Marnus Labuschagne believes he is starting to find some fluency at the crease with just over a month to go until the Ashes after a sparkling 170 for Glamorgan against Yorkshire.

Labuschagne was given a let-off on 11 when a diving Finlay Bean could not cling on to a tough chance at backward point on the third morning of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two fixture.

There was no second opportunity offered from Australia’s number three, who moved expertly through the gears at Headingley with a mixture of conventional and more unorthodox strokes.

Ominously for England, who begin their bid to reclaim the urn at Edgbaston on June 16, this innings is the first time since returning for another stint at Glamorgan that Labuschagne has felt comfortable in the middle.

“I have been a bit sort of all over,” Labuschagne said. “It hasn’t felt like it has come together until that innings.

“That’s probably the most I’ve felt balanced at the crease, I felt like my head position was in a nice spot, my bat path was coming down nicely. That was probably the best time I batted.”

Some counties have come under scrutiny for recruiting Australia players before the Ashes, with Steve Smith the notable example as he is adjusting to English conditions in a three-game stint with Sussex.

Labuschagne, who has not looked back since getting his big break with Australia in the 2019 Ashes after starring for Glamorgan that summer, has another couple of fixtures with the Welsh county before linking up with his national side ahead of their World Test Championship final against India next month.

Despite contributing 235 runs to Glamorgan’s cause this week on a ground that will host the third Ashes Test in two months’ time, Labuschagne insisted his priorities are not on his international commitments.

“I have given that much thought, but I have really enjoyed batting here,” Labuschagne said. “I have always enjoyed the bounce and carry.

“It allows me to leave the ball nicely on length and be able to make good decisions early. There’s enough pace in the wicket that you can score quite freely, once the wicket quickens up a little bit.

“For me it is taking it game-by-game and trying to build up that momentum that leads into the World Test Championship and the Ashes. But my focus is to win games for Glamorgan.”

Labuschagne was watchful in helpful bowling conditions early on but motored along after going past his 104-ball half-century, requiring only 38 and 44 deliveries respectively for his second and third 50s.

Dom Bess bore the brunt, conceding 58 runs in the 41 deliveries he sent down to Labuschagne, who also hit compatriot Mickey Edwards out of the attack with five fours in the space of six balls after backing away and agriculturally muscling across the line as the ball was dispatched to all parts.

After his excellent innings, Labuschagne cheerfully admitted he will regale good friend and team-mate Smith about his efforts.

“We speak most days so I’m sure he’ll have a debrief with me on his game and I’ll debrief him on what happens on my game,” Labuschagne said.

“We’re quite across what’s going on, we sit back here and watch all the runs around the county. I’ve got a big interest in the game so I’m always watching.”

Labuschagne’s knock helped Glamorgan declare on 352 for four but their push for victory was thwarted by rain wiping out the last session, with Yorkshire only needing to bat out the final day for a draw after being set a notional 492 for victory.

“It’s slightly frustrating,” Labuschagne added. “We would’ve liked at least 20 overs at them before the close. It’s not ideal but we are going to have 96 overs to get 10 wickets (on Sunday).”

Mohamed Salah’s goal in a 1-0 win over Brentford propelled Liverpool closer to the Premier League top four and deflected attention away from the booing of the national anthem at Anfield on coronation day.

The pre-match playing of ‘God Save the King’ was roundly jeered by the majority of fans, who have not forgiven the establishment for its attitude to the city in the 1980s and, more recently, the handling of the Hillsborough disaster and the fight for justice.

But with the airing of the first bars of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ the atmosphere flipped and Salah kicked off the celebrations with yet another milestone goal in a career of Liverpool landmarks.

While his 13th-minute finish was far from his classiest, requiring two touches from four yards to bundle home Virgil van Dijk’s header, it was significant for being his 100th at Anfield. He became the first Liverpool player to score in nine successive home matches in all competitions.

The statistics continue to rack up as it was the third successive season – and fourth in six – he had reached 30 in a campaign and it took him level with Steven Gerrard in fifth place on the club’s all-time goalscoring list with 186.

A sixth successive win also moved Liverpool within a point of fourth-placed Manchester United and three away from Newcastle in third, teams who play the first of their two matches in hand on Sunday against West Ham and Arsenal respectively.

Manager Jurgen Klopp restored Cody Gakpo to the team as one of four forwards named but with captain Jordan Henderson not fully fit he was asked to perform a role on the right of midfield, although what was more unusual was seeing Van Dijk booked as early as the fifth minute for going through the back of Frank Onyeka.

Much has been made of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s passing from a new hybrid midfield position but it was Fabinho, in his more traditional holding role, who set up the opener, with his chip over a crowded penalty area picking out Van Dijk to nod back to the far post where Salah pounced.

For a long time the Kop has worshipped its own King Kenny (Dalglish) – with a pre-match banner recognising that very fact – but Salah’s progression into the ranks of club greats has long been assured, with his brilliance matched by unerring consistency.

Not to be outdone Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant lob picked out Darwin Nunez but the Uruguayan’s finish could not match the quality of the pass.

The Liverpool right-back’s control of the ball was not so clever deep inside his own half, however, as he was caught in possession by Bryan Mbeumo, but Van Dijk got back to cover as Ivan Toney closed in on goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Toney then drilled a low free-kick just wide as Brentford showed they were not prepared to accept their hosts’ dominance, with Mbeumo then having a goal ruled out for offside after getting in behind Van Dijk from Toney’s first-time pass.

The visitors started the second half in similar fashion but would have gone further behind had Gakpo been able to get his body in a position to convert Diogo Jota’s cross which was drilled at him, instead the Dutchman could only divert the ball away from goal from three yards out.

But with Liverpool struggling to gain control of the game, conceding too many set-pieces against a side so proficient in dead-ball situations, the Kop sought to entertain themselves with another rendition of ‘You can stick your coronation up your a***’ – first aired in midweek – soon followed by ‘Kenny is our King’.

As Brentford continued to pose more of a growing threat as they pushed for an equaliser, Alexander-Arnold’s drive forced a fingertip save from David Raya and Gakpo volleyed wide to relieve some of the tension.

The introduction of Henderson and James Milner into midfield, for Curtis Jones and Jota, suggested Klopp was happy to hang onto what they had at the end of their third match in a week and his caution was duly rewarded.

Marnus Labuschagne took advantage of a reprieve to record a mammoth century on the third day of Glamorgan’s LV= Insurance County Championship game against Yorkshire and put down a marker for the Ashes.

The Australian batter was dropped on 11 by a diving Finlay Bean, who got two hands to the ball but could not cling on at backward point.

Labuschagne spectacularly went through the gears thereafter to record 170 not out off 207 balls in Glamorgan’s 352 for four declared, leaving Yorkshire 492 to claim an unlikely victory on the last day.

George Balderson and Josh Bohannon put Lancashire in a strong position against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge but both came up short of centuries.

The two shared a partnership of 188 for the second wicket in Lancashire’s second innings before Balderson fell for 91 and Bohannon 92 but, on 219 for four, Lancashire lead by 184 heading into the final day.

There was concern, though, for England pace bowler Olly Stone, who had to leave the field after picking up an injury.

James Rew gave another demonstration of his immense potential as Somerset built a strong position against Northamptonshire at Taunton.

The 19-year-old wicketkeeper contributed 89 to help the home side extend their first innings total from 199 for four to 412 all out, a lead of 157. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, unbeaten on 95 overnight, fell for 130.

Northamptonshire faced a tricky 20 overs before the close, ending on 66 for one having lost Ricardo Vasconcelos and seen fellow opener Hassan Azad forced to retire hurt.

Derbyshire secured a third batting point against Leicestershire, declaring on 350 for seven to lead by 228 before rain brought an end to play.

The weather was a factor across the country, with Essex managing just nine runs in 22 minutes against Surrey to reach 24 without loss in their second innings and extend their lead to 83.

No play at all, meanwhile, was possible in the games between Hampshire and Warwickshire and Worcestershire and Sussex.

Bayern Munich stretched their lead at the Bundesliga summit to four points as goals from Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane clinched a 2-1 win over a stubborn Werder Bremen.

Having taken advantage of Borussia Dortmund's slip-up at Bochum to go top last week, Bayern knew an 11th consecutive league title is now in their hands as they travelled to the Weserstadion on Saturday.

Thomas Tuchel's stuttering start at Bayern looked set to continue as Werder held firm for over an hour, but Gnabry's close-range finish broke the hosts' resistance before Sane capped a flowing move to make it 2-0.

Though Niklas Schmidt's stunning strike ensured a nervous finish, Bayern clung on to pile the pressure on Dortmund ahead of their meeting with Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Jiri Pavlenka smothered Gnabry's shot from a tight angle early on before making an even better save 20 minutes in, blocking Benjamin Pavard's powerful close-range header.

Werder threatened on the break as Mitchell Weiser went close to converting Romano Schmid's cross, while Christian Gross fired over at the end of a mazy run.

Gnabry misjudged an overhead kick as Bayern's pressure mounted after the restart, and then teed up Sadio Mane to side-foot narrowly wide.

It was Gnabry who made the breakthrough just as Bayern seemed to be running out of ideas. The Germany international lost his marker to sweep home from close range after Jamal Musiala's shot deflected into his path.

Bayern extended their lead 10 minutes later as substitute Sane slotted into the bottom-left corner.

There was a tense finish to come as Schmidt found the top-right corner from long range, but Bayern stood firm to take a huge step towards retaining their title.

Ross County boss Malky Mackay hailed the impact of his substitutes after the relegation-battling Staggies claimed a potentially vital 2-0 win over Livingston.

Alex Iacovitti put County ahead just before half-time and Alex Samuel added a second on the hour just minutes after coming off the bench as part of a triple change, his first goal for the club.

Livi could find no way back after that and finished the game with 10 men after Kurtis Guthrie saw his yellow card changed to red following a VAR review.

Mackay believes Samuel’s performance, alongside all of the others he brought on, showed how much of a collective effort went into the vital result.

“I was really delighted with the way the substitutes came on and impacted the game,” Mackay said.

“Josh Stones and particularly Alex have had to bide their time. They are both boys who are low maintenance that work hard at training every day, for no reward on a Saturday at times.

“I’m delighted for them. Alex scores and I’m so happy because he has been out for a year with a torn cruciate.

“We could have scored another couple in the second half, but we really showed that confidence to push on.

“Livingston are a team that make it difficult for people, but we showed we could dig it out today.

“(Owura) Edwards was dangerous and Josh Stones looked really on it, while Nohan Kenneh came on and added to that midfield as people were getting tired.

“I’m not singling people out, it was a really good team performance here today.”

Livingston boss David Martindale, meanwhile, was left bemoaning a lack of responsibility from his players when it came to marking Iacovitti for the first goal.

As far as Guthrie’s red card for a clash with Keith Watson, though, he believes the right decision was reached by the video assistant referee.

“I thought up until that first goal we had controlled large portions of the game,” Martindale said.

“The first goal was a poor one for us to lose. I could see Iacovitti walking into the box unopposed from the technical area, and when you allow that to happen it’s a recipe for disaster.

“At that point, the players have to take responsibility. Someone has to pick him up – probably not the two centre-halves, because they’re locked on to the two strikers – but we don’t.

“Ross County started nervously, but that goal gave them confidence to grow into the game, and as that happened we grew out of the game.

“Going down to 10 men makes it difficult to get anything from the game as well. In real time, I didn’t think it was a red card, but on watching it back I think there was enough momentum in the swing to make it a red card.”

Tottenham interim boss Ryan Mason believes there are still elements of Harry Kane’s contribution to the team that go underappreciated.

The stadium announcer was still in the midst of declaring one minute of first-half added time when Kane connected with Pedro Porro’s whipped cross and nodded in the eventual winner as Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 1-0.

Kane’s strike, his 209th in the Premier League, also moved him ahead of Wayne Rooney and into outright second on the all-time top scorer list.

Mason said: “Naturally we’ll all talk about Harry’s goals and Harry when he plays games of football he will continue to score goals. We know that.

“But also that elite mindset, that example that he sets every day in and around the place, it’s great to be around. Because when you have people like that they inspire you to be better and we appreciate Harry, we value him so much at this football club.”

The England captain’s 28th goal in all competitions this season leaves him 51 behind all-time Premier League leader Alan Shearer, who netted 260 in the top flight.

“Harry is certainly one player that is focused every game to be the best version of himself every time he is out on that football pitch, whether it’s the training ground or on matchday, so hopefully Harry continues to play and I’m sure he’ll continue to score goals.”
Mason remained pragmatic when asked if Kane was set to break that mark, saying: “I don’t really like speaking too much about the future because from personal experience I know that you can’t really plan too much far ahead in football terms and in life, and you’ve got to be in the moment.

Saturday’s victory was a subdued affair but enough to secure Mason a first victory in his second spell in charge of Spurs.

Roy Hodgson’s Palace, meanwhile, had a handful of chances and were kept in it by several good saves from Sam Johnstone, who has in recent weeks usurped Vicente Guaita as his boss’ first-choice keeper.

The former England manager was more forthcoming about 29-year-old Kane’s chances at surpassing Shearer, saying: “I would expect it, you know his age, he’s got several good years ahead of him and he doesn’t get injured very often, touch wood.

“I think the only thing that stands between him and the record will be is he going to avoid serious injury? Is he going to be able to get 20, 30 matches a year behind him? Is he going to get help from his team-mates and play in a good team which is what he has been playing in?

“If all those things take place I expect him to break the record, absolutely.”

Hodgson departed from Mason when asked if Kane was to some degree still viewed as an underrated talent.

He added: “You’re talking maybe for a body of football fans and football people that I don’t know. I don’t know who they are, I don’t know what they’re saying, but I can guarantee that none of us that work in football on a serious basis in what I call the football village, there’s none of us that have that opinion.”

Inter kept themselves on course for a top-four finish in Serie A after they defeated Roma 2-0 in an ill-tempered clash on Saturday.

The Nerazzurri seized a first-half lead through Federico Dimarco's close-range finish before Romelu Lukaku's breakaway strike 16 minutes from time sealed the three points at Stadio Olimpico.

Ahead of a Champions League semi-final with arch-rivals Milan on Wednesday, Simone Inzaghi's team returned to the top four and boosted their hopes of qualifying for next season's competition.

For Jose Mourinho's Giallorossi however, defeat leaves them five points off the top four with just four games left to play, leaving them with an uphill battle in hand.

Several stoppages due to injuries meant chances were at a relative premium during a closely fought opening quarter.

Lukaku required treatment in the six-yard area shortly after Lorenzo Pellegrini went close, while Nicola Zalewski came off worse after taking a fast ball to the face.

But Inter took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Dimarco flicked a Denzel Dumfries ball into the net, via a handy deflection off Bryan Cristante.

Roma fought back and were incensed when Matteo Darmian escaped punishment for a handball in the box shortly before the hour mark, with tempers continuing to boil over.

Even so, the hosts still looked in the game, until a defensive misread from Roger Ibanez allowed their opponents to make the most of a long ball downfield.

Lautaro Martinez pounced on the loose ball, and played in Lukaku for a composed finish, ultimately sealing victory for Inter with just over a quarter of an hour to go.

Pep Guardiola refused to criticise Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland over the missed penalty in Manchester City’s unexpectedly narrow 2-1 win over Leeds.

Regular taker Haaland deferred to Gundogan when City were awarded a late spot-kick at the Etihad Stadium to allow the German a chance to complete a hat-trick.

Yet, much to Guardiola’s obvious frustration, Gundogan’s effort was saved by Joel Robles and Rodrigo pulled one back for relegation-threatened moments later.

That set up a grandstand finish to what had seemed a straightforward Premier League assignment for the champions after Gundogan’s two well-taken efforts in the first half.

Guardiola seemed quite annoyed at the time and was caught on camera saying he felt Haaland, who did not add to the 51 goals he has scored this season but twice hit the woodwork, should have taken it.

The Spaniard, however, had calmed down by the time he undertook post-match media duties.

Guardiola said: “The performance was excellent, we played really good.

“I am not going to explain my feelings about the last five, six or seven minutes because in general it was really good.

“Who knows if Erling had taken the penalty and missed? What happens if Riyad (Mahrez) takes it and misses? What happens if Ilkay Gundogan takes the penalty and scores?

“The question is, if it is 2-0 who is the taker? If it is 2-0 Erling or Riyad has to take it.

“But (it shows) how Erling is as a person. He is incredible and wants to score goals, but at the same time mates are important. He is so nice and generous.

“The game could have been over, but I understand both sides. Ilkay has never scored a hat-trick and he wanted him to do it.

“Gundo scored two incredible goals. How good did he play today? He has everything.”

Gundogan, who is out of contract at the end of the season, admitted the matter had taken the gloss off the game for him.

He said on Sky Sports: “I saw Erling with the ball, looking for me, telling me to take it. I asked him a couple of times, ‘Are you sure?’ and he was quite sure and confident to give me the ball.

“I wish I would have scored. The sad thing now, looking back, the disappointment of failing to score the penalty is a bit higher than actually scoring two goals and maybe winning the game.”

The frantic finish gave new Leeds manager Sam Allardyce some positives to cling to from what had been a largely poor performance from the relegation-threatened side.

Leeds are outside the bottom three only on goal difference and Allardyce, appointed earlier this week, now has just three games to guide them to safety.

He said: “In the second half you would probably think, and rightly so, how many is it going to be?

“We were defending with spirit but playing nowhere near the way we needed to.

“When we stopped giving the ball to City we grew in confidence. We gave a stupid penalty away, but Joel made a wonderful save.

“We scored and then the game was on and they were showing a bit of nerves. When you get Manchester City playing by the corner flag in the last five minutes you know you must still be in with a chance.”

Frank Lampard encouraged his players to celebrate with a beer or glass of wine after Chelsea took a “small step forward” by halting their six-match losing streak with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth.

Late goals from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix earned the Blues an overdue victory after Cherries defender Matias Vina cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s early header at Vitality Stadium.

Success on the south coast was Lampard’s first since returning to Stamford Bridge on an interim basis a month ago and a fitting way to cap his 100th game in Premier League management.

The former England and Blues midfielder urged his team to embrace the club’s first triumph in almost two months but warned they cannot ease off going into their final four fixtures of a dismal campaign.

“They should enjoy it and we’re happy because when you don’t have that feeling for a while, it gradually knocks you down,” said Lampard.

“It was very evident in the dressing room from coming in that there was a lot of picking up that needed to be done and unfortunately you need results to come in line with that to keep you stepping forward, so that’s been tough.

“Today was a nice small step forward.

“The lads are all human, we’re all affected in similar ways when you’re not winning games or you don’t feel like you’re at your best and the only way to get through that is to fight and to work through it.

“I’ve been in relative periods where they’re tough, so absolutely they should enjoy tonight and have a beer or have a glass of wine or do whatever they do.

“But we cannot take our foot of the pedal in terms of trying to take steps forward until the end of this season because it’s important.”

Victory in Dorset moved the two-time European champions on to 42 points, three ahead of their hosts, albeit they remain in the bottom half of the table.

Bournemouth had the better of the chances before the late drama, with Dango Ouattara squandering a golden opening by heading over from inside the six-yard box.

Badiashile and Felix punished that profligacy in the final eight minutes, leaving Chelsea supporters to salute the long-awaited win with ironic chants of “we are staying up”.

Some of the away end had jeered substitutes Hakim Ziyech and Raheem Sterling but the pair responded by claiming assists for Badiashile and Felix respectively.

Lampard hopes to help rebuild the bond between fans and players and backed the under-fire duo to show their true class following underwhelming campaigns.

“Our fans were fantastic today so I personally appreciate their support,” said Lampard.

“I appreciate we had a moment on the end of the pitch where everyone feels good for a day.

“I think that’s important to build a connection between players and fans.

“Opinion can always change in a period but Hakim and Raheem want to do well, as football players they’ve got big talent both of them.

“I think their class is permanent and I’m pleased for them for having some impact when they came on.”

Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil rued his side’s missed opportunities.

“I thought it was an even contest,” he said. “There were lots of bits in it that I liked.

“When we were on top, Vina has a one-on-one where Kepa (Arrizabalaga) makes a good save, Kepa makes a great block from Dango as well from four, five yards out and obviously the massive chance, Dango’s free header.

“If we get our noses in front then the game will probably finish very differently.

“I’m disappointed we weren’t clinical enough and then we get punished at the other end.

“We were well in the game.”

Max Verstappen took top spot in final practice for the Miami Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished only 13th.

Verstappen clocked the best time in Saturday’s running, and the world champion will head into qualifying at 4pm (9pm BST) as the favourite to secure pole position.

Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari – four tenths slower than Verstappen – with Sergio Perez, six points behind Red Bull team-mate Verstappen in the driver standings, third.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell was 10th.

Hamilton has described Mercedes’ form at the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States as a “kick in the guts”.

He heads into Sunday’s race 45 points behind championship leader Verstappen after just four rounds of the season.

The British driver’s Mercedes team have endured a turbulent campaign. Hamilton finished second in Australia at the beginning of last month to raise hope of a Mercedes fightback.

But the 38-year-old, whose contract with the Brackley team expires in just over six months, was a distant sixth in Azerbaijan last weekend.

And, despite an encouraging opening practice session on Friday, with Russell leading his team-mate in a Mercedes one-two, the Silver Arrows look poised for another troubling weekend.

Hamilton ended the concluding running before qualifying 1.1 seconds slower than Verstappen. Russell outpaced his team-mate by 0.1 sec.

Mercedes are due to introduce an upgrade at the next round in Imola in a fortnight’s time, but team principal Toto Wolff has already warned Hamilton that he will not have the speed to fight with Red Bull.

“I am going to stay optimistic, but it feels like we are racing the same car as last year,” said Hamilton.

“We desperately need those upgrades, that is for sure. We have to keep our heads down for one more race and hopefully we will start a new path at the next race.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell revealed he has set his team the target of finishing seventh this season following their 2-0 home win over Kilmarnock.

Goals from Blair Spittal and Kevin van Veen – the Dutchman’s 25th of the campaign – ensured the Fir Park side are all but safe from relegation with four games remaining.

Kettlewell, though, insisted his focus has always been looking up the table rather than down the way, and wants Motherwell to aim to overhaul Livingston in seventh spot.

He said: “It’s another good home win with a clean sheet for us.

“We would maybe have liked that second goal to have come a wee bit earlier to calm the nerves. But it’s testament to the players who dealt with everything that came their way.

“Their goalkeeper has had an outstanding day with some massive stops. Paul McGinn misses one from two yards that might haunt him, but we created a number of chances and deserved the win.

“At no point have we been looking at what’s happening behind us. It’s a case of what we can affect. We have to go every week and approach it the way we did today. If we do, we have a chance to be a successful club.

“What’s the best we can achieve? To finish top of the bottom six. We’d love to take that position but we only do that by doing our work through the week.”

Kettlewell insisted there would be no prospect of his players now easing through to the summer break.

He said: “We are functioning really well as a team. It seems a long way from when I first took over but these guys are knocking down barriers.

“They are speaking about having Monday off but it’s not going to happen. We have four games to go and we need to give the utmost respect to what our goals are and reach them.”

Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes was left frustrated with his team’s performance, especially on the back of their victory at St Mirren last time out.

He said: “It was very disappointing. We need better performances than that at this stage of the season.

“This was always going to be the toughest of the five games, taking in mind our away form. We took confidence from beating St Mirren but we never got to those levels.

“Motherwell have a maverick player in Van Veen and he inspires them. We missed Kyle Vassell but we still had enough as a team to get something from the game. If you can’t win, then make sure you don’t lose it.

“The second goal was disappointing. Van Veen’s technique was good but we should defend that better.”

St Johnstone interim boss Steven MacLean praised the attitude of his players as the Perth side edged closer towards cinch Premiership safety with a vital 1-0 win over Dundee United at McDiarmid Park.

Captain Liam Gordon steered home the crucial goal from close range after a Stevie May miscue before United saw Charlie Mulgrew sent off for hauling down Melker Hallberg.

Steven Fletcher hit the goalframe for the visitors in the last minute but St Johnstone held on for a first victory since they beat the same opposition in February. It was also their first triumph at McDiarmid Park since they beat Rangers in early November.

After taking four points from his two games in charge, MacLean hopes his side have stopped the rot.

He said: “I’m proud. Happy for the players and happy for the supporters. I think it was deserved. I thought we played well.

“We had to defend at the end which is what you have to do because they’re fighting for their lives as well.

“They threw caution to the wind and threw bodies towards, put (Ryan) Edwards on up front so it’s always going to be tricky but we defended really well.

“If I’ve got a gripe, it would be that we could’ve scored more. We had 17 shots. That’s 14 shots and 17 shots in the last two games which is good but we want to keep building.

“I’m delighted. The players have reacted well and I’ve got a reaction out of them but it’s only one game.

“We’re in tomorrow and we’re going to prepare for Motherwell and we’re going to do everything right.”

MacLean also insisted he has not had any conversations with chairman Steve Brown about his long-term future, with his focus firmly on Saints’ fight against the drop.

He added: “There’s been nothing. Hopefully he’ll be happy with me for getting a result. I’m sure I’ll speak to him. I spoke to him on Thursday.

“He was good – he asked me how it had been and I thank him for giving me the opportunity. Hopefully he can sleep well tonight.

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin, meanwhile, rued Fletcher’s late miss as he praised his side for staying in the game.

He said: “Credit to the players, they never gave up. We tried to get as many offensive bodies on the pitch as possible towards the end and we knew we’d leave ourselves light and we were hit on the counter on a couple of occasions.

“I think if Fletcher’s effort at the end goes in then, over the piece, a draw would have been a fair outcome.”

The United boss also said he has not decided if his club will appeal against the red card shown to Mulgrew.

The defender was beaten to the ball by Hallberg and he caught the midfielder who was through on goal, although the offence did take place out wide towards the touchline.

Goodwin added: “I haven’t had the chance to watch it back so I’ll wait and see, and sit with the analyst. Then we’ll give a response.

“I’m reluctant to comment (on the prospect of losing Mulgrew) but of course Charlie has been a very important player.

“We’ll have a look back at the situation. Was there a covering defender? Was it a clear goalscoring opportunity? And we’ll assess that on Monday morning and decide which way we want to go.”

Boss Julen Lopetegui believes keeping Wolves in the Premier League will be his biggest achievement as they all but ended any relegation fears – and damaged Aston Villa’s European dream.

Toti Gomes’ first-half header earned a gritty 1-0 win and moved Wolves onto 40 points after they were bottom of the table at Christmas.

It was their fourth straight top-flight home win – for the first time since 1975 – and depending on other results they could be mathematically safe by Monday night.

Lopetegui was appointed in November before taking over after the World Cup in December and Wolves are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

“It was one of the biggest challenges of my life, as a coach. It has been my most difficult achievement as a coach, much more difficult than (winning) the Europa League and putting Sevilla in the Champions League,” said the manager, who celebrated vigorously at full time.

“It was a very bad situation. A lot of people called me, ‘you are crazy, why do you go there?’

“It’s very important points for us. To arrive at 40 points, it’s not mathematic but we are very close to our aim. I’m very happy for the club, fans, players. We arrived here in December with 10 points at the bottom.

“Today I showed more emotion, I am human. We’ve suffered a lot.”

Gomes bagged the winner after nine minutes when he headed in Ruben Neves’ corner off the bar.

Villa dominated much of the first half with Jose Sa saving from Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins wasting their best chance when he planted a free header straight at Sa.

Matheus Cunha fired over just before the break with Emi Martinez thwarting Diego Costa soon after the re-start.

Villa struggled to break a resilient Wolves – who lost 6-0 at Brighton last week – down but should have made it 1-1 with 19 minutes left.

Douglas Luiz floated in a free-kick which landed perfectly for Tyrone Mings but the defender volleyed over from six yards.

Defeat delivered a blow to Villa’s European hopes as they remain eighth, having played more games than Brighton, Tottenham and Liverpool – who they face in their final three matches.

Boss Unai Emery said: “I’m frustrated with the result but overall in 90 minutes we tried to keep going with the game plan, we did it, we had good positioning, good progress with passes and then got in the box.

“At half time I said I liked to watch our team playing like that, the best way to get a good result is like that.

“In the second half the rhythm was going down, they were trying to waste time and we didn’t get our best performances.

“We tried to change the match but we didn’t. We have to be excited because three months ago we were thinking of a different target, even if two weeks ago the possibilities were better.

“Tyrone’s chance was the best chance. In the first half we had more but not as clear. It’s football.”