Michael Beale insists fans will see a new Rangers side next season – but insists this current version was not broken despite a trophyless campaign. The Light Blues concluded their cinch Premiership season with a comfortable 3-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley, thanks to a double from Fashion Sakala and a third from substitute Antonio Colak. Rangers were already consigned to second place behind treble-chasing Celtic and after 38 fixtures, ended with 92 points, seven behind the Hoops. Since sporting director Ross Wilson left the Ibrox club in April, the former Gers assistant coach, who took over from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst in November, has been more involved in recruitment with Norwich midfielder Kieran Dowell’s pre-contract signing the first of several to come, while the departures of Allan McGregor, Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield and Filip Helander have been confirmed. “Probably the last five or six weeks have been the busiest I’ve ever been,” said Beale. “I’m not shocked by anything in the job or demands. “I was used to it here before but the added responsibility and added time off the pitch, managing other areas and doing recruitment, it’s been busy. “I’m glad the end of season is here if I am honest. But we’re really in a good place. We’re waiting for one or two things to be signed off then we’ll start seeing a new Rangers team come together. “Albeit, we’ve got over 90 points this season which, someone will tell me, but I don’t think we have done that too often in the last 15 or 20 years. When we have, we generally have won the league.” There appeared to be more than a hint of sarcasm in Beale’s voice when he added: “Again, everything is broken at Rangers so I’m looking forward to mending it. That’s the perception, I’m not sure if that’s quite true. “Celtic deserved to win the league this year, they were the outstanding team but our record was a strong one and I believe we’ll be adding to a very good team.” Buddies boss Stephen Robinson, who claimed a “clinical” Rangers side punished St Mirren for “three mistakes”, admitted that it was unlikely that out-of-contract striker Curtis Main would be staying at the Paisley club. The Northern Irishman said: “Curtis is very unlikely to stay. “When you are getting double and triple your money offers in England’s League One and Two then you need to just admit that you are not going to get there. “Curtis has been absolutely excellent for me, he’s been terrific every time he has played and he’s earned the right for possibly one big move. “Even today he was playing with an injection in his foot and he’s given absolutely everything so that’s the kind of quality people we have inside this building and I wish him nothing but the best if he moves on.”

Liverpool have flown Luis Diaz’s parents to Merseyside so they can spend Christmas with their son after their recent kidnapping ordeal. Cilenis Marulanda was freed almost immediately after being taken by guerrilla group the National Liberation Army earlier this month but father Luis Manuel was held captive for 12 days until being released late last week. Diaz was reunited with his parents when he returned to Colombia for international duty and the pair were in the crowd to see their son score both goals in an emotional 2-1 victory at home to Brazil on Thursday. The PA news agency understands that following the game Liverpool paid for a private jet, for security reasons and to help manage the family’s trauma, to bring Diaz’s parents and wider family to Merseyside so they could spend an extended period of time together. Their plane was scheduled to land at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport early on Saturday morning. Since Diaz’s parents were kidnapped, the club have endeavoured to provide the best possible support, with manager Jurgen Klopp allowing Diaz compassionate leave and leaving decisions about when he trained and was available for selection entirely up to the player, in keeping with the family values they believe are vital to the club’s ethos. Diaz will rejoin his family in Liverpool when he returns from international duty after their match in Paraguay on Tuesday. He will be on a flight with the club’s other South American players Alisson Becker, who was beaten twice by his club-mate in their game in Barranquilla in the far north of Colombia, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez – who faced each other in Argentina’s 2-1 defeat by Uruguay – in a plane jointly chartered by a number of Premier League clubs to return their players home as expediently as possible. Liverpool head to Manchester City in a top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad Stadium next Saturday lunchtime. Read More On this day in 2013 – Elena Baltacha announces retirement from tennis England display against Malta ‘not a worry’ ahead of Euros, Gareth Southgate insists Stephen Kenny insists ‘no pressure’ on Evan Ferguson against Netherlands

Nick Pope ensured Newcastle booked their Champions League place with a game to spare as he denied Leicester a priceless victory in their bid for Premier League survival. The Magpies’ £10million summer signing kept out Timothy Castagne’s volley in the second minute of stoppage time with his first save of the game to secure a 0-0 draw on a night when the home side battered at the door but were unable to find a way through. Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron were both denied by the woodwork, but a point was all their team needed to ensure their place among the continent’s big boys for the first time in 20 years. By contrast, Leicester, who are still two points adrift of safety, will head into their final-day clash with West Ham knowing their fate is not in their own hands. Eddie Howe’s men were lauded by a crowd of 52,152 on the final whistle, having secured Champions League football for just the third time in the club’s history and way ahead of the schedule drawn up by the club’s Saudi-backed owners when they took control in October 2021. In some senses it proved to be a frustrating 90 minutes – it might have been more so had key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes seen red rather than yellow for a poor early challenge of Boubakary Soumare – but it was ultimately the bigger picture which mattered. Howe was forced to make a last-minute change when, after he had taken part in the warm-up, midfielder Joelinton was unable to start and was replaced by Elliot Anderson. Any fears the reshuffle might unsettle his team proved unfounded as they took the game by the scruff of the neck amid a party atmosphere at St James’ Park, although Guimaraes was perhaps fortunate to escape with only a booking for his studs-up ninth-minute clash with Soumare. The Magpies dominated possession but in the early stages were unable to find a telling final ball. Almiron, who had made another high-octane start, fired over after cutting inside from the right and Anderson tested goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for the first time with a curling attempt. Alexander Isak was seeing plenty of the ball down the left but sliced a long-range effort well wide as the Magpies piled forward repeatedly without ever really being able to summon up the required precision to make the pressure tell. For their part, City attempted to hit Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho long and early and, although they achieved a measure of success, they met with stubborn resistance from Fabian Schar and Sven Botman. Wilson twice went close to his 19th goal of the season four minutes before the break when he stabbed a shot against a post and then saw Wilfred Ndidi clear his follow-up header off the line, while Almiron was similarly denied by the woodwork before Isak steered the rebound wide seconds later. Wilson headed over from a Kieran Trippier corner in stoppage time after Iversen had misjudged the flight and the half ended goalless. James Maddison entered the fray at the break as a replacement for Iheanacho, but the traffic continued to head very much in the direction of his team’s goal, with Isak and Almiron menacing out wide, although the massed ranks of blue held impressively firm. Iversen had to turn a 59th-minute Isak snapshot over his crossbar and block Sean Longstaff’s 76th-minute drive with a foot, but it was the Foxes who almost snatched victory at the death when Pope was forced into his first save of the game to keep out Castagne’s stoppage-time volley. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Juventus docked 10 points with immediate effect over transfer irregularities Tiger Woods withdraws from next month’s US Open Sean Maitland grateful to have Saracens future sorted ahead of Premiership final

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Lewis Hamilton said the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior evoked painful memories from his own career. Brazil international Vinicius was subjected to monkey chants in his side’s 1-0 defeat at Valencia in LaLiga last weekend. Valencia were given a partial stadium ban for five matches plus a fine of 45,000 euros (£39,000) – a punishment the club called “totally disproportionate” – while Real, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office. Hamilton, Formula One’s sole black driver, experienced racist abuse in Spain at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya in 2008. He also revealed earlier this year he had bananas thrown at him and was repeatedly called the “n-word” at school. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, the 38-year-old said: “It really hits home for me. “It really brings up emotions about things that I experienced, whether it’s back in the UK or whether it was when I was racing in Italy or in France or in Spain. It can be so hurtful the things that people say. “It’s devastating to think that in 2023 we’re still seeing these things and hearing these things. “Firstly, he’s [Vinicius Junior] been incredibly brave. It is amazing what so many of these athletes that are experiencing that on the pitch are doing in terms of standing tall, standing strong and continuing to be humble and not being reactive but being responsible. “There is no room for discrimination in society today. Sports need to do more, we all need to continue to do more. If we see it, and hear it, we need to do something about it.”

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Gary O'Neil has been appointed as the new head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year contract, the Premier League...