Chiedozie Ogbene has admitted he feels sorry for under-fire Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after his lingering hopes of Euro 2024 qualification were finally dashed. Kenny’s reign seemingly reached the point of no return on Friday night when a 2-0 home defeat by Greece left his team with just three points from a possible 18 in Group B and mathematically unable to clinch a place in the top two. Ireland head for Gibraltar on Monday evening with only pride at stake and while Kenny received assurances last week that he would remain in charge until after next month’s fixtures, discontent with the direction of travel under his charge has reached fever pitch. I actually feel sorry for the manager Republic of Ireland international Chiedozie Ogbene Asked about the manager’s future, Luton striker Ogbene reflected on early chances which went begging and said: “Had we scored those chances, then the game would be different. “We would have been 2-0 up. But we didn’t take those chances and a positive start ends up negatively. “I actually feel sorry for the manager. We were not sharp in our decision-making and overall it is disappointing, the result.” Kenny took over from Mick McCarthy in April 2020 and vowed to shake up the squad he inherited. He has since blooded a new generation of young players and tried to implement a more progressive brand of football. Unfortunately for him, potential has not yielded results and his team have won just five of the 27 competitive games they have played. Four of those victories have come against lower-ranked sides – Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Armenia and Gibraltar – with a Nations League success against Scotland the exception. Qualification from a group which also includes World Cup runners-up France and the Netherlands was always a big ask, but five defeats in six games tell their own story. Even a handsome victory over Gibraltar in Faro would do little to quell the negativity surrounding Kenny’s reign, but Celtic defender Liam Scales, who made his senior international debut against Greece, insists there will be no shortage of motivation. Scales said: “Look, it’s never hard to lift yourself to play for your country. Obviously I’ve only done it once, but the lads will tell you that it’s the best thing you can do as a footballer. “As players, we’ll be motivated to go there and put on a performance. As disappointed as we are, it’s playing for the jersey now. “Obviously qualification is done and that’s that. But we’re playing for the jersey and pride now. We’re all proud to be wearing the jersey and we’ll go to Gibraltar, hopefully get a result and do better.” Read More Gareth Southgate questions why England fans booed Jordan Henderson Stephen Kenny admits Republic of Ireland ‘needed to win’ against Greece Ben Davies: Wales go into Croatia clash believing anything’s possible Matty Jones says late Wales Under-21s draw in Czech Republic ‘feels like a win’ Stephen Kenny under pressure as Ireland’s qualification hopes come to end England and Australia observe silence for those killed in Israel and Gaza

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England forward Beth Mead says she will “try my hardest” to make the summer’s World Cup while admitting “it may be a little bit too soon”. Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros on home soil last year, has been sidelined since suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Arsenal in November. In March, England boss Sarina Wiegman said she was planning for the World Cup without Mead, adding: “If a miracle happens and she goes so fast (in her recovery), then we will reconsider it – but at this moment I don’t expect that.” Speaking on Wednesday as she received an MBE at Windsor Castle for services to football, Mead told the PA news agency: “I’m back on the pitch, back kicking a ball. So it’s starting to be a little bit more normal again, but it’s been a long, tough period. “I will try my hardest to get as close to that as possible. But (the World Cup) may be a little bit too soon for me this time around.” Mead also told Sky Sports she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery, before adding that her World Cup participation is “out of my control”. The showpiece in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, with Wiegman set to name her squad for the tournament later this month. Mead is one of four Arsenal players to have sustained ACL injuries this season, with England captain Leah Williamson another, along with Vivianne Miedema and Laura Wienroither. On the broader picture in terms of ACL injuries, Mead told PA: “I think there’s more that can be done. Obviously, we’ll be delving into that a lot more as individuals and as a club and in the women’s game in general. “I think it’s becoming like six more times likely than male players and we’ve got that figure and that’s something that can help. “It’s a long injury and you don’t want to be seeing any player going out with it, but some of the best players that you want to be seeing in World Cups and things like that (have sustained the injury). “We’ll try and help push that out there more and get more research done on that.” Also receiving an MBE on Wednesday was Mead’s England team-mate Lucy Bronze, who has been out of action herself after undergoing knee surgery last month. The Barcelona defender, whose club play Wolfsburg in the Champions League final on June 3, said: “I think (the World Cup) is really far in the future and I should be back training within a few weeks now. The surgery was two weeks ago but very minor compared to some of the other girls. “I’m hoping to get back fit for the Champions League final.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ben Stokes left out of Chennai Super Kings side despite return to fitness Joy Neville to make history as first woman to officiate at men’s Rugby World Cup Jarrod Bowen knows from Danny Dyer what a trophy would mean to West Ham fans

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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier remains “part of this team” despite his absence from Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford. Dier was one of several senior players left out of the Spurs squad along with Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele. Postecoglou has been honest about the need for Tottenham to offload players during the final weeks of the transfer window, but he suggested nothing should be read into Dier’s absence. Reports on Sunday which linked Dier with a move to Saudi Arabia were later shut down and he trained at Hotspur Way earlier that day, but he may have to assess his playing options now he seems to be fifth choice at centre-back. “Eric is part of this team. We left a few out,” Postecoglou said. “We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players. “Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection. “My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.” Dier was a regular under Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte and made 42 appearances last season. The summer arrival of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg has pushed Dier down the pecking order and despite featuring in pre-season, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez appear to have also moved ahead of him. Dier joined Spurs in 2014 but was snubbed for the captaincy roles with Son Heung-min named skipper and James Maddison and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero listed as vice-captains. Romero was part of a new-look defence at Brentford with debuts handed to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Van de Ven and left-back Destiny Udogie. Postecoglou added: “Obviously we had Micky, Destiny and Vic, three of our back five, making their debut for the clubs and anyone will tell you when it comes to the defensive side of the game, the more understanding you have, the better you are. “We obviously took a bit of a gamble throwing them all in but I thought all three handled themselves really well. It is not an easy place to come, you get put under pressure with balls coming into the box and I thought they all handled themselves really well. Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He's working hard in training and available for selection. Ange Postecoglou on Eric Dier “Micky has only had three sessions with us so I could have waited to put him in there, but my feeling is he will be a very good footballer for us and the quicker we introduce him to Premier League football the better he will be.” Sunday marked the start of the post-Harry Kane era for Tottenham, but his departure to Bayern Munich on Saturday night did not alter the plans of Brentford too much. Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “No, that is the short answer. Of course he is a different type to Richarlison. He is the England number nine compared to the Brazilian number nine. “That we know and the only tweak would have been that if Kane drops down deep, we would have needed to be aware of his fantastic passing skills and get closer to him. “Richarlison is more about the runs but our game plan is our game plan with the things we believe in.”

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