List of All Articles with Tag 'football'

Valencia have had their partial stadium closure reduced to three matches and their fine cut to 27,000 euros following the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior by fans. The Spanish Football Federation appeals committee said that it had decided to “partially uphold” Valencia’s appeal. It means the partial closure of the Mestalla Stadium has come down from five matches, with an initial 45,000 euros (£39,000) punishment reduced by 18,000 euros. Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Real Madrid’s LaLiga match against Valencia on Sunday after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Madrid, who said the abuse constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office. Valencia had 10 working days to file an appeal to the appeals committee. LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match. Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read “Racism, out of football”. Vinicius was set to serve a two or three-match ban after being sent off at Valencia, but Spain’s competition committee – a body formed by one member from LaLiga, one from the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) and one from RFEF (Spanish FA) – has rescinded that red card. LaLiga, meanwhile, said it would request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans were guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius incident. According to the country’s law, LaLiga can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out. Four people were arrested in Spain on Tuesday under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January. An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year. And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kris Doolan vows free-scoring Partick will attack Premiership play-off final Jurgen Klopp has ‘no worries’ over Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool Granit Xhaka ‘crucial’ part of surprise Arsenal title challenge – Mikel Arteta

Ryan Mason insists Tottenham are still a “big club” and an attractive proposition for managers despite the ongoing search for a new head coach. Spurs saw another contender to permanently replace Antonio Conte exit the running this week after Feyenoord boss Arne Slot committed his long-term future to the Eredivisie club before he signed a new deal on Friday. Tottenham held an interest in Slot but the PA news agency understands no direct discussions with the 44-year-old took place. Mason is under no illusions the top job at Spurs remains desirable. “It is Tottenham Hotspur, it is a big club. Not just for managers or coaches, but for staff members, for players,” Spurs’ acting head coach said before Sunday’s trip to Leeds. “Anyone here should feel the privilege and honour to represent the badge. If they don’t, then they shouldn’t be here. It is as simple as that. “Maybe these people (like Slot) you might be mentioning, I don’t know who because I’ve not been looking at the press, but if their name is out there, they are not exactly moving themselves away from it. They know it is a big club. “They know if Tottenham and their name is being linked, it is a massive positive for them. “It is a big club, we know it is. Every manager and every coach knows it is a big club, players do, fans do. “You can really feel it when you are here, when you are in our stadium. This will stay a big club and will be attractive for whoever is in charge next season. “I am sure players as well will want to come here. When Conte left his position on March 26 Tottenham were firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, but they travel to relegation-threatened Leeds on Sunday with only a faint chance of securing a place in the Europa Conference League. Mason insisted that, while European football for next season is crucial, the most important task for the club is to put a plan in place. “Obviously it has its implications and it’s not where the football club wants to be. We definitely want to be competing in Europe,” the 31-year-old stated. “Any European competition is important for a club this size but at the same time the most important thing, regardless of whether we’re in or out of Europe, is that there is a plan and there is commitment from everyone to that going forward.” During the last few weeks, Mason has repeatedly referenced the need for commitment at the club without going into specifics. Even before Conte departed two months ago, the future of the Italian was uncertain with his deal set to expire this summer anyway. Mason again refused to be drawn on whether any coaches, players or members of staff had lacked commitment this season, but admitted the squad had been affected by the turmoil off the pitch. He added: “The results before he (Conte) left weren’t amazing. I don’t think results have dipped a huge amount. “Obviously we were in a different position but I think you could feel it, you could feel it the weeks leading up to it there was uncertainty and it’s never great to have that uncertainty. “We’ve probably been in that situation for the last eight weeks where there’s been a lot of uncertainty. “That is why one of my main things when me and my team of people came in, I wanted to create a togetherness and make us feel part of something towards the end of the season.”

Julen Lopetegui admits the uncertainly surrounding his future cannot be allowed to drag on. The former Real Madrid manager’s long-term future at Molineux has been in the spotlight. Financial fair play regulations will impact the club’s spending power this summer and Lopetegui has previously said he only discovered the constraints last week. He has been calling for investment since securing Premier League safety and the manager will continue to speak to chairman Jeff Shi about what backing he will receive – but knows there needs to be a quick resolution. He said: “I hope – we will see. “I want to solve the problems. Maybe me or the club aren’t able to solve them 100 per cent, but I think we have to try, for our fans, for our club, for our history and for our future. “If we want to be demanding in the future we have to demand now with ourselves and with this summer. “I have a contract and I’ve been here for six months. I’m very happy here and I hope I can continue being happy here. “But we have a problem and we must be honest and look each other in the eyes to try to solve the problems. “Maybe not 100 per cent, but maybe 80 per cent, who knows? “This is all. About my future, I have a contract and we will see what is going to happen, This is football, we don’t know. “We have to talk, it’s not about one or two days. We have to talk about the solution and the future to be able to have a squad ready to compete again. “This year has been a wake-up call. We have to learn why it has happened and to overcome and make our homework this summer. It’s not about one or two days. We need a clear picture. “It’s important to have the squad ready. Maybe not 100 per cent of players but maybe 90 per cent. For me it’s very important, to have the squad ready to start working with us on July 1.” Wolves to go Arsenal for Sunday’s Premier League finale and Joao Moutinho will not feature and is likely to have played his last game for the club as he is out of contract in the summer. Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) is out while Lopetegui himself is banned from the touchline for collecting four yellow cards. He added: “On Sunday we have an important match because it’s the last of the season. They have been very close to winning the Premier League and will want to make a good match in front of their fans. We have to be ready to compete with them.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp does not believe Mohamed Salah will be looking for an escape route in search of Champions League football. Writing on social media after Manchester United’s win over Chelsea on Thursday consigned Liverpool to the Europa League next season, the Egypt forward said he was “devastated” and there was “absolutely no excuse” for not finishing in the Premier League’s top four. Last summer the 30-year-old signed a new contract, making him the highest-paid player in the club’s history, but even if next term goes to plan and they regain their place in the Champions League he will be close to entering the final 12 months of that deal. Asked whether he was concerned about Salah’s immediate future after his rare public statement, Klopp said: “No worries, no. I only heard what he said but I couldn’t read anything that could lead in that direction. “Obviously Mo loves being here and Mo was part of it. He said apologies for what ‘we’ did – not apologies for ‘what the other guys did, but I had to go with them’. It is all fine. “If ever a player would come to me and said, ‘oh, we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, I have to leave’, I would drive him to the other club myself. “I would take the key, (and say) ‘come in the car, where do you want to go, I drive you’. “That would be something I never could understand. It is, I would say, ‘oh, we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, I need to work in the Champions League so I go’.” Klopp said if that was a mentality he accepted he too would be looking to leave. “I am responsible for this mess, or whatever, so you cannot go in these moments,” he added. “It is not the case with Mo, not at all, and nobody else told me. They ask if they can have a longer holiday or whatever – but nobody asks me if after the holiday they have to come back. “So that was not in our conversation. “I saw him now in the canteen and he was smiling. I don’t know for which reason as I didn’t ask him, but he is not in a bad mood. That’s it. “We didn’t point fingers at each other. That’s all good. If you don’t qualify for the Champions League, the best place you can possibly end up is fifth, so that’s what we did. We didn't deliver what everybody wanted or expected but we are still really united, that's the good thing about it Jurgen Klopp “If you’d have asked me 10 games ago if that was possible, I’d have said no. That the boys did that is really good but it’s not perfect. “We didn’t end up fifth because of the last 10 games, we ended up there because of the lack of consistency before that. “We didn’t deliver what everybody wanted or expected but we are still really united, that’s the good thing about it.” Failure to qualify for the Champions League is set to cost Liverpool at least £50million next season but there may be implications in the shorter term as UEFA’s second-tier competition is likely to be less attractive to leading players. The club have already pulled out of the running for primary target Jude Bellingham after the asking price for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder became prohibitive, and reports this week suggested Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount’s preferred destination is Manchester United. Klopp is keen to get his business done early and is hopeful finishing fifth will not put a spanner in the works of their planning. “I don’t think so but we will see. That is obviously possible, it’s always possible things don’t go as quick as you want. It’s not only possible, it is probably likely,” he added ahead of Sunday’s final match of the season at Southampton. “The better the players you want the lesser is the desire of the other club to let him go and that’s exactly what we are prepared for. “But it’s a long window and a long pre-season and a long break in-between so we have time. If we get in players tomorrow or in six or seven weeks it is not a game-changer for me to be honest. “In an ideal world they all sign tomorrow and I can tell them when to be here and we can start giving them the plans for the summer break but that will not likely happen.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Granit Xhaka ‘crucial’ part of surprise Arsenal title challenge – Mikel Arteta Michael O’Neill to put faith in youth as injuries pile up for Northern Ireland Tottenham is a big club – Ryan Mason sure Spurs job still attractive proposition

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan declared they would attack the cinch Premiership play-off final with the same mentality that has seen them score 16 goals in four games. The Jags set up a two-legged final against Kilmarnock or Ross County with a 5-0 semi-final second-leg victory over 10-man Ayr at Somerset Park. Looking ahead to next Thursday’s first leg, Doolan said: “They are Premiership sides for a reason but we have a one-track mentality, we want to go up. “We haven’t limped into the play-offs, we have not sat back and absorbed pressure, we have been the team in the ascendancy. That won’t change in the final.” A double from Scott Tiffoney and goals from Jack McMillan, Steven Lawless and Kevin Holt completed an 8-0 aggregate victory. Doolan said: “It’s a statement of what we’re capable of. To score five goals in a play-off game under the pressure that comes was brilliant to watch. “We’ve got stronger as these games have gone on and we spoke about that. “I’ve been on the other side of it as a Premiership side when you’re used to losing games and you come up against a Championship side who are used to winning. We’ve built a winning environment here. “We will rest up and be ready for the next challenge ahead and come into it confident.” Ayr’s top goalscorer Dipo Akinyemi was sent off in the 25th minute after lashing out at Aaron Muirhead and appearing to catch the defender’s chin with his forearm. “I’ve not seen it so I am being careful not to comment on it but I felt there was a foul on him prior to that and he has reacted,” said Ayr manager Lee Bullen, who bemoaned defensive errors over the two legs. “But you can’t react and you can’t lift your hands. By the letter of the law he probably does go but if he gets the foul in the first place he maybe doesn’t raise his hands.” Meanwhile, Bullen was in the dark over rumours that Dundee had approached Ayr for permission to speak to him over their vacant managerial position. “I have not heard a dickie bird,” he said. “Nothing at all, absolutely nothing at all. I have got a job to do at Ayr, we are still in the early parts of that, building a story at Ayr United and I have genuinely not heard a thing from Dundee at all.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jurgen Klopp has ‘no worries’ over Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool Granit Xhaka ‘crucial’ part of surprise Arsenal title challenge – Mikel Arteta Michael O’Neill to put faith in youth as injuries pile up for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill will be leaning on young players again for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers with injuries continuing to limit his options. O’Neill is yet to confirm a date to name his squad for the qualifiers away to Denmark and at home to Kazakhstan in mid-June, but he has already ruled seven senior players out of contention due to long-term injuries. Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson will play no part in the matches, which has meant O’Neill has had his eye on potential call-ups while leading an under-21 training camp in Belfast this week. O’Neill is due to hold two training camps in England between now and the qualifiers, trying to keep players whose seasons have already finished fit during the intervening period, and some of the under-21s will be involved. “This is where this is really important to us,” O’Neill said. “We will use some of these players in the next weeks and this gives them some exposure to the senior squad. “We know Steven and Stuart are still injured, Corry and Liam Boyce are still not back playing any first-team football, Josh Magennis will be out, Conor Washington is out and Shane Ferguson has had groin surgery, so that’s seven players that’s missing. “It is going to challenge us. We had younger players in the squad for March and we will have younger players again next month.” Dallas has been out all season following a double leg-break, meaning the versatile player has been unable to help Leeds in their fight against relegation. With Jonny Evans’ Leicester also under threat going into the final day of the top-flight season on Sunday, Northern Ireland could potentially be left without any Premier League regulars next season. However, O’Neill said that would not necessarily have a major impact on the national team. “I realise that as the Premier League continues to go in the direction it goes that we will always have a limited number of players playing in the Premier League,” he said. “Probably when I came into the job in 2012 we had most of our players playing there, maybe six or seven at that point in time, but it was also a time when the international team was not doing particularly well. “The most important thing is that players are playing regularly. Going forward we will predominantly be made up of Championship and League One players, hopefully some Premier League players as well, that’s just something we have to accept. “It’s very difficult for some of the younger lads who are at Premier League clubs to find that pathway to break in. In the Premier League there is no patience, managers can’t afford it. You can lose your job – and you see the number of changes in the Premier League and Championship this season. “I would love to be going to Premier League matches every week but I’m not. I’m going to Championship, League One, League Two, Scottish Premiership and under-21 games in England. I’m going to see Isaac Price and Shea Charles playing under-21 games. “That’s where we are with the resources we have.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tottenham is a big club – Ryan Mason sure Spurs job still attractive proposition Julen Lopetegui wants to ‘solve the problem’ amid doubts over his Wolves future Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League

Mikel Arteta praised the influence of Granit Xhaka in helping Arsenal carve out their surprise title challenge this season but would not be drawn on whether the midfielder will still be at the club next season. Xhaka has been a key figure alongside Thomas Partey in Arteta’s midfield this campaign, becoming a respected leadership presence and redeeming himself in the eyes of supporters after a public spat in 2019 threatened his place in the squad. Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have been heavily linked with a move for the 30-year-old, whose contract is due to expire at the end of next season. He spent four years in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach before Arsene Wenger brought him to Arsenal in 2016 for around £30million, but he endured a strained relationship with fans culminating in a confrontation as he was substituted during a game against Crystal Palace at the Emirates four years ago. Then manager Unai Emery subsequently stripped him of the captaincy and his time at the club looked to be over. But this season has seen a full rehabilitation for the Switzerland international as Arsenal ran Manchester City to the final weeks of the season for the title and returned to the Champions League after a six-year absence. “For me (he’s been) crucial – really, really important at every level, and I think for the team and the club as well,” said Arteta, who said he would not comment on the futures of any of his side until after Sunday’s Premier League finale against Wolves. “In the great moments like this season he has had, and in the difficult ones, because I think we have become a better club and better people and we have understood certain situations much better than just judging them. “I think the club and a lot of people have done really good to dig in there to understand what happened emotionally and why those reactions were happening. “Having the courage to say, ‘OK, turn around to the situation, face it’. There’s going to be a moment of doubt but if you believe in what you’re doing and you go face-to-face and you say what you feel, normally things work out pretty well. “When you look how he behaved. We have some others who are absolutely a joy for those boys, the way they treat them. And he has an honest and unique willingness to help them. It’s not an act, it’s genuine. “It makes the difference. We have four or five in that dressing room who have been critical for these players to grow, to have the right support, to inspire them and in the right moment to challenge them when it’s necessary to get them in the right direction when they are tempted to go somewhere else. You need that in that dressing room.” Arteta said he would take the time to recharge himself after a draining campaign in which Arsenal led the table for 248 days before slipping away, a record for any side that has failed to win the title. The team were eight points clear as recently as early April before a string of draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton weakened their advantage, allowing Manchester City to finally overtake them with a thumping 4-1 win at the Etihad. The manager predicted the challenge will be even tougher if Arsenal aim to prevent City from winning a record fourth-straight crown, but planned to switch off from football for a period over the close season. He has an honest and unique willingness to help them. It’s not an act, it’s genuine Mikel Arteta on Granit Xhaka “I have the necessary energy to go into the last game and really feel again that connection, play well, win the game and finish the season in the right way,” he said. “Then I have another kind of energy without that being so physical and so demanding and being there every single day but to have the time to think as well; to plan what we want to do, to try execute it, but to recharge my batteries as well next to my family, next to my friends, on a beautiful beach just not thinking about football. “It’s very important (to be able to switch off). Me personally I have to get better at that but I think I have some good help around.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jurgen Klopp has ‘no worries’ over Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool Michael O’Neill to put faith in youth as injuries pile up for Northern Ireland Tottenham is a big club – Ryan Mason sure Spurs job still attractive proposition

Liam Kelly insists “sleeping giant” Coventry must avoid letting the occasion of a Wembley play-off final ruin their Premier League dream. Coventry, one of the Premier League’s founder members in 1992, will end a 22-year exile from the top flight if they overcome Luton in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final on Saturday. Victory would cap a remarkable journey for Coventry and Kelly as the veteran midfielder was part of the Sky Blues team which beat Exeter in the League Two play-off final at Wembley in 2018. “The attention surrounding this game is more (than 2018), but on a personal level it’s just the same for me,” said skipper Kelly. “We were expected to be promoted from League Two and League One, but at the start of the season I don’t think anyone expected us to be in this position. “When I came here I don’t think many people envisioned where the club would be now. It’s been a great journey. “It’s a big club and it’s been a sleeping giant for a while, but we’ve seen the support the last few years.” Coventry took 42,500 fans to Wembley when they beat Oxford to win the EFL Trophy in 2017. This time the Sky Blues have sold their allocation of 36,237 tickets for a game described as one for the romantics given Luton’s rise from non-league football over the past decade. Luton ended the campaign two places higher and with 10 points more than Mark Robins’ Coventry, but their two games in the regular season were both drawn. Kelly said: “Luton finished third and are one of the best teams in the Championship. “It’s going to be a fantastic day but at the same time you can’t let the occasion get the best of you. “You’ve got to realise what’s at stake and use that energy from the crowd to achieve what we want to. “I remember it (2018 play-off final) went really quickly, but you’ve got to go out and be on it rather than be overawed by it. “We just have to go with the momentum and not overthink it, realise where our form has taken us and give everything to try to win this game. “Sometimes the best way to get into the play-offs is to creep into it in the last couple of weeks, which we’ve managed to do, and we can take confidence from that.” Kelly has made 160 appearances for Coventry after being relegated out of the English Football League as a Leyton Orient player in 2017. But the 33-year-old could be playing his final game at Wembley as he is coming to the end of his contract and facing an uncertain future. He said: “I won’t pay too much attention to that. I just want to concentrate on this final and we can sort everything out at the end of the season. “I just want to get that winner’s medal round my neck.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League Tyson Fury: I have sent Anthony Joshua a draft contract for Wembley fight Sean Abbott equals Blast record with stunning century for Surrey

Bryan Harsin is having the time of his life away from coaching Auburn football into the ground.After the worst tenure of Auburn football we have seen in over a century, Bryan Harsin is having the time of his life away from the coaching profession.Harsin recently spoke with ESPN's Chris ...

One thing is for sure: Deion Sanders will get butts into seats to see Colorado play football.It may take a year or so before they start winning more games than they lose, but Deion Sanders has so much positive momentum working for him at Colorado.The greatest cover cornerback in NFL history ...

Wigan Athletic’s campaign ended in disappointing fashion after they were relegated from the Championship, bottom of the table - and 2023/24 is set to start in equally bad fashion. The Latics were handed a four-point deduction for next season by the EFL after failing to pay players’ wages on time, with that reduction set to impact on their immediate start to life in League One. However, they were also given a second suspended four-point penalty which would come into effect if either the club owner failed to deposit a required amount to more than cover payments into a designated account by 24 May or if Wigan failed to pay wages again between now and the end of next term - and that second penalty has now been activated, meaning they’ll start 23/24 on minus eight points. The EFL confirmed on Friday that they had requested Wigan owner Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi deposit funds equating to 125% of their “forecast monthly wage bill” into the club account. A statement from the organisation added they had “spent the past 48 hours in dialogue with the Club in an attempt to find a positive outcome” before confirming the additional points penalty had been executed. This follows Wigan being late with two instances of paying players, on Friday 24 March instead of Friday 10 March and on Tuesday 16 May instead of Friday 5 May. They had also been charged with misconduct following three late instances of payments in 2022. A statement from the club confirmed they intended to consider an appeal. “The football club has been very transparent with the EFL, who have had clear visibility of the eight-figure sum to finance the remainder of this season and the whole of next season,” it said. “The club will now consider all options open.” Wigan also revealed their intent to restructure the club financially, appearing to suggest that promotion to the Championship ahead of schedule caused cash flow problems as a result of the need to “strengthen again in the summer and in the January Transfer Window” which left “the wage budget...unfortunately becoming more and more unmanageable”. A series of meetings have agreed a wage budget for next season which will be 65% lower than this year, while the club anticipate beginning life back in the third tier with a new CEO and sporting director in place as well as greater emphasis on youth development. While that should lead to a more sustainable future, given they’ll start the year eight points adrift already, fans will no doubt be fearing that could lead to a second successive season with Wigan fighting against relegation. Read More It’s his problem – Frank Lampard says next Chelsea boss has to turn club around ‘Business as usual’ as Chelsea look to wrap up Women’s Super League title Andy Pilley steps down as chairman and director of Fleetwood

Frank Lampard said turning around Chelsea’s fortunes will be the next manager’s problem as he prepares to bow out from his interim role after Sunday’s game against Newcastle. The team’s wretched season slumped to a new low with a 4-1 thumping against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday, the ninth defeat of Lampard’s 11 games in charge. If results go against them on the final day they could finish as low as 14th and equal their worst placing in the Premier League era. They are already guaranteed to end with their lowest points tally in the competition, with the fewest number of goals the club have scored in a Premier League campaign. Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be appointed as the club’s next permanent manager in the coming days and his in-tray will include quickly slimming down a bloated first-team squad and installing cohesion in a team that has lost its way since Graham Potter was sacked in April. Chelsea have won only once in the almost two months since Potter was removed seven months into a five-year contract, and the task of rediscovering the team’s form has seemingly grown more daunting with each defeat. A remedy has proved beyond Lampard in his short time in charge, and he was asked whether the incoming manager will have the toughest job of any Chelsea boss in the last 20 years. “It’s a good headline but I don’t know,” said Lampard. “It remains to be seen, I can’t jump into the future. “I think it is a fantastic job because it is the Chelsea job and when I took it first time (in 2019) I came I probably got it it was because a lot of top managers didn’t want that, I know that for a fact. “I enjoyed the process and I enjoyed coming in and I wish the new manager well. “I don’t know… it’s his problem I guess – is that the headline you wanted?” One of the hindering factors during Lampard’s reign has been the size of the squad, with 34 first-team players vying for selection following co-owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind transfer activity during his first 12 months in control. It has meant limited playing time for younger members of the squad, even those signed for large fees and with high expectations. Carney Chukwuemeka joined from Aston Villa for £20million last summer but has struggled for minutes, whilst Noni Madueke arrived for £29m from PSV Eindhoven and has featured just 11 times. Both players started the loss at Old Trafford and played 82 minutes before being substituted and Lampard said he was pleased with the application of players that came in having not been regulars in the side. “I don’t want to go into individuals,” he said. “I thought Carney did really well (against United) coming in to midfield with personality. It has been one of the harder parts of my job with the numbers in the squad. “Going with a team to win important games and working with the younger players who we haven’t seen before because normally there is a process and a pre-season. “We haven’t had that time. I thought Carney did well, I thought Noni did pretty well again and the flip of that was that Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta) was fantastic with his captaincy and attitude. “It is 70 per cent of the game how you apply yourself and your attitude.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aryna Sabalenka to begin French Open against player who ‘hates’ her Andy Pilley steps down as chairman and director of Fleetwood ‘Business as usual’ as Chelsea look to wrap up Women’s Super League title