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Ali McCann is getting his first taste of working with Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill this summer and is already noticing the difference. The Preston midfielder missed O’Neill’s first games back in charge of the national team in March through injury, but is in the squad for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier away to Denmark and next week’s home fixture against Kazakhstan. McCann was one of the first players elevated from the under-21s when former Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough was in charge, making his debut in October 2020, but had since been told what to expect under O’Neill by his team-mates. He has now been able to see it for himself. “It’s been great,” he said. “Even the last two training camps getting back into the swing of it has been good. “I’ve only heard good things, and you can see that on the training pitch. The coaching from all the staff, they all seem great. It’s quite exciting.” O’Neill is known for his meticulous planning and attention to detail, and that has been a stand-out feature for McCann. “I’ve noticed that massively,” he added. “All of the sessions we’ve done have had a purpose, so that bodes well going forward and if we can get it right going into Friday, we give ourselves a big chance.” Northern Ireland know they will be second-favourites in Copenhagen, with the trip to Denmark the most difficult fixture on paper in Group H. The challenge has only been increased by the long injury list facing O’Neill, and McCann’s return is a welcome one with Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas and Corry Evans still missing from the engine room. “It is not great with all those names being injured but that happens in football and it gives an opportunity for other people to step up,” McCann said. “If I do manage to play on Friday and Monday I’ll be giving it my all to get a result for the lads.” Should he play, McCann can expect to come up against a Denmark midfield anchored by Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen – a challenge the 23-year-old would embrace. “He’s quality,” McCann said of Eriksen. “You’ve seen it in the Premier League for years and for Denmark for years. “You just have to get close to him, because if you give him time and space to pick passes then he’ll be able to cut you open. I’m sure we’ll need to be aggressive. He won’t like if we get close to him and put a foot in, so that’ll be part of it. “You want to play these players because that’s the type of games you play football for. “I’ll be looking forward to it. It’s not just him, they have a squad full of quality. We will go there with a game plan and if we get it right we can definitely come away with something.” McCann is coming off a season in which he made 35 appearances for Preston as they finished 12th in the Championship, six points off the play-off places. But the Premier League remains the goal, and McCann wants to take inspiration from Luton reaching the top flight. “We were kind of in with a sniff (of a play-off place) over the last few games but just fell short,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t go and try to replicate what Luton have done, take that next step. “It’s a case of seeing what faces come in. We had a few loan players, there’s going to be a bit of turnover at the club this summer, so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we’ll bring in some quality.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rob Page welcomes break for Brennan Johnson ahead of Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifiers Brooks Koepka ready to ‘enjoy the chaos’ as he targets yet another major title Andy Murray left shaken by ‘heartbreaking’ Nottingham incident

The New York Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner says he’s open to other baseball owners’ consideration of proposing a salary cap for 2027, but only if small-market teams like the Oakland Athletics are subject to a payroll floor, too

Wales boss Rob Page has welcomed Brennan Johnson getting a late-season breather at Nottingham Forest ahead of Euro 2024 qualifying duty. Johnson has made over 50 appearances for the third successive season, featuring in every one of Forest’s 38 Premier League games as Steve Cooper’s side secured their top-flight status. But the 22-year-old forward appeared jaded in the closing weeks of the campaign and was dropped to the bench for two of Forest’s final three games. “You have to manage the pressure on your players and it’s probably not the worst thing that he’s found himself out of the team for the last few games,” Page said ahead of Wales’ Euro 2024 home qualifier against Armenia on Friday. “Because he scored so many goals, and because he is a constant threat – one of the best counter-attacking footballers in the Premier League – he set a precedent. “But you can get a level of inconsistency of performance with your players and it certainly won’t have harmed him in any way to have missed a few games at Forest. “He has to manage that when he gets a little dip in form.” Johnson scored eight goals in his first Premier League campaign and is a key player for Wales following Gareth Bale’s retirement in January. He missed the start of the qualifying campaign in March through injury and was the subject of a club-versus-country row, with Page suggesting Forest had not done enough to get Johnson fit for international duty. “You are always going to miss your best players, but we had to ask others to step up to the plate and the two performances against Croatia and Latvia were outstanding,” said Page, whose squad have been together at a Portugal training camp. “To finish off the Latvia game with the highest percentage possession we’ve had in the last five years shows we’ve got rid of the disappointment of the World Cup. “The players are embracing what we’re asking them to do moving forward and it suits the players. They also enjoy playing that way.” Page admits Wales need to sharpen their attacking play for a double-header with Armenia and Turkey after opening up in March with a 1-1 draw in Croatia and a 1-0 home victory over Latvia. He said: “While I was happy with the Latvia performance and how we controlled the game, that final detail at the top of the pitch is where we need to improve. “Having Brennan back fit, and Daniel James, Harry Wilson and David Brooks available is only going to help us achieve that. “With the personnel we’ve got, we can have two or three different formations without any problem. “The game plan might change within a game, but having players like Brennan will give us the opportunity to get higher up the pitch and score more goals. “We’ve got some good players and the problem now is finding out how to get them all into the same team.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ali McCann loving international life under Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill Brooks Koepka ready to ‘enjoy the chaos’ as he targets yet another major title Andy Murray left shaken by ‘heartbreaking’ Nottingham incident

Brooks Koepka is at a major and feeling as good as ever

Tyrone Mings has backed England’s “serial winners” to deliver silverware. The Aston Villa defender believes the squad have enough experience to end their trophy drought. Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker linked up with the squad on Tuesday after Manchester City completed the treble following their Champions League win over Inter Milan on Saturday. Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw helped Manchester United with the Carabao Cup this term while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier have won league titles, with Declan Rice winning the Europa Conference League with West Ham. England face Malta on Friday before hosting North Macedonia in Manchester on Monday in two Euro 2024 qualifiers as they aim to go one better following their Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy. Mings said: “The manager always talks about your club experiences and adding to the group and we have a squad full of serial winners. “When you look around the European competitions and domestic competitions and the amount of players that were involved in those it can only help. “For sure (England can win a trophy) and that’s not just down to talent. “Talent gets you so far, but everything that the team experienced in the last few tournaments, everything we do in training and the level of consistency the team has shown these past few years, it all adds up and points in the right direction. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be looking at winning. There’s a nice blend of experience and youth, people coming into their peak years.” And the 30-year-old has no issue with Grealish – and his City team-mates – celebrating their 1-0 win over Inter. He said: “It is wild. The only thing he (Grealish) needs to do is do it at the right times and he’s just won the treble so I don’t think anybody can begrudge him going out and letting his hair down – those luscious locks of his now he has taken the hairband out. He’s certainly had a good few days.” Mings’ return to the England squad ends a season which started with him losing the captaincy at Villa after he was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Nations League games last summer. He returned to help Villa reach the Europa Conference League play-offs after finishing seventh in the Premier League with form which earned him an international recall having also been left out of the World Cup squad. “I guess it started being left out of the England squad but that was a whole summer of strange times really,” he said, when asked to assess his season. “Then sitting on the bench at Bournemouth and thinking, ‘I don’t know how all of this has happened in such a short space of time’. “From the captaincy to not starting first game of the season but then I look at the scenes at Villa Park on the last day of the season and to see how far the club have come and how far I’d come in terms of my personal journey over the course of the season was impressive. “I find I learn way more in times of uncertainty or disappointment compared to when it is going well and there isn’t much to think about because things are easy. “Did I need it? Probably. I think there is always a plateau in people’s careers where things are coasting. “I had been in every England squad for three years, two and a half years, and these things are sent to test you.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rob Page welcomes break for Brennan Johnson ahead of Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifiers Ali McCann loving international life under Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill Brooks Koepka ready to ‘enjoy the chaos’ as he targets yet another major title

The F1 23 driver ratings crown Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso as the top two drivers on the grid, and deliver surprise placings to Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed concern in announcing star receiver Stefon Diggs is not present for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp

American track and field champion Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth, according to an autopsy report released by the Orange County, Florida, medical examiner's office.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed concern in announcing star receiver Stefon Diggs is not present for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp

The U.S. Open commands the golf world's attention this week

Eberechi Eze believes his injury nightmare two years ago gave him the platform for England recognition. The Crystal Palace midfielder is eyeing a senior debut after being included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. The call came after Eze was named in England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad in May 2021 – only for a serious Achilles injury on the same day to wreck his dreams. His has fought back and insists his six months on the sidelines only gave him strength and confidence in his ability. Eze said: “I know without setbacks and difficult moments it’s hard to grow and be the person I am today. I look back at those memories fondly because I know it has helped shape who I am. “It’s hard to put into words. I look at things a bit differently. I saw it (the potential call) as I was on the right trajectory, even though I was injured, this was the level I could get to. It gave me the motivation to keep going. “I got a message which gave me an inkling I was going to be called up but being injured that was the end of it for a little while. It’s been a journey getting back to the standard and putting in the performances but it’s been a good one.” Eze scored 10 goals for Palace in the 2022-23 season – six after Roy Hodgson returned to replace Patrick Vieira in March to steer the Eagles to 11th in the Premier League. Hodgson initially signed the 24-year-old from QPR in 2020 and Eze credits him and his assistant Ray Lewington as big influences in his fight to return to the top. “He has got insane wisdom, it’s good to talk to him and hear what he has to say,” he added. “From the first day I met them they have been improving me as a person and a player. It has opened my eyes to more. I have grown so much because of them. “I am very grateful to Roy and Ray for all they did helping me to regain form, they helped me massively with performances and my mental state. In terms of them staying on (at Palace), it’s not my decision.” England travel to Malta for Friday’s Group C qualifier before hosting North Macedonia in Manchester on Monday. Eze, who chose England over Nigeria and has eight Under-21 caps, has the chance of featuring but is not taking anything for granted. “My main focus is training well, doing what I can do, being the best version of myself. All I can do is what I can do, that decision is for Gareth to make,” he said. “Naturally there is always something else you want, when you achieve them it’s on to the next thing (a debut), I am grateful to be in this position. I know I have worked hard but no-one is doing me any favours.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rory McIlroy skips US Open media duty with PIF merger still in headlines Tottenham fan receives three-year ban for mocking Hillsborough disaster York hope to avenge memory of recent loss during Challenge Cup clash with Leigh

The family of the late Eugene Melnyk struck a deal to sell a 90% stake in the National