Ange Postecoglou feels he already has a very healthy relationship with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, but will not go white water rafting with him any time soon.

Postecoglou will on Monday night come up against former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who once revealed in his book ‘Brave New World’ that a staff-bonding exercise in Argentina resulted in himself, Levy and his coaches taking to the water.

While Postecoglou laughed off any prospect of a repeat occurring, he did acknowledge the importance of gaining Levy’s trust and gave credit to the previously under-fire chairman for a strong start to the new season.

“Nah, it’s not happening. Nothing against Daniel but I’m not going white water rafting,” Postecoglou said.

“Look my relationship with Daniel is pretty consistent with the relationships with all the people I’ve worked with at other clubs that have major influence as decision-makers.

“I need them to believe in me. That’s the basic core of it and you can get to that space in many different ways. It doesn’t mean you have to socialise with them, it doesn’t mean you have to talk to them every day.

“It’s about gaining their trust and belief, because without their trust and belief, I can’t do what I want to do. I can’t make decisions around staff, bringing players in, all these things unless the people above me have total faith and trust.”

Chants calling for Levy to leave Spurs were a regular occurrence during the second half of last season, but the discontent has quietened following a flying start to the campaign, although protests over ticket pricing has continued.

Postecoglou, whose side will return to the top of the table if they beat Pochettino’s Chelsea on Monday evening, said: “It’s not an unusual position. When I walked in at Celtic, the board weren’t too popular at the start either, but they backed me.

“They believed in me and when they do that, yes of course they deserve the credit because they’re the ones that have made the decisions and backed me to bring the club to where it is currently.

“So, of course they should get the credit, but I’ve treated those relationships all the same.

“The number one task I have when I go into a club is to get people to believe in me, trust me. Whether that’s the person working on the floor down here or the person who runs the club. It’s the same.

“I’ve got to get all of them to believe in me because I can’t do what I want to do by myself. It just doesn’t work that way.

“I’ve had a really healthy working relationship with Daniel and hopefully I’m gaining more of his trust to continue to do what I want to do.”

Brain injury charity Headway have questioned the decision to allow Harry Maguire to continue playing for Manchester United after sustaining a head collision and warned about the management of in-game impacts in football.

Maguire fell to the floor with less than a minute played at Fulham on Saturday after clashing heads with Rodrigo Muniz and appeared to have sustained a cut just above his eye.

The England defender continued after treatment but referee John Brooks questioned Maguire’s condition after 58 minutes and United physios again analysed the defender.

Maguire finished the game United as won 1-0, and he later told MUTV he had passed concussion protocols, saying: “The doctor did all the tests, I knew where I was and I was answering all the questions and I completed them (protocols) thankfully.”

But Headway say the sight of Brooks’ intervention when Maguire appeared to be in difficulty was “deeply concerning”, and the organisation has warned that progress made over the past decade to improve the health of players is at risk due to football’s failure to manage in-game head injuries.

“The incident with Harry Maguire is concerning for a number of reasons,” said Luke Griggs, chief executive of Headway.

“An opponent’s shoulder strikes the side of his head; minutes later he goes down on his haunches, showing clear signs of discomfort.

“After a brief on-pitch assessment – again highlighting the nonsensical lack of temporary concussion substitutes in football – he was allowed to continue.

“The sight of the referee then having to intervene in the second half when the player continued to look in difficulty was deeply concerning. But again, after another brief assessment with medics, he was again allowed to play on.

“We are not privy to the discussions with his medical team, nor should their professionalism be questioned. This is an issue with the very culture of football and its stubborn refusal to put players’ health above all else – including the result of a game.

“Every time the ‘if in doubt, sit it out’ principle is seen to be ignored in elite level football, our chances of educating younger players and better protecting future generations from short and long-term brain injury is diminished.

“Temporary concussion substitutions would immediately help return some credibility to the process, but an evolution of attitude is urgently needed.”

Griggs said attitudes to concussion have changed over the past decade.

He said: “We have come such a long way since Hugo Lloris was labelled a ‘hero’ for over-ruling club medics to return to the pitch after a clear concussion while playing for Spurs against Everton in 2013.

“That shocking incident was a wake-up call for football. We called it ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ at the time, demanding it be used as a catalyst for change.

“That change has been a slow process, but attitudes have changed. Promises were made, such as the concept of players being immediately removed from play if there is any suspicion of concussion.

“An ‘if in doubt, sit it out’ approach was enshrined in a series of concussion protocols, eventually adopted by various footballing bodies.

“But this progress is eroded with every high-profile incident in which the safety first principle is set aside and players being allowed to continue despite showing signs that a concussion could have occurred.”

Jeremy Doku joined an exclusive club in Manchester City’s win over Bournemouth, with his four assists one of a host of Premier League records notched up over the weekend.

Jarrod Bowen and Brighton also made bits of history and here, the PA news agency looks at the landmarks headlined by Doku’s virtuoso display.

Four-assist club

Doku inspired the 6-1 thumping of Bournemouth, scoring the first goal and then setting up Bernardo Silva, twice, and Phil Foden as well as seeing a shot deflect in off Manuel Akanji.

Doku is the eighth man – and, at 21, the youngest – to record four assists in a single Premier League game, a feat first achieved by former Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp when he set up Ray Parlour’s brace and two of Nicolas Anelka’s hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Leicester in 1999.

The Gunners dominate the list, with Jose Antonio Reyes feeding Thierry Henry, twice, Philippe Senderos and Aleksandr Hleb in 2006’s 7-0 win over Middlesbrough and an imperious Cesc Fabregas setting up the first three, scoring the fourth and laying on the fifth for Theo Walcott in a 6-2 win over Blackburn in 2009.

Emmanuel Adebayor had left Arsenal and returned to north London with Tottenham before he joined the four-assist club in 2012, setting up the first four before scoring himself to round off a 5-0 win over Newcastle.

Santi Cazorla added to the Arsenal contingent in the following season’s 4-1 win over Wigan and Spurs striker Harry Kane remarkably set up Son Heung-min four times before scoring the fifth in 2020’s 5-2 win at Southampton.

Paul Pogba provided the first entry from outside north London in Manchester United’s 5-1 opening-day defeat of Leeds in 2021 and Doku ensured both sides of Manchester are now represented.

Other landmarks

West Ham winger Bowen’s goal at Brentford extended his run of scoring in every away game to a Premier League-record six matches from the start of a season.

The England international opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth and netted the Hammers’ second in a 3-1 win at Brighton before setting them on their way to a 2-1 success at Luton.

They have lost all three away games since but that is not down to Bowen, who scored as they went down 3-1 at Liverpool and 4-1 at Aston Villa and put them 2-1 up in Saturday’s eventual 3-2 loss.

The former Hull star has only one league goal at the London Stadium this term, in the 2-0 win over Sheffield United, and another in the Carabao Cup win over Arsenal.

Brighton’s games have all seen goals for both teams – they have beaten Luton and Wolves 4-1 and Newcastle, Manchester United and Bournemouth 3-1, lost 3-1 to the Hammers, 6-1 at Villa and 2-1 to Manchester City and drawn 2-2 with Liverpool and 1-1 with Fulham and now Everton.

Eleven games is the longest such run from the start of a season, beating the record of nine by Middlesbrough in 2000-01 and Leicester on their way to the 2015-16 title.

The Seagulls’ last four results of last season were 1-4, 3-1, 1-1 and 1-2, leaving them one away from Everton’s all-time Premier League record of 16 consecutive games in which both teams have scored.

That was set between September 2012 and January 2013 and featured eight draws – five 1-1s and three 2-2s. It ended with back-to-back goalless draws against Swansea and Southampton.

Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede is eyeing a “massive opportunity” to edge England for a place in the Champions Trophy, insisting the pressure is all on Jos Buttler’s men.

While the 2019 champions have endured a miserable World Cup, sitting rock bottom in 10th place after seven games, the only associate nation at the competition have exceeded expectations with victory over Bangladesh and a famous upset of South Africa.

They meet in Pune on Wednesday with qualification for the next global 50-over tournament potentially on the line – something England would have taken for granted just weeks ago before their campaign crumbled.

Breaking into the Champions Trophy would be a striking achievement for the Dutch and one De Leede, who plays for Durham, believes is within their grasp if England succumb to the tension of their situation.

“As a title-defending team there is a huge pressure on you straight away, especially when you don’t get a great start, and I’m sure there is added pressure for them now on this game,” he told the PA news agency.

“For us it’s a privilege to be playing for a spot in the Champions Trophy, for them it’s an expectation to finish at least in the top eight.

“It’s a massive opportunity, 100 per cent. It’s in the back of our heads that if we do manage to win this game it would help enormously to qualify and that would be huge for Dutch cricket.

“Of course England are a dangerous side, they have such quality in the batting and bowling departments, but two wins in this campaign is pretty good for us and we feel as a group there is more out there for us.

“The proof is there in the South Africa game. To see what we have been practising come off against a team like that was great to see and gave us a lot of confidence as a team.”

De Leede, who has taken more wickets than any English bowler with 11 so far, is also embracing the chance to strike a blow against a system that frequently cuts out those who do not have full member status as ICC level.

The abandonment of the World Cup Super League format means the Netherlands no longer have mandatory games against the biggest names and will instead slip back into a structure that pits them against the likes of Namibia, Nepal, Scotland and Canada.

“Getting games against the bigger nations is very hard for us. It’s hard to get teams to play us so we’ve got to force them to, that’s the only way,” he said.

“If we did qualify for the Champions Trophy it would secure another seven games against the best teams. That how we keep progressing as a national team and it’s in our hands.

“We kind of felt like we were gate-crashing here so to come through would be massive.”

Paul Nicholls has indicated there is a possibility Bravemansgame could run in the Betfair Chase at Haydock later this month if conditions prove suitable.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up narrowly failed to defend his Charlie Hall Chase crown at Wetherby on Saturday when a mistake at the final fence allowed Mouse Morris’ race-fit Gentlemansgame to snatch victory.

It was thought that the eight-year-old would head straight to Kempton in search of back-to-back victories in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, but Nicholls is refusing to rule out an appearance at Haydock on November 25 – a race which was originally slated for Bravemansgame’s seasonal return.

“He’s come out of the race really well, he’s actually had a canter today, and there is still a possibility of him running in the Betfair Chase,” Nicholls told Betfair in his Ditcheat Diary.

“It’s a fantastic race and I love supporting it and have done well in it. Plenty of horses I have had have used that as a stepping stone to the King George and in a lot of ways Saturday was a bit of a racecourse gallop for him.

“He had not been anywhere before Saturday and if we were happy with him and the ground was OK – that is key, I don’t want to give him a hard race, a slog in really testing ground before the King George – but if we had a dry week up to it and the ground was good to soft, then it could be tempting.”

Reflecting on his Wetherby defeat, Nicholls added: “He ran a super race and it was probably a better performance than a year ago.

“The ground was testing enough for him and you could probably run the race 100 times and get a different result each time, but if he hadn’t made that mistake at the last and had landing running, it could have been a whole heap different.

“He got beat by a good, improving, young, race-fit horse and we paid for a little mistake. It was his first run of the season and I was going to have him nowhere near his best first-time out. Obviously, we want him to step forward from that and he will do.”

Henrietta Knight, who saddled Best Mate to three straight Cheltenham Gold Cup triumphs, is poised for a return to the training ranks in the new year.

The 76-year-old is best known for her hat-trick of victories in the blue riband event between 2002 and 2004 but was also the trainer of Champion Chase hero Edredon Bleu, who similarly carried the colours of Best Mate’s owner Jim Lewis.

Knight, who was married to former champion jump jockey Terry Biddlecombe, retired in 2012 but has remained involved in the sport by running a pre-training business and also being an active figure at the sales.

However, she will now recommence training under rules from her West Lockinge base, where she hopes to train around 25-30 horses.

Knight will be assisted by Grand National-winning jockey Brendan Powell, who was a trainer in his own right before serving as assistant to Joseph O’Brien and Rebecca Menzies in recent years, and he is excited to link-up with such a distinguished name in racing.

“I’ve known Hen for 30-odd years and was good friends with Terry,” said Powell.

“I came over here to Rebecca’s and it sort of hasn’t really worked out and Hen mentioned to me in the week that she was thinking if she got the horses, she wouldn’t mind training again and asked if I would consider going down and helping out.

“I had a few chats with her and we decided that I would give it a go and see what happens.”

He went on: “I know she has applied for the licence and there should be no reason why she wouldn’t get it.

“It’s a good place there and my son Brendan rides out there along with Paul O’Brien and James Bowen. She’s always busy and always got plenty of horses in and she is hoping to get around 25-30 horses, which would be just a nice number. We will give it a go and see what happens.

“She has been a great trainer over the years and with the horses she has had. It’s obviously not going to be as big as that now, but I’m sure we can get some nice owners together – she has a few already – and we will see if we can build on that.”

Knight told Telegraph Sport: “People will probably think I’m mad starting again when most people are stopping, but I like doing things and I miss the buzz.

“Cheltenham’s where I love and I can’t wait to get back there. The emphasis will be on trying to find a few chasers to take me back to Cheltenham. I’m very excited and want to get going.”

Cheltenham Festival hero Iroko is set to make his chasing debut at Warwick on Tuesday.

Trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, the five-year-old was a real improver over hurdles last season and, after a pair of commanding wins at Wetherby, brought up a hat-trick when scoring in the Martin Pipe at the Festival in March.

Iroko then finished off his season by finishing an honourable third when stepped up to Grade One company for the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle during Aintree’s Grand National Festival.

Having skipped a possible return at Cheltenham recently, he will now start off over the larger obstacles in the Stan Mellor Memorial Novices’ Chase, a race won 12 months ago by Paul Nicholls’ Stage Star.

Greenall said: “We’ve always thought chasing would be his game, he’s been schooling really well and we’re looking forward to getting going with him.

“He will want three miles eventually, but we’re just going to start off at two and a half and then go up in trip as the season progresses.”

Iroko is owned by JP McManus, whose famous green and gold hoops are also carried by Greenall and Guerriero’s smart hurdling prospect Jagwar.

The four-year-old recruit from France pushed the highly-regarded Inthewaterside all the way on his UK bow at Aintree last Sunday and is exciting his training team.

“He does everything well at home, is really relaxed and easy to train,” continued Greenall.

“He’s going to probably want a trip and fences in time but we will stay over hurdles for now obviously this season.

“We feel he will come on for the experience and fitness wise, so we were very happy with the performance.”

Jagwar could now be set for an immediate step up in class, with a return to Aintree for the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle (formerly the Tolworth) on the Merseyside track’s new Boxing Day card and Newbury’s Challow Hurdle both possible options.

“There’s a few options for him and we’ll probably wait until Christmas time with him now,” explained Greenall.

“He can go back to Aintree on Boxing Day for the new fixture or there is Newbury that we are looking at, we’ll just have to wait and see how he is.

“We’ll probably step him up (in class) a bit, which is what we did with Iroko – and if he won, then great, but if he doesn’t, then he’s gaining experience along the way.

“We probably won’t just go for a little novice as I don’t think he will learn a lot and we’re not gaining anything. We would probably prefer to go and have a go at a better race.

“Aintree would mean going back in trip but it could easily be fairly soft ground that day, which would be fine.”

Toto Wolff said Mercedes’ worst performance on his watch as team principal shows they are right to make wholesale design changes for next season.

Lewis Hamilton finished eighth at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix – more than a minute behind race winner Max Verstappen – while George Russell retired with an engine failure while running in 11th.

Far from being any closer to Verstappen’s all-conquering Red Bull, Mercedes were slower than McLaren, Aston Martin, Ferrari and the mid-table Alpine team in Sao Paulo, with Pierre Gasly embarrassing the former world champions when he batted Hamilton and Russell aside.

“It is totally baffling and unacceptable,” said a beleaguered Wolff.

“We are a proper structure, a solid team but that didn’t look like a solid team today. For me personally, it was the worst weekend in 13 years (in Formula One).

“The development of that car has been about putting plasters on something that was not right and it shows that it is so unpredictable that it can swing either side.

“Fundamentally, we will have a different car next year and today proves that is the right thing to do.

“It feels horrible for the whole team. And I wish we could start the new season concentrating on the new car.”

Performances at the previous two rounds had afforded Hamilton and Mercedes hope that they were closing the gap to Red Bull.

Armed with a new floor in Austin two weeks ago, Hamilton finished second before he was disqualified after his Mercedes failed a post-race scrutineering check. He was runner-up again in Mexico seven days later, this time with a legal car, 14 sec adrift of Verstappen.

But the Silver Arrows were dealt a grizzly reality check at Interlagos – a venue where they expected to perform well after Russell claimed Mercedes’ sole victory there last season.

Wolff continued: “It’s baffling. From having a really quick and balanced car and drivers really happy, to a nightmare. How is that possible?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we analyse the cars in the next few days and we find out that there is a mechanical issue in the way we set them up.”

Russell was forced to park his machine with 12 laps remaining but the Englishman hopes Mercedes’ abysmal performance was track specific – with rounds to follow in Las Vegas in a fortnight before the concluding race in Abu Dhabi on November 26.

“It was a mind-boggling weekend to understand,” said Russell. “We had high expectations heading into this weekend and we had absolutely no pace at all.

“There are so many question marks. It is the same car that we have had for the last five races which has been capable of podiums.

“This is clearly a substantial one-off event, but we need to understand what we got wrong because right now, we don’t really know.”

What the papers say

Luton are hoping to sign Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano from LDU Quito in January, the Sun reports. The 19-year-old would have to waive 15 per cent of his £5.5million fee, or Luton could fork out to cover the cost. Zambrano came through the same football academy as Ecuador and Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has refused to rule out a return to his former club Tottenham in the future, the Mirror reports. The Argentinian said he is open to the idea of returning to the club one day.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Ben White: Arsenal are reportedly set to offer the English defender a large pay rise as they look to secure his future at the club, Football Insider reports.

Piotr Zielinski: Liverpool and West Ham are interested in Napoli’s 29-year-old Polish midfielder, according to Teamtalk. His contract expires in summer.

A 30-point triple-double from LaMelo Ball was not enough to get the Charlotte Hornets across the line against the Dallas Mavericks.

Ball scored 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of Charlotte’s 124-118 defeat, to go along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

A quiet start from Luka Doncic allowed the Hornets to gain an early advantage, but the Slovenian eventually found his groove to lead the Mavericks’ second-half comeback.

He finished with 23 points, while Kyrie Irving added 18.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 112-100 on the back of Desmond Bane’s 30-point effort.

The visitors left it until late, launching a 24-point comeback in the final quarter to pick up their first win of the season.

Jerami Grant top-scored for Portland with 27.

The Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Kevin Durant stepped up in the absence of injured starting duo Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, scoring a season-high 41 points in the 14-point victory.

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised the Golden State Warriors 115-104, while Scottie Barnes scored 30 points to lead the Toronto Raptors over the San Antonio Spurs 123-116.

Donovan Mitchell led the way with 31 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers earned their first regular-season victory over the Golden State Warriors in nearly seven years with Sunday's 115-104 win.

Mitchell finished 11 of 19 from the field and added seven assists to help Cleveland snap a 16-game losing streak in the series, which included five losses to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers' first regular-season win over Golden State since Christmas Day of 2016 also snapped the Warriors' run of five straight victories since a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Darius Garland added 24 points and Evan Mobley compiled 13 points and 16 rebounds in the Cavs' second win in three games following a 1-3 start to the season.

Mitchell recorded 17 points in the first half and Garland had 13 by the break as Cleveland took a 57-45 lead into the intermission, then never trailed in the second half.

Stephen Curry went 7 of 11 from 3-point range and amassed 28 points in the Warriors' first defeat in five road games this season. 

Raptors come back from 22 points down to stun Spurs in overtime

Scottie Barnes scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead a furious second-half rally that catapulted the Toronto Raptors to a 123-116 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Toronto trailed by 22 points late in the first half and faced an 86-71 deficit after three quarters, but outscored the Spurs by a 23-10 margin to begin the fourth. Barnes later tied the contest at 108-108 with a 3-pointer with 37.9 seconds left in regulation, though Keldon Johnson put San Antonio back ahead with two free throws on the ensuing possession before the Raptors' OG Anunoby forced overtime with a putback with just 1.2 seconds remaining.

The Raptors then opened overtime with an 8-2 run to take the lead for good.

Anunoby and Dennis Schröder each finished with 24 points for Toronto, with Anunoby going 7 of 13 on 3-point tries. Barnes finished 5 of 10 from beyond the arc to go along with 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.

Rookie sensation VIctor Wembanyama had 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for San Antonio, which also received 26 points from Johnson and 21 points and 11 rebounds from Zach Collins.

Grizzlies rally past Trail Blazers for elusive first win

Desmond Bane scored 30 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to earn a 112-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers for their first victory of the season.

Memphis, which posted the second-best record in the Western Conference last season at 51-31, opened the 2023-24 campaign with six straight losses and looked on the way towards a seventh with Portland owning a 98-86 lead with eight minutes remaining.

The Grizzlies held the Blazers without a field goal the rest of the way, however, as they closed the game on a 26-2 run. Bane had nine points and Jaren Jackson Jr. totalled seven during the game-ending spurt.

Jackson finished with 27 points and seven rebounds and Luke Kennard contributed 15 points off the bench for Memphis.

Jerami Grant led Portland with 27 points and both Malcolm Brogdon and Shaedon Sharpe had 18 in the loss. Brogdon added 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Ronnie O’Sullivan announced his decision to step away from snooker due to personal reasons on this day in 2012.

The star’s self-imposed exile did not last long and he would return for the season-ending World Championship and win it.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said at the time: “I have spoken to Ronnie and he has decided to withdraw from any events he has entered, and he will not be playing for the rest of this season. He has some personal issues which he needs to resolve and we wish him all the best for the future.”

In May 2012, after winning his fourth world title, O’Sullivan said he intended to take some time away from the sport.

“I don’t intend to stay in the game long, even though I feel in a lot better place,” he said. “I’ve made that decision and this might – I’m not saying it is – be my last time in this tournament.”

Just a few months later, in 2013, he won a fifth world title – beating Barry Hawkins – although O’Sullivan had to wait seven years for a sixth, before adding a seventh in 2022.

O’Sullivan has continued his hints at retirement having repeatedly said he had fallen out of love with the game but just last year reiterated his focus.

He said: “I feel like I’ve got life in perspective – I spent enough years getting disappointed by the game. I thought let’s try not to get disappointed and it’s freed me up a bit.

“I’m still competitive. If I take up anything I want to be better, it’s just natural and I’ll never lose that, so the players can expect me to keep coming for more.”