ANDY Murray will not make his views on Scottish independence known because he does not want a repeat of the furore that followed his comments about the England football team.

Murray joked in an interview ahead of the 2006 World Cup that he would be supporting anyone but England and the remark has dogged him ever since.

It is still cited by some English people as a reason not to support him, even though the reigning Wimbledon champion, who lives in England and will not be eligible to vote in September's referendum, has explained many times that it was not a serious comment.

But speaking at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, he said: "I will take a position. My thoughts on it aren't that relevant, because I can't vote myself.

"I wouldn't personally choose to make my feelings on something like that public either because not a whole lot of good comes from it.

"I don't know a whole lot about politics, and I have made that mistake in the past and it's caused me a headache for seven or eight years of my life and a lot of abuse.

"So I wouldn't consider getting involved in something like that ever again."

Murray's comments are a reversal of what he said following his Wimbledon triumph last summer, when he stated he would say what side he was on once he had made up his mind.

However, in an interview earlier last year, he said he was still reading up on the issue. "You need to figure out what's best for the country and then come to an opinion," he said. "I don't think you should judge the thing on emotion, but on what is best economically for Scotland.

"You don't want to come to a snap decision and then see the country go t**s up. I am proud to be Scottish, but I am also proud to be British. I don't think there is any contradiction in that."

Murray received a barrage of abuse when he joked in 2006 that he would back "anyone but England" in the World Cup finals. He later said: "It was a joke. I learned a lot from that; it was definitely tough. I understood then that I needed to grow up, handle myself better and stick up for myself better."

Meanwhile, Labour MP Jim Murphy has been criticised after using the word "s***" to describe the England football team as it heads to this year's World Cup. Asked about the potential impact on September's vote of an England win in Brazil, the East Renfrewshire MP said: "Well, it's not going to happen." Asked why not, he replied: "Because they're s***. You don't know anything about football. If they manage to beat Spain and Germany and Argentina then they'll have changed the rules of the sport. It won't happen. Most people in Scotland are kind of relaxed about it."