Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja has said his club will fight back against “smears” after they were handed a five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.

Speaking at a press conference, Baraja stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but echoed Valencia’s earlier claim that the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”, and added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us.

“Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.”

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

In response, Valencia have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

Reacting to that sanction, Valencia said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday evening: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.

“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show evidence that contradicts what the national police and LaLiga say.

“In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing.

“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.

“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.

“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.

“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.

“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.

“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”

In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.

“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”

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’.

LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).

The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.

There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius.

Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.”

Vinicius was not included in Real’s 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu.

The forward’s red card against Valencia had been rescinded by the RFEF but the 22-year-old did not train on Tuesday, with Real coach Carlo Ancelotti saying the winger had some discomfort in his knee.

A woman bombarded Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount with messages in a four-month stalking campaign after he broke off their relationship, a court has heard.

TikToker Orla Melissa Sloan, 21, pleaded guilty to stalking the 24-year-old and his former team-mate Billy Gilmour, 21, as well as harassing fellow Blues star Ben Chilwell, 26, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

The court heard she slept with Mount, who had surgery on a pelvic injury last month, after they met at a party at his England team-mate Chilwell’s home in November 2020.

Prosecutor Jason Seetal said they stayed in contact for around six months before Mount “decided that the relationship was not going to progress”.

“Upon informing Miss Sloan of this, he has been subjected to a bombardment of messages,” he said.

“He began asking her to stop messaging him before blocking the number.

“He then began to receive messages from new numbers and each time he would block those numbers there would be messages from a different number.”

Mr Seetal said a total of 21 different numbers were used to contact Mount with some messages including collages of photos of the player with other women.

The court heard that in one message from an Instagram account using the name ‘Devil Baby’, she said: “I can morph at any time so let me apologise and set things right.”

Another showed an Apple account buying a new number for £12.99 with the words: “I’m not buying food anymore so I can get more numbers. I will be faster than you.”

Mr Seetal said Mount was “concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and he didn’t know what she was capable of”.

In a statement, Mount said: “Miss Sloan knows roughly where I live and where I train.

“I’m worried as if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.”

The court heard other messages were aimed at professional footballers, friends and family members, including left-back Chilwell.

He told how he found Sloan’s behaviour “erratic”, while Scotland midfielder Gilmour said her messages had a “huge impact” on his life, after he joined Brighton from Chelsea last September.

“I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets,” he said.

“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.”

“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.”

The court heard Gilmour had initially exchanged messages with Sloan before telling her he did not want their contact to continue and did not have a relationship with her.

But she claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described in court as “completely fictitious”.

“I don’t know who I can trust anymore,” Gilmour said.

“Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”

Sloan, from Exeter, pleaded guilty to causing “serious alarm or distress” by stalking Gilmour between September 10 and October 28 last year.

She also admitted stalking Mount between June 19 and October 28 last year, as well as causing harassment to Chilwell between October 20 and October 29, 2022.

District Judge Neeta Minhas adjourned sentencing to June 20 for reports to be prepared, telling her the most serious offence, against Gilmour, crossed the custody threshold.

She was granted unconditional bail.

Adam West is confident his stable star Live In The Dream will prove “a force to be reckoned with” in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

The four-year-old won sprint handicaps at Sandown and Chester last season and kicked off 2023 with an all-weather victory at Lingfield before following up on soft ground at Pontefract.

Those successive triumphs earned him a step up to Group Three level in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket three weeks ago and he made much of the running before being mowed down late by Vadream.

West acknowledges his charge has plenty on his plate on Merseyside this weekend, with returning stars The Platinum Queen and Dramatised among his likely rivals, but the Epsom-based trainer is hopeful he can make race fitness count and secure Group Two honours.

“I’ve just watched him do his last blow and we’re very happy with him,” said West.

“He has a lot of things in his favour and a couple of the horses in front of him (in the betting) have yet to have a run (this season). As much as these trainers can ready them, they’re serious horses and won’t be going undercooked, having a run in a sprint is a big advantage.

“If we get a nice draw we’ll be a force to be reckoned with, I think.”

Live In The Dream has not run on ground quicker than good since his Sandown success of last spring, but West views the switch to a faster surface as a positive rather than a negative.

He added: “He should be a little bit better on better ground. The soft ground has done his confidence good as he’s been able to dominate and is going in there really happy, but now we’ve actually got a surface that lets him utilise his speed a little bit more it can only be a good thing.”

West has not entered Live In The Dream for Royal Ascot next month and is not planning to supplement no matter how he fares this weekend.

“We made the decision before the Palace House that we weren’t going to Ascot,” said West.

“You get tempted when you’ve got a good horse that’s in-form to enter in everything and try to do everything, but we’re trying to keep a clear path and the stiffer five (furlongs) would be going away from what he’s good at.”

Jordi Alba’s glittering Barcelona career will come to a close at the end of the season after the LaLiga giants announced they had reached an agreement to terminate his contract.

The 34-year-old, who current deal was due to expire at the end of 2023/24, has made 458 appearances for the club and won 19 major trophies since he made his official debut against Real Sociedad in 2012.

Barcelona said in a statement: “FC Barcelona would like to publicly express its gratitude to Alba for his professionalism, commitment and dedication, and his ever-positive and friendly relationship with all members of the Barca family, and wishes him every fortune in the future.

“Barca will always be a home for you, Jordi.”

Alba was born in Barcelona and moved through the club’s youth ranks before being allowed to leave in 2005.

He moved to Valencia for whom he became a first-team regular before Barcelona brought him back to the Nou Camp in 2012.

Nick Pope is to undergo an operation on his left hand and looks set to miss Newcastle’s final game of the season against Chelsea.

Pope, an ever-present in the Premier League in his first season at St James’ Park following his £10million move from Burnley, has been instrumental in the Magpies guaranteeing a top-four finish.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper made a fine save on Monday to deny Leicester’s Timothy Castagne and ensure Eddie Howe’s side got the point they needed to guarantee Champions League football next term for the first time in 20 years.

A goalless draw against the Foxes was Pope’s 14th clean sheet in the top flight this season but it seems likely to be his final match of the season, with his left arm bandaged when he attended an event in Northumberland on Wednesday afternoon.

And Newcastle confirmed Pope has withdrawn from the England squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia next month as he is set to have surgery on his hand.

“Nick Pope – who withdrew from the last Three Lions squad due to injury – is not involved as he is set to undergo an operation on his hand,” a statement on Newcastle’s website read.

All eyes will be on Blue Storm as James Tate’s two-year-old takes his chance in the Racehorse Lotto National Stakes at Sandown on Thursday.

It looks a red-hot renewal of the Listed five-furlong sprint, but Blue Storm is just one of an array of precocious youngsters to emerge from the first crop of former sprint king Blue Point.

The form of the colt’s Newmarket debut has been franked at all angles in the subsequent weeks, with the second, third, fourth and fifth all winning in style on their next starts.

And although buoyed by those results and excited to see his charge line up at the Esher track, Tate is refusing to get too carried away having seen the National Stakes scupper dreams in the past.

He said: “We were very impressed with him first time and the form couldn’t have worked out any better. He’s been impressing at home and it’s all positives really.

“Having said that I’ve ran horses in the National Stakes a few times and on paper it looks a strong renewal, so it’s a good job we’re bringing what we think is a good horse in to it.

“We’re happy with our horse and looking forward to Thursday night.”

Hugo Palmer won this two years ago and this time saddles Hackman, who was third behind Blue Storm at Newmarket but now reopposes having advertised his speed to win impressively at Chester, while Charlie Appleby’s On Point is another of Blue Point’s progeny arriving at Sandown having won on the Rowley Mile first time out.

Richard Hannon may be a fair way off matching his father’s impressive haul in this race, but landed the spoils in both 2014 and 2015 and has two worthy contenders once again in Dapper Valley and Love Billy Boy.

The form of Dapper Valley’s soft-ground Newbury win has a solid look to it, while the latter ran on strongly to land the spoils at Musselburgh on debut.

“Obviously we have two very nice horses who both won on their debuts and naturally they will come on a lot for their first runs,” said Hannon.

“I think fast ground will be more to Dapper Valley’s liking.

“Love Billy Boy has a lot of speed and won over a sharp five up north. It’s a very lucky race for David Sullivan (part owner), who has won it a couple of times, and they are keen to take their chance.

“It’s an extremely hot renewal and whatever wins it will be probably amongst the favourites for Royal Ascot if they go.”

Ralph Beckett’s Matters Most finished third to Dapper Valley at Newbury, but the son of Advertise – who cost 500,000 as a yearling – built on that racecourse bow to get off the mark at Salisbury last time and could have plenty more to offer.

“He’s in good shape, we’re looking forward to it and we’ll find out how good he is on Thursday night,” said Beckett.

Irish interest is provided by Tipperary scorer Son Of Corballis, with handler Kieran Cotter keen to get extra experience into the Raven’s Pass colt before a potential Royal Ascot tilt.

“There are limited opportunities for him here in Ireland over five furlongs and we just thought to give him this prep run before Royal Ascot,” said Cotter.

“The plan is to go for the Norfolk with him and we like him a lot, but we just need to get more of a line on him really and I suppose we’ll know more after Thursday.

“We think he’s smart and we’re confident enough to bring him over. He has a good temperament and is a smart sort, but we haven’t had that proper line on him just yet.”

Karl Burke is another handler saddling two runners and both Doncaster scorer Elite Status and Pontefract winner World Of Darcy created taking impressions, while Alice Haynes’ Shayekh completes a strong field of 10 going to post.

Eberechi Eze received his first call-up and Lewis Dunk returned four-and-a-half years after his only cap as Gareth Southgate named the England squad for June’s Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, Group C continues with next month’s double header against Malta and North Macedonia.

Southgate has named a 25-man squad, with Eric Dier and Raheem Sterling the high-profile absentees and Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze the only uncapped player in the group.

Brighton captain Dunk returned for the first time since making his debut against the United States in November 2018.

Callum Wilson, Tyrone Mings, Sam Johnstone and Trent Alexander-Arnold also returned to the fold.

Sterling, who has won 82 caps, has endured a difficult first season since joining Chelsea from Manchester City.

A representative for the forward said: “Following a private conversation between coach and player, a mutual decision has been made for Raheem Sterling to sit out the upcoming internationals, focusing instead on recuperating his body in preparation for the upcoming season.”

France’s Victor Perez will defend the KLM Open title he won in amazing fashion last year as he bids to boost his Ryder Cup chances.

Perez beat Ryan Fox on the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off 12 months ago, Fox having run up a double-bogey seven on the 72nd hole.

Fox twice had one hand on the trophy when he birdied the first and third extra holes – the par-five 18th – only for Perez to hole from 15 and 30 feet respectively to stay alive.

Perez then holed another long putt for birdie when the action switched to the 17th and it was no surprise that a shellshocked Fox then missed his shorter attempt.

That was Perez’s sole victory in 2022, but he finished third in the Italian Open at this year’s Ryder Cup venue and started this season with a win in Abu Dhabi.

Another top 10 in the Italian Open earlier this month and a tie for 12th in last week’s US PGA Championship have helped Perez move into the automatic qualifying places for the European Ryder Cup team as he bids to secure a debut in the biennial event.

“One of the mistakes I made for Whistling Straits (in 2021) was I was in a similar position, inside the world’s top 50, so I had the opportunity to play in America, but then you don’t have the opportunity to score points on the European Points List,” Perez said.

Perez was ninth in the Players Championship in 2021 and reached the semi-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, but missed the cut in five of his next six starts to slip out of the qualifying places.

“It’s tricky because it didn’t work last time and it doesn’t mean that because I’m playing in Europe it means I’m going to make the team,” he added. “It might not work.

“At the end of the day, it’s just about playing well and elevating your game when the deadline approaches.”

Perez is also third on the current Race to Dubai rankings, with the top 10 players at the end of the season, who are not otherwise exempt, earning a PGA Tour card.

It is a controversial innovation which has led to accusations that the DP World Tour is becoming a “feeder tour” to the PGA Tour as part of its strategic alliance with the US-based circuit, but Perez is in favour.

“I’ve heard that people say that 10 people are going to go so the DP World Tour are going to lose their stars,” the 30-year-old said.

“You can agree or disagree, but I still feel like there are guys who are going to lose their cards in America. They’re going to think they’d much rather play in Europe for two or three million every week rather than going to the Korn Ferry Tour because they can get 10 spots again.

“There are those players who are going to thrive, then there’s those players who come back. You still play for great money, whether people want to complain or not.

“You’re still playing for millions of dollars, every week, travelling the world, playing golf. It’s not like your life is difficult, relatively.

“It’s always easy to be like, ‘Oh they’re playing for USD 25million in America’. If you are to go over there then you’re playing against better competition, you still make no money for missing the cut even though it says USD 25m at the start of the week.”

Jimmy Butler says the Miami Heat must play with more energy and like their backs are against the wall when they next face the Boston Celtics.

The Heat missed the chance to progress to the NBA Finals as they lost 116-99 to the Celtics on Tuesday.

Miami now hold a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals, ahead of Game 5 in Boston on Thursday.

But for Butler, who scored 29 points and added nine rebounds and five assists, there is no reason to be downhearted.

"If anything, it will build momentum for us knowing that we have to play with a lot more energy," Butler said.

"We've got to play like our backs are against the wall.

"I think all year long, we've been better when we've had to do things the hard way.

"We'll be OK. Let's get back to doing what we've always done to get us to this point, continually have belief in one another, knowing that we are going to win, and we will. We've just got to play harder.

"There's not too much to say with this group because we already know. So we've just got to go out there and execute."

Butler's sentiment was echoed by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.

"At some point, this is great competition. You know, sometimes it can get skewed, because, whatever, the 3-0," he said.

"But we have great respect for Boston, what they are capable of. They are a dynamic offensive team that takes extraordinary efforts and commitment to get the job done. Our guys really want this.

"A lot of what we've done this year has been the hard way. We've been able to figure out ways to win, even if teams are playing well, if we are not in a perfect flow.

"They got us tonight. You have to give them credit for that."

"It's definitely disappointing," said Heat guard Caleb Martin.

"That would have been a perfect world, perfect situation. But as we know and everybody else knows, we don't typically get things the easy way over here.

"So like I said, this is right up our alley. This is the way it goes for us and guys like us. Again, I think it's only going to prepare us for the long run. This could be good for us."

Ruud Van Nistelrooy has resigned as manager of PSV Eindhoven ahead of their final game of the season, the Dutch club have announced.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker had been in charge for just one year at the Philips Stadion and won the Dutch Cup earlier this month.

PSV will secure a second-place finish in the Eredivisie if they take a point from their last game at AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.

A statement from the club on Wednesday said Van Nistelrooy, 46, did not feel he had sufficient support following several recent discussions about “internal affairs”.

The club wanted him to see out of the season but he has opted to leave immediately. Fred Rutten will take charge for the trip to Alkmaar.

The statement read: “Van Nistelrooy reported this morning that in his opinion there was not enough support within the club to continue longer.

“He immediately explained this to the players and staff.

“PSV regrets Van Nistelrooy’s decision and is grateful to him for winning the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup this season and hopes to close the football year with second place.”

Owner-breeder Imad Al Sagar is targeting the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and a possible Arc bid with Nashwa ahead of her reappearance at Saint-Cloud this weekend.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Frankel filly enjoyed an excellent three-year-old campaign, claiming Classic glory in the French Oaks under Hollie Doyle before doubling her Group One tally in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

She subsequently finished second in the Prix de l’Opera and fourth at the Breeders’ Cup, and with an initial plan to bring her back in last week’s Middleton Stakes at York shelved, Nashwa instead makes her return in the Group Two Prix Corrida on Sunday.

“Nashwa is in great form,” Al Sagar told Sky Sports Racing.

“We were targeting the Middleton at York as a prep race for main target, which is the Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot, but she is a big filly and takes a lot of time to come to hand, which she has now. Her work is superb and we’re heading to Saint-Cloud on Sunday, hopefully.”

The prominent owner said he had no doubts about bringing Nashwa back into training as a four-year-old and is hopeful there may even be more improvement to come.

He added: “It was a very simple decision as I know the family.

“Her dam (Princess Loulou) was at her best at four, so they thrive with age, and Nashwa is definitely no exception – she’s a stronger and bigger filly this year.”

Although his star filly seemingly failed to see out the mile and a half when third in the Oaks at Epsom, Al Sagar hopes her stronger physique will give her a chance to do so this season, giving him hope of a potential tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in October.

Considering future plans, he said: “She’s entered in the Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes. It is premature at the moment and we will have a better idea after the Prince of Wales’s if all goes well.

“Going back to the Oaks last year we went into unknown territory and she didn’t stay the mile and a half, but this year, being stronger, we think she might reach that target and she’s entered in the Arc.

“Nashwa is a very special filly with a great cruising speed and her temperament is phenomenal.”

Directors of cricket from the 18 first-class counties have come together to demand a bigger voice in the future running of the sport.

Representatives from each county met at the Kia Oval on Monday to discuss their apparent loss of influence in the corridors of power and appeal for greater recognition.

A joint statement was issued on Tuesday making the case, with a reference to “new leadership at the helm of the English game” seemingly a direct appeal to England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson.

The pair previously held matching positions at Surrey and are seen as friends and advocates of the domestic game, particularly in contrast to their predecessors Tom Harrison and Colin Graves.

The recent departure of the influential Sir Andrew Strauss, who was a strategic adviser and chaired the ECB’s performance cricket committee, has left a gap in expertise.

A number of specific issues are raised by the DOC group, which includes experienced former internationals like Alec Stewart (Surrey), Darren Gough (Yorkshire), Paul Downton (Kent) and Marcus North (Durham).

Most pressing was the encroachment of the global franchise circuit on the county calendar.

Where previously only a handful of elite players were in demand at high-level tournaments like the Indian Premier League, the proliferation of lucrative competitions in South Africa, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates – with the United States and Saudi Arabia poised to enter the market – has increased pressures considerably.

“The cricket landscape has changed significantly in the last couple of seasons and, following our meeting, the DOC feel they have lost some influence in many of the key decisions that have been made within the game recently,” the statement read.

“Whilst understanding the challenges of recent years, particularly post recovery from Covid, we sense there has been a recent void where there was previous DOC representation contributing to the shape of domestic cricket.

“With a new era commencing and new leadership at the helm of the English game, we would like to propose that the DOCs have a representative to sit on any future performance committees or other appropriate working groups.

“The DOCs discussed several agenda items, but perhaps the most significant was an acknowledgement across the board of the urgent need for a review of the standard player contract.

“The current arrangement leaves the clubs with little control over their players movements in the off-season, often leading to increased medical and staffing costs to ensure players are suitably prepared and rehabilitated, and there is clearly now the need for more flexibility in this area to suit both clubs and players.

“The number of players involved in winter tournaments has risen exponentially in the last four to five years and, with the US Major League on the horizon, this is becoming a very real challenge for all involved.

“The group understands that the ECB, PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association) and county CEOs also recognise the need for this review, and we would welcome the opportunity to have a direct input into these discussions.”

Also debated were recent changes to the points system in the LV= County Championship, overseas players, umpiring and the Second XI cricket.

“There were various viewpoints considered, but despite the differing perspectives there was a strong collective feeling that the DOCs can offer very valuable input into future discussions in such areas,” it continued.

“We would ask those closest to the current decision-making processes to include the DOCs more in the future and take advantage of our many years of amassed experience.”

Erik ten Hag expects Marcus Rashford to be ready to face Chelsea on Thursday night but admitted he is not sure whether Manchester United’s top scorer is fully fit.

Rashford has missed United’s last two fixtures, first with a leg injury and then through illness, but has returned to training this week.

Asked if the 29-goal forward was ready to play, Ten Hag said: “It looks like (it). Yesterday, he returned to training, he looks quite fit but we have to see today what is the outcome of the training, how did we recover and then we will make our choices.”

Rashford’s absence against Wolves and Bournemouth – both games United won without him – once again brought into focus United’s lack of depth in the forward positions.

Anthony Martial was handed a rare start on the south coast on Sunday, but headed straight down the tunnel when he was withdrawn after an hour before later returning to the bench.

Martial’s reaction led to fresh speculation over his United future. The 27-year-old, who finished last season on loan at Sevilla, has scored eight times in 27 appearances for United this season, but has struggled at times with injuries.

“If you are not available, you can’t score,” Ten Hag said. “When he was available we played better, the team is winning games, he’s also scoring goals but he has to be available.”

And Ten Hag also batted away a question about speculation linking United with Paris St Germain’s Brazil forward Neymar by offering his stock answer on transfer rumours, saying: “When we have news, we will tell you.”

United will secure a top-four place and a return to the Champions League for next season if they take at least a point against Frank Lampard’s side.

“It’s clear, we want to win every game,” the Dutchman said. “That is what we do all season so tomorrow we want to do the same, we want to win the game, play dominant football and get the job done…

“First, we have to win the game tomorrow and get the job done. Then, it’s about judgement from others if it’s a good, bad or normal performance.

“We are in a project, we want to go back and win trophies, we win one trophy but we want more trophies, compete with the best, we are still in a journey but we think we are in the right direction but it can always be better. Because good is not good enough.”

With the League Cup trophy already in the cabinet, booking a return to Europe’s premier competition would be another significant marker for Ten Hag in his first season at Old Trafford.

“If we want to compete with the best, then you have to be in the Champions League,” he said.

“We want to compete with the best and be in the Champions League. In the Premier League, you have to be one of the first four, that’s not easy, many are competing for it, many think they should be in and we are one of them.”