Chief executive Alan Burrows has warned that Aberdeen “will be a very difficult club to deal with” if any interested parties attempt to sign their best players.

Strikers Luis “Duk” Lopes and Bojan Miovski have notched 18 goals apiece in their maiden seasons at Pittodrie and have been the subject of interest from elsewhere.

“Both Duk and Miovski are in the first year of long-term contracts,” said Burrows. “The club is under no pressure to sell them and the club don’t want to sell them.

“If anybody wants to take our best assets away from us, particularly ones who have long contracts, we’re going to be a very difficult club to deal with.

“We have to marry up a model that says we develop young players through the academy and players we bring in to develop and sell, but at the same time you’ve got to balance that by building a squad rather than consistently chipping away at it, so in order to do that you’ve got to retain the best value for these players.

“People have got to know that Aberdeen Football Club will do that. The board have done that in the past, they’ve knocked back big offers for players and I sense from the ownership group and the board that they’re more than prepared to do that again.

“We want to build a strong team and retain the best players whilst also understanding that there is a model that requires us to continually look to trade on players to continue the health of the football club and invest in the team.

“It won’t be easy for anybody who wants to take any of our best players, that’s for sure.”

Burrows was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, a day after interim boss Barry Robson – who was initially in situ only until the end of this season – was handed a contract for the next two years.

The recently-recruited CEO explained why former under-18s coach Robson, who has won eight of his 10 games in charge, emerged as the favoured choice following an “extensive” recruitment process that explored “a number of key candidates”.

“I had never met Barry before I came to the club but I’d heard a lot about him. I was really taken aback by how highly regarded he was by the senior people at Pittodrie and then after my first meeting with him at Cormack Park,” said Burrows, who joined Aberdeen at the end of February, a month after Robson took the reins from the sacked Jim Goodwin.

“That hour-and-a-half I could really sense what type of character he is and I really liked him from the get-go. I thought ‘this guy’s really got the materials to be doing it’.

“In terms of the stuff he’s been doing away from the pitch, Barry’s been developing a bit of a DNA about what it means to be an Aberdeen player, right through from the youngest academy players, to the development age groups, to the first team, and really trying to home in on what it means to play for this club and be successful.

“And now that he’s the manager, we’re really excited about him being able to drive that forward from the top down.

“It’s almost that utopia of what football clubs want, that connectivity between the three different areas of player development and we think Barry now is the flagship, most senior person within the football department and he can really drive that forward and connect up those departments.

“First and foremost it’s about winning matches – and he’s doing that. Developing players and giving them confidence and a structure, and he’s done that.

“And the third thing is to connect up all the various departments and the various age groups to create a real synergy between the very youngest player and the most senior player.

“Those were the three key reasons about (appointing) Barry and also we’ve got a big job to do this summer and that was part of the reason for expediting the process slightly from what we’d said about six weeks ago.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 2.

An announcement from Serena Williams.

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)

Andy Murray was “gutted” to have missed the Met Gala.

Birthday wishes for David Beckham.

A post shared by Gary Neville (@gneville2)

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham)

David Rocastle was remembered on his birthday.

Kasper Schmeichel reflected on Monday Night Football duties.

A third baby for Sam Warburton.

A post shared by Sam Warburton (@samwarbs)

Job satisfaction for Joe Cordina.

Will Lando Norris opt for another NBA-style helmet this weekend?

Daniel Ricciardo scrubbed up well for the Met Gala.

It was like Christmas in Romain Grosjean’s house.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s insistence he did not intentionally call referee Paul Tierney’s integrity into question has not prevented the Football Association charging him with improper conduct.

While blaming the emotion of a last-gasp 4-3 win over Tottenham, having been 3-0 up, can in no way excuse the Reds boss for charging down the touchline to celebrate wildly in front of fourth official John Brooks or his suggestions Tierney “had history” with the club, Klopp said he never meant to cast aspersions.

Tierney actually appears to have done Klopp a favour by not sending him off as the German claimed the referee had told him his actions on the touchline were worthy of a red card but he chose to issue a yellow on the advice of Brooks.

It was that red card suggestion which led Klopp to say what Tierney said to him was “not OK”, with the 55-year-old German insisting he has not lied about the interaction after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) rejected Tierney’s actions were “improper” and insisted a review of the recording proves Tierney behaved in a “professional manner”.

But it was Klopp’s comments that the referee was acting against Liverpool based on past experiences which has landed him with a misconduct charge and facing an extended touchline ban.

The FA’s statement said “they imply bias, and/or question the integrity of the referee, and/or are personal/offensive, and/or bring the game into disrepute”.

“I probably have to expect the punishment,” said Klopp, speaking before he learned of the charge, who has until Friday to respond.

“I think the refs think I questioned the integrity (of their colleague), which when I am calm and sitting here I don’t do, but in that moment I just describe my feelings.

“I am very sure he is not doing it intentionally but we have a history and I cannot deny that.

“Of course they didn’t happen intentionally but they are still there and it’s a feeling and nothing else.

“I know the refs were really angry about what I said and now go for it. I heard I was lying.

“I did a lot of things that day but I didn’t lie. I shouldn’t have said a couple of things but lying was not one of them.”

Klopp served a one-game suspension in November after the FA successfully appealed against an independent regulatory commission decision to only fine him £30,000 in regards to his behaviour in confronting assistant referee Gary Beswick and subsequently being sent of by referee Anthony Taylor.

He said he regretted allowing his emotions to get the better of him again.

“We won a football game 4-3 in a very spectacular manner and the only headlines are the ones I created and I really regret that,” he said. “It is absolutely not necessary and not how it should be.

“The whole situation shouldn’t have happened at all. It was out of emotion, it was out of anger in that moment. That’s why I celebrated the way I celebrated.

“Paul Tierney came over to me and I didn’t expect at all a red card. I know I had a red card not too long ago but I didn’t expect for a second a red card because I didn’t feel it was right.

“He (Tierney) said to me ‘For me it’s a red card but because of him’ – that’s what I understood because it was loud in the stadium – ‘but because of him (Brooks) it’s yellow’. Showed me a yellow and smiled to my face. That’s it.

“The final whistle we go inside and I try to calm down and it didn’t work out properly and I said what I said.

“I said ‘What he said to me was not OK’ and I thought it was not OK because it was not a red card in my view.

“I understand I opened the box. It was not intentional but I opened it.”

Liverpool face Fulham on Wednesday looking for a fourth successive victory to maintain their unlikely pursuit of Champions League football.

There will inevitably be increased scrutiny on the manager but he said: “If there is one good thing, I prefer I am in that situation than any player.

“We will see but I can’t see it will have an influence on the team.”

Fran Kirby has become the latest England player set to miss this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The midfielder confirmed that she will be sidelined for “a significant period” due to a knee injury and will undergo surgery.

The news is a big blow for England boss Sarina Wiegman, who will be looking to build on their European Championship success this summer.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at some of the big names who are set to miss out for England.

Fran Kirby – Chelsea

Kirby is the latest casualty for England following a knee injury picked up in Chelsea’s Continental League Cup semi-final against West Ham in February.

The midfielder started every game of last summer’s European Championship campaign – providing three assists and scoring two goals as the Lionesses won on home soil – and has scored seven times for Chelsea in 13 appearances across all competitions this season.

Leah Williamson – Arsenal

Kirby’s injury announcement comes just weeks after England captain Leah Williamson was herself ruled out of the World Cup.
The 26-year-old ruptured her anterior cruciate knee ligament during Arsenal’s Women’s Super League defeat to Manchester United last month after appearing to catch her studs in the turf.

A pillar at centre-half, Williamson has been an integral part of the England set-up, where she skippered the side to their first major trophy at Euro 2022 and has since led them to victories in the Arnold Clark Cup and last month’s Finalissima.

Beth Mead – ArsenalView this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beth Mead (@bethmead_)

Williamson joined a long injury list at Arsenal which includes fellow Lionesses  favourite Beth Mead, who has been out with the same injury since November.

Mead caused havoc for opposition teams at last summer’s Euros, working as a goalscoring threat but also able to provide assists where needed.

Her performances saw her named player of the tournament and she was awarded the Golden Boot, but a particular highlight came in England’s 8-0 thrashing of Norway, where she scored a hat-trick in a stunning team display.

Academy director Craig Mulholland will leave Rangers at the end of the season as a “wide-ranging transformation of all areas of the football club” continues.

The 45-year-old joined the Gers in 2003 – initially as football in the community manager – and held various roles before becoming head of academy in 2015.

Mulholland becomes the latest Ibrox figurehead to head for the exit, with chairman Douglas Park stepping down recently and sporting director Ross Wilson departing for Nottingham Forest, while it was announced last week that managing director Stewart Robinson would leave his role in the summer.

“I have loved my 20 years working at the club that I had grown up with, and, in particular, the last eight leading our academy, B team and women’s teams,” Mulholland told Rangers’ website.

“However, in all leadership positions, sometimes knowing when the right time to move on is as important as deciding which opportunities to take.

“My successor will inherit some fantastic people, working passionately to deliver on a clear strategic vision, underpinned by strong processes and modern, innovative methodology.

“They will also inherit some outstanding young talents which will lead to an exciting future for the club and the academy over the next few years.”

Recently-appointed chief executive James Bisgrove added: “On behalf of the board, I would like sincerely to thank Craig as he moves on, having transformed our academy into one which is on a par and even exceeds many clubs in Europe’s biggest leagues.

“Craig will leave the club with a fantastic legacy, which includes the professionalisation of our women’s programme, being the leader on B teams being introduced into senior Scottish football, creating our Boclair Academy performance school and having brought in over £15million in academy player sales in the last five years.

“Together with Michael Beale, John Bennett and the board, I will now lead a thorough process to identify his replacement, as we continue a wide-ranging transformation of all areas of the football club.”

Steve Smith is excited to gain his first taste of County Championship cricket after “the stars aligned” to give him the chance to play for Sussex ahead of the Ashes.

The Australia batter will play three games for the club in May starting with the trip to Worcestershire on Thursday, before games at Leicestershire and at home to Glamorgan.

The first Ashes Test will begin at Edgbaston on June 16, and some critics have questioned whether it could damage England’s chances giving Smith the opportunity to have game time in the country in the weeks leading up.

Sussex coach Paul Farbrace dismissed the suggestion that it could put Australia at an advantage and said having a player of the 33-year-old’s calibre in the County Championship can only be good for English cricket.

Smith’s arrival has been a coup for Sussex after they finished seventh in Division Two last season, and despite having served a 12-month ban from cricket for his role in Australia’s ball-tampering scandal in 2018, he remains an elite player.

Last year he announced he had elected not to take part in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I’m excited by the next couple of weeks,” said Smith. “I originally didn’t put my name in the IPL auction. Particularly coming off the Test series there, I’ve done that a couple of times and it’s very long, having the IPL on the back of it.

“I’ve got a lot of cricket coming up and a window opened up to come and play some county cricket. It’s something I’ve never done and have always wanted to do, so the stars aligned in a way.

“We are over here for the English summer and it’s a good opportunity to play some county cricket, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m excited.

“I don’t know if it’s career-defining, not sure about that. It’s certainly going to be a good couple of months. I’m excited by everything that is coming up.

“I’m just looking forward to getting a few games in here for Sussex where hopefully I can have an impact on some younger players and the team has started really well this year. Hopefully get some good results and help Sussex win some games of cricket.”

Farbrace was emphatic that Smith’s presence was a sign of the growing appeal of the County Championship.

England captain Ben Stokes in January questioned his involvement so close to the start of the Ashes, saying: “I think it’s one of those where you would probably prefer them (Australian players) not to get any game time out here before the Ashes.”

But the Sussex coach insisted the club have not compromised England’s chances of winning a first series since 2015 after failing to regain the urn at the last three attempts.

“Sport is all about opinions,” said Farbrace. “That’s what we love about the game. I’ve got very strong views on Chelsea. The fact that people are talking about Championship cricket is only good for the game.

“I’ve got good friends who think that we’re helping Australia to win the Ashes. We’re not at all. I think this is really good for English cricket.

“It was a very easy decision and conversation with Rob Andrew the CEO. We both realise it’s about trying to create this winning mentality and a culture within our set-up that we expect to win.”

Of his side’s chances of winning this summer, Smith added: “England just play tremendous cricket at home all the time. We generally play pretty well at home as well. Anyone who plays at home knows the conditions a lot better.

“It’s going to be a terrific summer. Both teams are playing good cricket, different brands of cricket.”

Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby says she is “absolutely gutted” to be missing the World Cup after learning she will require surgery for a knee injury that will leave her out of action for a “significant period”.

Kirby, 29, was unavailable for Sarina Wiegman’s most recent England squad in April and will also miss Chelsea’s challenge for a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title and this month’s FA Cup final against Manchester United.

In a tweet posted following an official statement from her club, Kirby revealed efforts to rehabilitate the injury, sustained in Chelsea’s Continental League Cup semi-final in February, had failed to restore her fitness.

She wrote: “Unfortunately after a few months of rehab the decision has made that I will require surgery on my knee. I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee.

“I’m absolutely gutted to announce my season is over and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer.

“I’m going to be doing everything possible to be ready for the start of next season and want to wish my team-mates at Chelsea the best of luck for the rest of the season and my Lioness team-mates the best of luck for the summer.”

Kirby’s statement followed one posted to the official Chelsea website, which read:  “Following an injury sustained during our Continental League Cup semi-final against West Ham, Fran has been reviewed at Cobham by the Chelsea medical team.

“Following that review and further discussion with a specialist, Fran is set to undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for a significant period.

“Fran will begin a rehabilitation programme with support from the club’s medical team. Everyone at Chelsea sends their best wishes to Fran in her recovery.”

Kirby netted twice for England during last summer’s Euro 2022 triumph and has scored seven times for Chelsea in 13 appearances across all competitions this season.

The news comes as another blow for England head coach Wiegman, just weeks after captain Leah Williamson was ruled out of the World Cup after rupturing her ACL, while a timely recovery for Euro 2022 player of the tournament and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead from the same injury looks unlikely.

Wiegman is set to announce her squad for the upcoming tournament in late May.

Carlos Alcaraz cruised to victory over Alexander Zverev in a rematch of last year’s Madrid Open final.

Zverev is still trying to rediscover his best form after suffering a serious ankle injury at the French Open last summer and this time he was no match for the young Spaniard, who claimed a 6-1 6-2 victory to reach the quarter-finals at the Caja Magica.

Alcaraz, bidding for back-to-back titles after winning in Barcelona last week, dominated from the start and Zverev could find no answers, with his forehand particularly wayward.

Alcaraz, who turns 20 on Friday, said in an on-court interview: “For me it’s amazing to play the level that I played today.

“It’s been a question mark for me – this result isn’t normal. I played great, I feel really good right now and this match gives me a lot of confidence.”

There were two shocks in all-Russian contests, with Daniil Medvedev losing to Aslan Karatsev and Karen Khachanov beating Andrey Rublev.

Second seed Medvedev complained about the lack of space behind the baseline on the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium during a 7-6 (1) 6-4 loss to qualifier Karatsev, who plummeted down the rankings last year after his remarkable 2021 breakthrough, where he reached the Australian Open semi-finals.

This was a brilliant display of power hitting from Karatsev, who will return to the top 100 next week.

Fifth seed Rublev has been enjoying an excellent season, winning his first Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo last month, but he was edged out 7-6 (8) 6-4 by doubles partner Khachanov.

“I hope he will play with me tomorrow,” said Khachanov, who now faces Alcaraz in singles. “This match is over, we need to have some time maybe to absorb it, for him.

“It was the same in Monte-Carlo, he beat me. Life goes on, he’s doing well this year, I’m doing well.”

Richard Taylor has signed a new deal at St Mirren, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.

The 22-year-old defender initially joined the Buddies on a six-month deal in January, with the Paisley club holding the option to extend further which has now been taken up.

Taylor signed for Saints after leaving League of Ireland First Division side Waterford and made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Hearts on January 7.

He has gone on to make eight first-team appearances so far this season, and boss Stephen Robinson told the club’s website: “Richard has come in and been fantastic in the games he has played.

“He’s stepped up to the level in games against Celtic and Hearts, and in the longer term, I think he’s a very good addition to our squad.

“He’s someone we are constantly working on, he’s someone who wants to learn and he’s still only young.

“He’s left-footed which gives us more balance on that side of defence and he can play at left-back as well.

“He’s 6ft 2ins and he’s quick as well as being very composed on the ball and going forward he gives us a few more options playing out from the back.”

Amber Hill has admitted she will never get over the moment she discovered her dream of competing at the Tokyo Olympics had been dashed due to a positive test for coronavirus.

The 23-year-old skeet shooter had her bags packed and had bade farewell to her family when she received the news just two days prior to the opening ceremony in the Japanese capital.

All the stars had seemed to align for Hill, who was to have gone into her second Games as the reigning world number one and one of Team GB’s strongest hopes to stand on top of the podium.

Instead, she found herself isolating at home where her mental health deteriorated and she spent sleepless nights seriously considering quitting her sport.

“It was one of the hardest moments of my life and it’s something I don’t feel like I’ll ever get over,” Hill told the PA news agency.

“What I found really hard was that I was at the best point of my career, my training was perfect, and I was genuinely feeling as happy as I ever had.

“The disappointment of not knowing how that Olympic journey was going to end for me was heartbreaking. I had resentment towards the sport, I was bitter towards it all. I’d lie awake at night worrying about everything.

“I didn’t realise at the time, but I was going through a traumatic experience. I got into a very dark place with it all and I was ready to quit.”

Hill, a precocious junior who became her sport’s youngest winner of a World Cup series at the age of 15 in 2013 and had made her debut at the Rio Olympics, soon realised she required more than just the support of her family and friends to help her through.

Working with a psychologist recommended to her by British Shooting, Hill learned to take a step back from the sport to which she had devoted most of her life since the age of eight, and began to prioritise her life away from the range.

She married her long-term partner in February this year – something she admitted she would have previously struggled to schedule – and is also spending more time pursuing business interests that remain, for the time being, under wraps.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amber Rutter x (@amberjohill)

Quietly, Hill’s shooting career began to flourish again. In 2022, she won three medals at the World Championships in Osijek, European gold in Nicosia, World Cup golds in Nicosia and Changwon, and a trio of European golds in Larnaca.

She said: “I began to understand that as much as I believed that I was putting myself first, I really wasn’t. Everything was put on hold because of my shooting schedule. I realised I had to start focusing on the things that make me happy in daily life.

“I wasn’t in a great place with the sport, but I knew I had people who relied on me. I went to competitions with no expectations again, like I had when I first started competing, and that’s where the success really came from.

“It was totally unexpected, but last year was my most successful to date. I’ve had some massive low points and I’m surprised I’ve managed to push through. But I feel like I have a much healthier relationship with my sport.”

Arguably the most significant of Hill’s sporting achievements in 2022 was her European title in September that confirmed a quota place for Paris – meaning she has effectively spared herself the potential insecurity of qualifying going down to the wire for what will be her second Games.

She is likely to go the French capital as a gold medal favourite but confesses to still struggling to come to terms with her gruelling ascent to the summit of her sport – and much better equipped should she come up short against those inevitable external expectations.

“Regardless of what the outcome is, I realise now that there is so much more to my sport than just a medal around my neck,” Hill added.

“It’s got to fit in with what I want to do and what makes me happy. If the day comes when it doesn’t, then it’s clearly not for me any more.”

Christian Fuchs' overriding memory of Leicester City's title celebrations in 2016 are Jamie Vardy's tears... at having to move house.

Leicester won their first Premier League title on May 2, 2016, when Tottenham drew with Chelsea.

Seven years on, the Foxes are scrapping at the wrong end of the table, having drawn 2-2 with Everton on Monday in a relegation six-pointer.

Vardy scored against Everton, marking his second league goal in as many appearances after only striking once before in the top flight this term.

The 36-year-old might still play a key role in Leicester ensuring safety, and was one of their talismanic figures during that glorious 2015-16 campaign.

Indeed, the Leicester squad gathered to watch the Chelsea-Tottenham game at the striker's home, and it was there that the title celebrations started, as Fuchs recalls.

He told Stats Perform: "Jamie was crying because he knew he had to move out right away the next day! Because now everybody knew where he was living. The whole town, Everybody was there.

"The emotions, when you see the video right after the final whistle, what happened was insane.

"But it was between crying, screaming, laughing, players on the floor, people on the floor. It was just manic, it was crazy."

Fuchs stressed that it was not until Leicester were mathematically champions that the Foxes squad allowed themselves to bask in their achievement.

"A big secret to success is being humble, even if you are five points ahead," Fuchs said.

"We stayed humble. And we thought okay, we're not the favourites even though we're so close. Eventually we made it."

Claudio Ranieri's remarkable work with Leicester's squad holds a special place in Fuchs' heart.

"His calmness, first of all, his understanding for individual needs and situations of players," Fuchs said when asked what made Ranieri such a special coach.

"He treated you as a player, not just okay, you're number five, your number 12. Whatever it is, he really took care of us, understanding that if I give my players the freedom off the field, and I trust them, then they will perform better for me on the field.

"It was kept very simple, our football back then was so simple. Basically, protect the goal and kick it long. Find Vardy on the break.

"But this personal level that he really took interest in. Who are you? What's your family like? Who's your family? That went a long way with me."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp fully expects to be punished for his comments about Paul Tierney but insists he did not intentionally call the referee’s integrity into question and has not lied about the incident.

While blaming the emotion of a last-gasp 4-3 win over Tottenham, having been 3-0 up, can in no way excuse the Reds boss for charging down the touchline to celebrate wildly in front of fourth official John Brooks or his suggestions Tierney “had history” with the club, Klopp said in the cold light of day, he never meant to cast aspersions.

Tierney actually appears to have done Klopp a favour by not sending him off as the German claimed the referee had told him his actions on the touchline were worthy of a red card but he chose to issue a yellow.

It was that apparent suggestion which led Klopp to say what Tierney said to him was “not OK”, with the 55-year-old German insisting he has not lied about the interaction after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) rejected Tierney’s actions were “improper” and insisted a review of the recording proves Tierney behaved in a “professional manner”.

“With all the things which have been made, I probably have to expect the punishment,” said Klopp.

“I think the refs think I questioned the integrity (of their colleague), which when I am calm and sitting here I don’t do, but in that moment I just describe my feelings.

“I am very sure he is not doing it intentionally but we have a history and I cannot deny that.

“Of course they didn’t happen intentionally but they are still there and it’s a feeling and nothing else.

“I know the refs were really angry about what I said and now go for it. I heard I was lying.

“I did a lot of things that day but I didn’t lie. I shouldn’t have said a couple of things but lying was not one of them.”

Klopp seems likely to receive an extended touchline ban on the back of actions at the weekend.

He already served a one-game suspension in November after the Football Association successfully appealed against an independent regulatory commission decision to only fine him £30,000 in regards to his behaviour in confronting assistant referee Gary Beswick and subsequently being sent of by referee Anthony Taylor.

He accepts he has brought this situation on himself and said he regretted allowing his emotions to get the better of him.

“We won a football game 4-3 in a very spectacular manner and the only headlines are the ones I created and I really regret that,” he said.

“It is absolutely not necessary and not how it should be.

“The whole situation shouldn’t have happened at all. It was out of emotion, it was out of anger in that moment. That’s why I celebrated the way I celebrated.

“Paul Tierney came over to me and I didn’t expect at all a red card. I know I had a red card not too long ago but I didn’t expect for a second a red card because I didn’t feel it was right.

“I expected a yellow card in that moment and he (Tierney) said to me ‘For me it’s a red card but because of him’ – that’s what I understood because it was loud in the stadium – ‘but because of him it’s yellow’. Showed me a yellow and smiled to my face. That’s it.

“The final whistle we go inside and I try to calm down and it didn’t work out properly and I said what I said.

“I said ‘What he said to me was not OK’ and I thought it was not OK because it was not a red card in my view.

“I understand I opened the box. It was not intentional but I opened it.”

Liverpool face Fulham on Wednesday looking for a fourth-successive victory to maintain their unlikely pursuit of Champions League football.

There will inevitably be increased scrutiny on the manager, but he said: “If there is one good thing, I prefer much I am in that situation than any player.

“We will see but I can’t see it will have an influence on the team.”

Everton’s Jordan Pickford feels he won the mind games with Leicester’s James Maddison after his crucial penalty save.

The England goalkeeper stopped Maddison’s first-half spot-kick before Alex Iwobi’s leveller secured a 2-2 draw for the Toffees at the King Power Stadium on Monday evening.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty had given the 19th-placed visitors the lead before the Foxes hit back with goals from Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy.

Pickford stopped the hosts going 3-1 ahead by denying Maddison from 12 yards, after Michael Keane’s handball, with the notes on his water bottle telling him the forward goes down the middle 60 per cent of the time.

“I do my homework. I called it this morning, which way I was going to go, but he’s a good player with his delivery and he can whip it or open it up,” he told placed Everton’s website.

“I think he expects me to dive so I think I’ve double-bluffed him and got one up on him. It was a big moment in the game and I’m happy I saved it because that’s what I’m there to do, try to help out my team-mates if they make mistakes.

“We’re both fighting. We’re both down there. There’s probably a bit of anxiety, a bit of pressure out on the pitch from both teams.

“I thought we played brilliant in the first 20 minutes – we did exactly what the gaffer wanted from us, then we dropped off the boil and they came into the game a bit.

“We created a lot of chances. Their keeper, (Daniel) Iversen, made some very good saves, so credit to him because when he was called upon he made those saves.

“I think it’s the most chances we’ve created since the manager (Sean Dyche) came in (in late January), if not all season, so that’s a plus but a negative as well.”

Leicester – one point better off than Everton – moved out of the drop zone on goal difference ahead of next Monday afternoon’s game at Fulham.

They will still be out of the bottom three when they kick off at Craven Cottage as rivals Nottingham Forest host Southampton on Monday evening.

“We’ve come away with a point, so we’ll take that,” defender Luke Thomas told the club’s website.

“We’ve got ourselves out of the relegation zone and it’s three games undefeated.

“I don’t think there’s been many times this season where we’ve done that. We’ve struggled, but that’s a positive to take and hopefully on Monday we can make that four.”