Christian Horner is under investigation by Red Bull following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour”.

It is understood the allegation has been made by another member of staff for the British-based Formula One team which last year carried Max Verstappen to his third consecutive world championship.

Horner, 50, who has been Red Bull team principal since 2005, strongly refutes the accusation.

Horner said: “I completely deny these claims.”

A spokesperson for Red Bull – the Austrian energy drinks company which owns the F1 team – told the PA news agency: “After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation.

“This process, which is already underway, is being carried out by an external specialist barrister.

“The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Horner has been team principal at Red Bull since their entry into F1 19 years ago, overseeing seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

Red Bull won 21 of the 22 rounds staged last year, with Verstappen setting a record of 10 consecutive victories as he cruised to his third title in as many years.

Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was awarded a CBE for his services to motorsport in the New Year Honours List.

Red Bull are due to launch their latest car on February 15 ahead of the new season which starts in Bahrain on March 2.

Philippe Clement does not expect Aberdeen’s new boss Neil Warnock to make any significant changes for the Dons’ trip to Ibrox on Tuesday night.

The 75-year-old, who has managed QPR, Sheffield United and Cardiff among a host of other clubs, is the talk of Scottish – if not British – football after being confirmed on Monday morning as Pittodrie manager until the end of the season .

Warnock replaces Barry Robson, who was dismissed last week with the club eighth in the cinch Premiership.

However, Gers boss Clement, whose side can leapfrog leaders Celtic with a three-goal victory, does not foresee any surprises.

“I know him of course, he has a long history in football but we have never met,” said the Belgian, who described his Scottish Premiership Glen’s manager of the month award for January as a “collective” achievement.

“He is someone with a lot of experience but I don’t think it will change a lot.

“I don’t think Aberdeen will play suddenly in a totally different style.

“I think the style they were playing is also the style he wants to see, so I don’t see big changes but whatever happens, we are ready for that.

“That is the good thing. The last couple of months we have met a lot of different playing styles and the team knows better and better how to react

“It is going to be a good battle.

“They are one of the three, four best teams in the league in quality of squad so I am a bit surprised about the position in the league but there are a few reasons for that in my mind – but I don’t want to speak about that, I want to speak about Rangers.

“It is a team with a lot of quality and we need to be at our best to take three points.”

Clement, who revealed defender Leon Balogun will see a specialist on Monday to see if he requires surgery on a facial injury picked up against Livingston, insists the prospect of overtaking Celtic – albeit potentially only until Wednesday when the Hoops play Hibernian – has not entered his thinking.

The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss said: “Totally not. Zero. Nobody in the building is talking about that.

“We are just busy with our own game, having respect for our opponents, having respect for their qualities, trying to use their weaknesses, and taking the points and playing good football entertaining our fans and keeping this really strong mentality in the dressing room.

“I know what it takes to win trophies, I have been there enough times as a player and as a manager.

“There is only one way and to focus on yourself and play it game by game. People who look too far ahead they fail because they lose their focus.”

Midfielder Ryan Jack will not be available against his former club as Rangers manage his game time after coming back from injury.

Alejandro Garnacho says improving Manchester United must maintain momentum as they look to claw themselves into the Champions League qualification spots.

A promising first season under Erik ten Hag has been followed by a challenging second campaign filled with more downs than ups, thanks in no small part to a swathe of injuries.

The drop off means United have no European football after Christmas but there has been a recent upturn in fortunes and they usurped West Ham in sixth after Garnacho’s brace in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils remain six points behind Tottenham in fifth – a position that may be enough for Champions League qualification – and a further two behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, where Ten Hag’s team head on Sunday.

“I am always trying to help the team by either scoring or assisting,” Garnacho said after his second-half double at the weekend.

“I don’t care if Rasmus (Hojlund) or (Marcus) Rashford scores, I think we have to win and we have to be in the top six again.

“Hopefully, you know, (I could get) 10, 12 goals (by the end of the season).

“Now we go over West Ham into the top six but of course we want to be in the Champions League the next year, so we have to keep this momentum and try to win the next game.”

United have won four of their five matches in all competitions since the turn of the year, drawing the other, with Hojlund scoring in each of his last four matches.

The summer signing celebrated his 21st birthday by opening the scoring on Sunday, continuing a fine run started when breaking his Premier League duck in the 3-2 Boxing Day turnaround against Villa.

“I am very happy for Rasmus and also because it is his birthday,” Garnacho told MUTV.

“He had a difficult start but now he has scored (in) four games in a row. I am very happy for him and all of the team.”

Hojlund’s strike was complemented by Garnacho’s brace, with his first goal celebrated by sitting on the advertising hoardings alongside fellow grinning young guns Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo.

The latter scored a fantastic stoppage-time winner to secure Thursday’s 4-3 victory at Wolves and Garnacho is full of praise for his 18-year-old team-mate and fellow 2022 FA Youth Cup winner.

“It is a dream for me and for Kobbie,” the Argentina international said.

“Kobbie is a future star, for me, and also it is a good feeling because we played in the Under-18s and the Under-21s, we grew up together and I am very happy.

“If you have to play, you play, it doesn’t matter if you are 18. I am happy for me and happy for the team.”

While United turn their attention to Villa Park, the Hammers have to refocus on next Sunday’s visit of high-flying Arsenal.

West Ham captain Kurt Zouma said after his side’s Old Trafford defeat: “Everyone is disappointed, which is good because you don’t want to lose games.

“We want to improve – we’ve got more time to prepare for a big game against Arsenal next week.

“Hopefully we’re going to be ready for it and make sure we get the three points at home.”

Jack Kennedy was thrilled to secure his first ever seasonal century of winners after Coko Beach made a foot-perfect debut in the cross-country sphere at Punchestown.

The multiple Grade One-winning rider has suffered more than his fair share of injury setbacks in recent years, but leads Paul Townend in the race to be crowned this season’s champion jockey in Ireland.

The 24-year-old was out of luck at the Dublin Racing Festival over the weekend, but made an immediate impact for his boss Gordon Elliott in the opening race on Monday.

Coko Beach, whose CV includes big-race wins in the Thyestes Chase and the Troytown, was the 11-8 favourite for the SBK P.P. Hogan Memorial Cross Country Chase and took to the new discipline like a duck to water, passing the post with six lengths in hand over Enda Bolger’s Genois.

https://x.com/IrishRacing365/status/1754500611708527059?s=20

Betfair halved the Gigginstown-owned winner to 5-1 for the championship event at Cheltenham in March.

Kennedy said: “It’s great to get it and it was lovely to do it on something like that – it’s probably as much fun as I’ve ever had on a racehorse, to be honest.

“He loved it and is a natural. I was excited when I saw him entered. Gordon has brought him to a local cross-country track for about a year to sweeten him up a bit. He’s won some good pots in that time.

“He loved it and was looking for the next one (obstacle) all the time. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, me or him!

“He’s obviously a high-class horse and it opens up more doors for him.

“I was stuck on 99 for a while and delighted to get it done.”

Nicky Henderson is under no illusions about the formidable test awaiting him at the Cheltenham Festival next month after witnessing the domination of Willie Mullins first hand at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Not for the first time, the master of Closutton carried all before him at the Dublin Racing Festival, enjoying a remarkable clean sweep in the eight Grade Ones and winning nine of the 15 races overall.

Henderson did not saddle a runner at the Foxrock track over the course of the weekend, but did make the journey across the Irish Sea as an interested observer for day two.

He said: “I was just there doing a bit of spying! It was a great day’s racing, Willie is amazing and I’m not sure I’m in a desperate hurry to go and join that party.”

The highlight of the five-timer on the second day for Mullins was State Man’s successful defence of the Irish Champion Hurdle.

The seven-year-old’s only defeat when completing over obstacles since joining Mullins came at the hands of Henderson’s Seven Barrows superstar Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle itself last season, and the pair look set for a mouthwatering rematch at Prestbury Park in mid-March.

“I thought we saw a lot of impressive performances yesterday – State Man was, El Fabiolo was and so was Ballyburn in the novice hurdle,” Henderson added.

“We’re going to have to take all of them on in five weeks’ time, we’re involved in all the races they’ll be going for, so we’ll just have to give it a go and probably take our medicine.”

Constitution Hill has raced only once this season, winning his second Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day with his usual dominance.

A potential second outing in the Unibet (International) Hurdle at Cheltenham, won by the Mullins-trained Lossiemouth, was scuppered by an unsatisfactory scope and Henderson will now have to ensure he gets his charge back to concert pitch on the Lambourn gallops.

“He’s just starting his build up. We haven’t scoped him again recently, he’ll do that after he’s done a bit of faster work probably,” said the trainer.

“He’s fine, we’ve got five weeks to go and we know where we are.”

Henderson also provided an upbeat bulletin on Jonbon following his shock defeat in the rescheduled Clarence House Chase on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham.

He will almost certainly be second-favourite to defeat his old rival El Fabiolo in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase following the latter’s Dublin Chase romp.

“Jonbon is very well, he couldn’t be better,” Henderson added.

Shishkin will bid to tee up a shot at the Cheltenham Gold Cup when he headlines a maximum field of five for Saturday’s Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury.

Nicky Henderson’s dual Cheltenham Festival hero was in the process of running a huge race in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and was still to be headed when stumbling after the second-last and unseating Nico de Boinville.

The 10-year-old returned from that race with a sore splint, but the master of Seven Barrows reports his charge to be firing on all cylinders ahead of his scheduled outing in the weekend’s Grade Two contest.

“He’s very much on course for Saturday, I’m very happy with him,” said Henderson.

“Considering everything, Kempton was his first run of the year and it was going to be a very good run. It might have been a winning one for all we know.

“Either way it was a great comeback run, he’ll have tightened up a bit for that, he’s ready for this weekend and away we go, I hope.”

Dan Skelton has entered Protektorat on the back of his fine run in defeat behind L’Homme Presse in Lingfield’s Fleur De Lys Chase, while Paul Nicholls has given Hitman the option of providing Ditcheat with a record-extending 11th win.

Kim Bailey’s Does He Know and Anthony Honeyball’s veterans’ chase series champion Sam Brown are the others in the mix after Monday’s entries.

In the other Grade Two on the card, the Betfair Exchange Game Spirit Chase, Venetia Williams’ Funambule Sivola will attempt to leave some recent disappointments behind him in search of a hat-trick in the race.

The winner in both 2022 and 2023, he will arrive at the Berkshire track with questions to answer. However, similar comments applied last season before he bounced back to form with an impressive three-and-a-half-length success.

Harry Fry has kept Boothill’s powder dry in recent weeks in favour of a crack at this, with Alan King’s Edwardstone arguably the biggest name in the line-up, dropping back in trip after a below-par display in Kempton’s Silviniaco Conti Chase.

Editeur Du Gite (Gary Moore), track-and-trip winner Amarillo Sky (Joe Tizzard) and the Skelton-trained Calico complete the list of six possibles.

Aaron Wainwright has highlighted energy and accuracy as key ingredients for Wales when they tackle Guinness Six Nations rivals England at Twickenham.

It is 12 years since Wales beat England away from home in the tournament, a Triple Crown-clinching victory that was secured by centre Scott Williams’ late try.

Wales went on to win the title and secure a Grand Slam that campaign, but apart from their 2015 World Cup pool win, Twickenham has not been a happy hunting ground during recent seasons.

Seven successive defeats – albeit five of them by six points or less – mean that Wales will arrive as underdogs to south-west London next Saturday.

But despite losing a pulsating Six Nations opener 27-26 to Scotland in Cardiff, Wales’ remarkable second-half fightback saw them end the game with two losing bonus points.

Changes can be expected for the England clash, with fit-again centre George North, scrum-half Tomos Williams, hooker Elliot Dee and prop Keiron Assiratti among those likely to come under strong consideration from head coach Warren Gatland.

Given the impact made by Wales’ substitutes – Williams, Dee and Assiratti all went on for the second half and played key roles during a memorable burst of 26 unanswered points – it would be a major surprise if they are not promoted to starting XV duty.

Had Wales defeated Scotland, it would have been the biggest comeback to win a game in Six Nations history, easily surpassing them overturning a 16-point deficit against France in 2019.

And it would also have threatened the all-time Test record held by Korea, courtesy of beating Chile 38-36 eight years ago after they had trailed by 29 points in Santiago.

“Another five minutes, and we probably would have got the win,” Wales number eight and player of the match Wainwright said.

“A game of two halves sums it up perfectly. It was not the start we wanted, but we showed what we can do when we start putting some stuff together.

“We knew we had to keep digging in after they scored early, because there was still a long way to go.

“That was one of the encouraging things – how we kept fighting and put ourselves in with a chance to win. That is going to give us momentum for next week.

“We need to take the energy of the second-half and build that within ourselves, make sure we are ready from the first whistle and make sure it doesn’t take a first-half like that to get going. It will give us confidence.

“Looking back at the second-half performance, if we can replicate that for the full 80 minutes that is exciting.

“They were perhaps panicking a bit, and a bit more composure from us in the dying moments could have turned it. Next weekend we need to go with full energy and accuracy.

“We need to be more accurate. Going for the corner, a tap-play move, we weren’t accurate enough, didn’t keep the ball.

“Whether it is execution or role knowledge, we need to fix that, and doing it from the first whistle will be key.”

Wainwright’s only previous Twickenham appearance was a World Cup warm-up game in 2019 that Wales lost 33-19.

On their last Six Nations visit two years ago, it was a four-point reversal, although Wales went close after trailing by 17-0 at one stage.

France prop up the Guinness Six Nations table for the first time in over a decade while Wales narrowly missed out on a record-breaking comeback win.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key statistics from the opening weekend.

Les Bleus feeling the blues

A 38-17 home defeat at the hands of Ireland left France bottom of the men’s standings for the first time since they finished with the wooden spoon in 2013.

In the Six Nations era, it was the first time they have conceded five tries in a home game and only once have they conceded more points at home, losing 43-35 to Wales in 2001 – indeed it is only the sixth time they have conceded 30 or more at home.

A 21-point margin made it by far their heaviest home defeat – they have lost only 14 of 61 such games and it is only the fourth by double figures. England won 24-13 in 2008 and 31-21 in 2016 while Wales won 16-6 in 2013.

For Ireland, it was only a fourth Six Nations win in France and beat their record points total away to Les Bleus, previously set in a 43-31 loss in 2006.

Wales fightback falls just short

Last place was assured for Les Bleus as Saturday’s two games both finished close, Wales and Italy gaining losing bonus points.

It did not look like being that way when Warren Gatland’s side trailed 27-0 to Scotland shortly after half-time, but James Botham’s try sparked a remarkable comeback that came up just short of setting a new Six Nations record.

Wales’ own win over France in 2019, when they trailed 16-0 at half-time before winning 24-19 with two George North tries, was the largest deficit previously overcome to win a game in the Six Nations or its predecessors. Scotland drew games from 31-0 down against England in 2019 and 25-6 against Wales in 2001.

Had Wales managed to finish the job on Saturday it would have matched the third-largest comeback win in Test history.

Korea’s 38-36 victory over Chile in 2016 holds the record, having trailed by 29 points at 36-7. Fiji recovered from 28-0 and 31-3 down to beat Tonga 41-38 in 2010 and Chile were on the receiving end of another stunning comeback in 2007, leading Uruguay 27-0 at the break but losing 35-34.

England’s win did not require the same drama even as they trailed twice in the first half in Rome. The visitors pulled out to a 10-point lead before Monty Ioane’s converted try four minutes beyond the regulation 80 made the final score 27-24 and earned Italy’s bonus point.

Gigginstown House Stud are leaning towards trying to win their own Ryanair Chase with Conflated.

A faller in that race two years ago at the Cheltenham Festival, the former Irish Gold Cup and Savills Chase hero stepped up in trip for a shot at the Gold Cup 12 months ago, where he finished an honourable third behind Galopin Des Champs and Bravemansgame.

Although sent off the 20-1 outsider when tasked with taking on Galopin Des Champs again in the latest edition of the Irish Gold Cup on Saturday, Gordon Elliott’s 10-year-old more than played his part and was far from completely out of the equation when unseating Jack Kennedy at the final fence.

Conflated currently heads the market for the Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham, but with the owners having dual winner Delta Work also in the mix for that contest and having proven he is still a capable Grade One performer, the gelding is likely to be pitched into a Ryanair with an open feel following the setback suffered by long-time ante-post favourite Allaho.

“He gave Jack the same unseat as he gave Sam Ewing at Christmas (in the Savills Chase). It was the same corner of the same fence,” explained Gigginstown’s Eddie O’Leary.

“He was running a huge race regardless and we had just dropped in behind in that moment.

“It will be more than likely be the Ryanair (next, at Cheltenham) – he’s still in the mix for both, but it will more than likely be the Ryanair.”

He went on “We believe he is a quick three-miler who might not get an extended three miles on a staying track in heavy ground, but he’s a quick three-miler and the Ryanair should suit him down to the ground.

“You have to get three miles to win a Ryanair so hopefully that will be the race. Otherwise we have the Cross Country. But I would say it would be the Ryanair.”

Gigginstown went into the Dublin Racing Festival with the favourites for the first two Grade Ones on day one and although neither Predators Gold or Storm Heart came home with the first prize, they both left with their reputations intact by finishing second.

Storm Heart will now head to the Triumph Hurdle where he is a best price of 12-1, while O’Leary believes his Willie Mullins-trained stablemate Predators Gold may drop back in distance slightly for the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park next month.

“They are both entitled to go on the next day and see what happens,” said O’Leary.

“Storm Heart will go on to the Triumph all being well.

“I imagine Predators Gold didn’t quite settle well enough to get that trip and he’ll likely go for the Baring Bingham over two and a half.”

India head coach Rahul Dravid has praised England’s ‘Bazball’ approach, even if the word itself leaves him cold.

Dravid saw his side square the five-match series 1-1 with a 106-run victory in Visakhapatnam, with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin taking three wickets each to dent England’s reputation as unstoppable chasers.

Dravid was known as ‘the Wall’ during his playing days, a nod to his watertight technique, but he has been impressed by the way the tourists have utilised their attacking methods on turning pitches.

“I think they’re playing very well. Whether you call it ‘Bazball’ or whatever you want to call it, it’s not,” he said.

“I know it’s just a term, and I’m not sure how happy they are about it, but they are playing really good cricket. It’s not like wild slogging, they are actually showing some very good skills.

“Some of the shots they are playing require a lot of ability. You can’t just come here and execute those things by saying ‘I want to play attackingly’. I think there’s more to it than just attacking cricket.

“I have seen at times they know when to pull back and they know when to attack. They’re playing slightly differently, no doubt about it. They know how to find that balance and we know we’re up against a challenge that we’re looking forward to.”

Bumrah won a deserved player-of-the-match award for his match figures of nine for 91, including a game-defining spell of vicious reverse swing in the first innings.

The image of him sending two of Ollie Pope’s stumps flying in opposite directions encapsulated his brilliance in a single frame.

“As a youngster that was the first delivery I learned in tennis-ball cricket,” Bumrah recalled.

“I used to feel that was the only way to take wickets. I look to solve the problem, every wicket is different and I have to use what I have in my armoury.”

Martin Odegaard hit back at critics who claimed Arsenal over celebrated their victory over 10-man Liverpool – insisting they will remain “humble” throughout their Premier League title challenge.

The Gunners moved to within two points of Jurgen Klopp’s leaders following a 3-1 win over 10-man Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for Arsenal before Gabriel Magalhaes’ unfortunate own goal levelled for the visitors on the stroke of half-time.

A mix-up between Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk allowed Gabriel Martinelli to restore Arsenal’s lead in the second half, with substitute Leandro Trossard making sure of the points in stoppage time after Ibrahima Konate had been sent off.

Odegaard then led the celebrations, taking the camera off the club’s photographer to snap the jubilant reactions to a result that put Mikel Arteta’s men right back into title contention.

Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was unhappy with what he saw.

“Just get down the tunnel. You’ve won a game, three points, you’ve been brilliant. Back in the title race, get down the tunnel. I’m serious, honestly,” he said – before later adding on X, formerly known as Twitter: “By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by being disciplined!”

Carragher also changed his X profile picture to one of Odegaard using the camera, but the Arsenal captain was not about to apologise for his post-match celebrations.

Asked if it is possible to over celebrate after such a big win, the Norway international replied: “No, I think everyone who loves football, who understands football, they know how much it means to win this game.

“And if you’re not allowed to celebrate when you win a game, when are you allowed to celebrate? We’re happy with the win and we’ll stay humble.

“We keep working hard and we prepare for the next one but of course you have to be happy when you win.

“It was a massive game. As you say it could have been eight points (if we’d lost) and it would look a lot more difficult then but we showed up, the fans were unbelievable.

“I think we all did this together. You see the club, how together we are, all the players, staff, supporters, everything. So yeah, brilliant to see.”

For Liverpool, it was just a second league defeat of the campaign and Klopp admits overcoming a loss can prove more of a challenge when it does not happen often.

“We didn’t lose recently an awful lot of football games, we know that,” he said.

“That means dealing with defeats is a challenge – for humankind actually. Nobody here expects, in our dressing room at least, that we just will fly over Burnley or whatever.

“They fight for their targets, it’s a really talented group, unlucky in moments and stuff like this. But it’s a home game and we can turn things around, meaning the first step, and then we will see.

“(After Sunday) Nobody celebrates the champion and nobody is relegated as far as I know, so we have all the chance to create our own destiny. Let’s see what happens.”

Ben Stokes felt England were let down by technology at a crucial moment as they slipped to a series-levelling defeat against India but refused to blame the result on “if, buts and maybes”.

The tourists were bowled out for 292 on day four of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, going down by 106 runs as they fell well short of a history-making chase.

Opener Zak Crawley looked the man most likely to do something special and his dismissal for 73 just before lunch turned the game decisively in India’s favour.

Kuldeep Yadav’s lbw shout was initially turned down by experienced umpire Marais Erasmus, who judged the ball to missing leg stump, but DRS surprisingly ruled in the bowler’s favour when ball-tracking suggested it was going on to hit.

England lost Jonny Bairstow in the next over and never quite recovered, with Stokes making it clear he felt Crawley was the victim of a HawkEye glitch.

“My personal opinion is that the technology has gone wrong on this occasion. That’s where I stand on it,” the England captain said when questioned about the decision.

“Technology in the game is obviously there and everyone has an understanding of the reasons it can never be 100 per cent. That’s why we have the ‘umpire’s call’, that’s why it’s in place.

“So when it’s not 100 per cent, I don’t think it’s unfair for someone to say ‘I think the technology has got it wrong’. I will say that, but in a game full of ifs, buts and maybes I am not going to say that’s the reason why we haven’t got the result we wanted.

“You can’t really do much with things that have been and gone. You can’t really overturn a decision that has been made.”

England’s score was the second highest fourth-innings total any overseas team have scored in Indian conditions, but the scale of their target was simply too great to overcome without a big century to build around.

Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley were all battling against illness that emerged in the camp overnight, along with the injured Jack Leach at the team hotel, leaving Stokes proud of the fight his side put up.

“There’s a bit of a virus going round, a couple of guys woke up not feeling great,” he said.

“It’s not ideal, you want everyone to be feeling great but I’m proud that the guys who were feeling under the weather didn’t shy away and gave it their best.

“We had full belief in ourselves that we could chase that down. Taking on challenges like that is what we are about. In moments like this, when you have scoreboard pressure, that is when we get the best out of ourselves as individuals. Unfortunately, this time we didn’t get on the right side of the result.”

A quick scan of their second-innings boundary count – 42 fours and four sixes – tells the story of how England went about their business in a match that ended with four full sessions unused.

It was the kind of aggressive display which has become par for the course under Stokes’ leadership and even dismissals like Joe Root’s for 16, an agricultural heave from the side’s most elegant player, do not give Stokes pause for thought.

“I think our approach is what we’re known for, the way in which we play,” he said.

“Regardless of the situation, we want to stay very true to ourselves. I was happy with the way we went about that chase. That’s exactly how we play cricket. It won’t always work but a loss is a loss; you don’t get any points losing by five and you don’t get less for losing by 100.”

England will travel onwards to Abu Dhabi for a break on Wednesday, before returning to India for the third Test in Rajkot on February 15.

Liverpool’s unenviable search for Jurgen Klopp’s replacement is still in its infancy but there has been no shortage of potential successors touted both publicly and privately.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, a former Reds midfielder, continues to lead the bookmakers’ odds, followed by Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim.

However, as they did with the appointment of Klopp in 2015, the club will take a scientific approach and not just go for the man who appears to be the best fit.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how Liverpool will go about their search.

Where do they start?

Where Fenway Sports Group always start, with the data. Since buying the club in 2010 the American owners have instigated an analytical model for many aspects of the business, most notably in relation to their transfer policy which they modelled on a system pioneered by their Boston Red Sox baseball team. “The way we operate as a football club is to ensure that we’ve looked at all the information, all the data, we’ve done our proper due diligence and then we’ll make a decision,” said chief executive Billy Hogan.

How will that work?

Will Spearman, a Harvard PhD graduate in particle physics, was last year appointed successor to departing director of research Ian Gordon, a key figure in the data department since 2012, and will be significantly involved in identifying key areas which are not always immediately visible to casual observers of a manager’s style and performance.

Who else is involved?

Mike Gordon, FSG president, is the group’s main ‘football guy’ and the man who has been the transatlantic bridge between the two parties. It was he who received the bombshell phone call from Klopp saying he would be leaving at the end of the season. Gordon was the man who led the identification and pursuit of Klopp after Brendan Rodgers was sacked and will assume that key role for the ownership again. Theo Epstein, the former president of baseball operations for MLB team the Chicago Cubs and ex-general manager of the Red Sox, has joined FSG as a senior adviser and is likely to be involved in the consultation, as will Hogan to a lesser degree.

And what of the main candidates?

Alonso has been the favourite from the moment Klopp’s departure was announced. The former Spain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder has extensive, top-level playing experience and this season has displayed a key FSG metric in elevating underrated players to a higher level having guided Leverkusen, unbeaten all season, to the top of the Bundesliga. His football is not as direct or as press-heavy as Klopp’s so there would be some adaptation required by the current squad. Brighton’s De Zerbi has impressed since his arrival in England last season and his place on the list is largely due to the similarities in his style with Klopp’s, however results have been up and down recently having scored four in a victory over Tottenham yet lost 4-0 to Luton. Amorim’s Sporting, who also have a similar pressing style, are two points off the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga with a match in hand having dropped just eight points all season.