VIDEO: Tyrod Taylor injury after self-pass.

Ryan Mason again reiterated he was ready to become Tottenham head coach on a dramatic day in the search for Antonio Conte’s successor after Julian Nagelsmann was ruled out of the running. Nagelsmann has been heavily linked with the post since his shock departure from Bayern Munich at the end of March. The 35-year-old was in the mix for the Spurs job in 2021 before Bayern swooped in at the time. When Conte left Tottenham soon after Nagelsmann’s dramatic exit from the Bundesliga champions, it was anticipated the German coach would again be in the running for the vacancy at the Premier League club. Speculation has rumbled on since but, while Tottenham have great respect for Nagelsmann, they will not be meeting or interviewing him for the role and he is not a contender, the PA news agency understands. Mason remains the current man in post on an acting head coach basis and earlier on Friday listed Eddie Howe as an inspiration after he took the Bournemouth job at the same age of 31. “I’ve always said I’m ready,” Mason insisted ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa. “I’m ready for this moment. I feel like I can help the club. That’s my general feeling and I’ll stay true to that. That’s been my feeling ever since the club trusted me to take on this responsibility. “Obviously, you mentioned Eddie Howe and he is an incredible manager. He’s an inspiration. “I think one, probably not spoken about a great deal as well, is Gary O’Neil. The job that he’s done (at Bournemouth) has gone under the radar a little bit but a young English manager and his first job.” Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace earned Mason a first win during his second stint as Tottenham’s interim boss. During his first spell in 2021, where he won four of his six Premier League games, the former Spurs midfielder was accused by a section of supporters’ of favouritism towards his old team-mates. However, having dropped virtual ever-present Eric Dier last Saturday, Mason shut down those claims. He added: “That’s an absolute myth. I’ve never heard that, but if you’re saying that, it’s not true. “My job is to pick a team that I feel is best capable of winning a football match. It’s not a case of having friends. That was clear two years ago and that’s clear now. “I’m in a position where I need to do a job to the best of our abilities with my coaching team. “We’re professionals so every decision we make is in the best interests of the team and the football club.” Meanwhile, Tottenham talisman Harry Kane has spent some of the past week discussing the club’s current plight during various interviews and regularly referenced how key values had been lost in recent years. Kane mentioned how the culture and environment created by old boss Mauricio Pochettino had to be restored in a hint that his future could lie with Spurs despite continuously being linked with a move away. “I’m happy that I saw him speak out the other day on things that he wants to be in place going forward for this football club because it’s important that our best players drive and push for certain things,” Mason said. “It’s good. I back him. I think what he said is right.” Spurs have endured a difficult campaign with Conte and Cristian Stellini leaving, while Fabio Paratici departed his role as managing director of football after being given a worldwide ban for his role in allegations of false accounting at Juventus. On the pitch, Tottenham failed to go beyond the quarter-final stage in the Champions League, FA Cup or Carabao Cup and can only hope for a sixth-place finish now. But Mason stated: “We’re a big football club with big players, top players. “We have a lot to be successful and a lot to be excited about, so I’m not doom and gloom. Definitely not. We're not in as bad a position as some people might think....hopefully we can kick on and be successful Ryan Mason “I’m optimistic about this club. I believe in the group. I believe in the club. I believe that there’s many people here that want to make it right and want to put it right and be good. “Obviously, it’s been a difficult season for us, it has been quite up and down. I think some of it’s probably been self conflict. It’s come from within at times, which probably shouldn’t happen. “But we’re not in as bad a position as some people might think, we’re in a good position. And hopefully we can kick on and be successful.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Marco Silva wants assurances over Fulham ambition before discussing new deal Brendan Lawlor holds off Kipp Popert to win G4D Open Novak Djokovic makes winning return at Italian Open despite complaints

Wyndham Clark said he was operating on feel as he drained a six-foot birdie putt at 18 on Saturday to seize a share of the US Open lead...

Fernando Santos’ position as Poland coach remains uncertain after he met with the president of the country’s soccer federation following the team’s poor start to European Championship qualifying

Barcelona face Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday. Preview includes team news, predicted lineups, how to watch on TV and more.

New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson could be done for the rest of the season after an MRI revealed a Grade 3 strain to his right calf

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr have been banned from registering new players due to “outstanding debts”, FIFA has said. Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Ronaldo moved to the Middle East in January, with a host of star names having followed since as the kingdom seeks to build the Saudi Pro League into one of the world’s best. However, FIFA has now imposed a ban on the club’s transfer activity. A spokesperson for the global governing body said: “The club Al Nassr is currently prevented from registering new players due to outstanding debts. “The relevant bans will be lifted immediately upon the settlement of the debts being confirmed by the creditors concerned.” Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has an estimated net worth of over 600 billion US dollars (almost £460bn) bought a majority stake in Al Nassr as well as three other Saudi clubs in June. The club have further strengthened their squad with the signing of Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

New York Red Bulls have signed Dylan Nealis to a new contract.

Sean Strickland and Abus Magomedov will square off in a meeting of middleweight contenders this weekend, as the pair clash in a UFC Fight Night main event. American Strickland, 32, is looking to make it back-to-back wins, having beaten Nassourdine Imavov on points in January, following two straight losses last year. Meanwhile, Russian Magomedov, also 32, enters Las Vegas on the back of a three-fight win streak, with all of those wins having come via stoppage. Strickland sits at No 7 in the middleweight rankings as he bids to re-enter the title picture, and he is risking his place in the top 10 here as he faces an unranked opponent in Magomedov. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The event will take place on Saturday 1 July, at the UFC Apex institute in Las Vegas. The prelims are set to begin at 9pm BST (1pm PT, 3pm CT, 4pm ET). The main card is then due to follow at 12am BST on Sunday 2 July (4pm PT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET on Saturday). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Full card (subject to change) Main card Sean Strickland vs Abus Magomedov (middleweight) Damir Ismagulov vs Grant Dawson (lightweight) Max Griffin vs Michael Morales (welterweight) Ariane Lipski vs Melissa Gatto (women’s flyweight) Ismael Bonfim vs Benoit Saint-Denis (lightweight) Brunno Ferreira vs Nursulton Ruziboev (middleweight) Prelims Kevin Lee vs Rinat Fakhretdinov (welterweight) Joanderson Brito vs Westin Wilson (featherweight) Yana Santos vs Karol Rosa (women’s bantamweight) Guram Kutateladze vs Elves Brener (lightweight) Ivana Petrovic vs Luana Carolina (women’s flyweight) Alexandr Romanov vs Blagoy Ivanov (heavyweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year Ilia Topuria makes bold Alexander Volkanovski claim after dominating Josh Emmett Elon Musk picks UFC legend to train him for Mark Zuckerberg fight What time does Strickland vs Magomedov start in UK and US this weekend? How to watch Strickland vs Magomedov online and on TV this weekend When is the next UFC event?

The final season of Pac-12 football is coming down to a thrilling conclusion

VIDEO: Large bull rides shotgun in old police car. Gets pulled over.

Casey Schmitt drew a bases-loaded walk that forced home the go-ahead run in a three-run seventh inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-10 for a seven-game winning streak