night but it will not stop Roy Hodgson efforts to strengthen his midfield with Dickson Etuhu from .

Hodgson says he is "hopeful" of adding Etuhu's muscular presence to the squad before Monday's transfer deadline in a £3million transfer which would cast doubt on Bullard's future in the heart of midfield.

Bullard and Murphy performed their own salvage operation to keep Fulham in the Carling Cup after League One Leicester had come within minutes of knocking them out, in front of a crowd of less than 8,000.

Hodgson's team took a first-half lead when Michael Morrison deflected Zoltan Gera's low cross past his own goalkeeper but the visitors turned the tie upside down within two minutes of the restart.

Paul Dickov bundled in an equaliser after Fredrik Stoor had failed to clear, then Andy King curled a beauty around Mark Schwarzer. It stayed that way until the 84th minute when Bullard levelled from 25 yards.

Hodgson said: 'Jimmy's first half was quite good but in the second half he tried too many long and difficult passes. He gave the ball away and he was very disappointed with himself. But good players have a capacity to still produce and his strike brought us back into it.'

The game was in stoppage time, with extra time looming, when Murphy, the man who's goal saved the club from relegation on the final day of last season, clinched Fulham's place in the third round, with the help of a big deflection.

'He's a 100 per cent man, even when things are not going for him,' said Hodgson, who fielded a strong team because Fulham do not play again for more than two weeks. This weekend's fixture against Manchester United is postponed due to United's participation in the UEFA Super Cup and then there is an international break.

Hodgson insists he will take the Carling Cup "very seriously" but said he won't think about winning it until he's "3-0 up at half-time in the semi-final".

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said: 'The result might be a little bit unfair but I'm pleased with the performance. We gave a good account of ourselves. We played the game in the right way, had a go at them and should have had a penalty.'