Scotland defender Jack Hendry will remain positive and make the most of their Euro 2024 opportunity after a seventh game without a win saw some fans turn against the team.
Boos rang out during and after the 1-0 Hampden defeat by Northern Ireland as Scotland failed to make the most of the vast majority of possession.
Conor Bradley’s first-half strike, which came courtesy of Nathan Patterson’s error, gave Michael O’Neill’s young side something to hold on to, and they did so successfully as Scotland struggled to hit the target or carve out a series of clear-cut chances.
Scotland had not gone seven matches without victory for 19 years – that sequence helped spell the end of Berti Vogts’ reign as manager.
But such runs can turn quickly in the other direction, just as Steve Clarke’s side followed up their flying start to their European qualifying campaign with this sticky spell.
The 2005 low point was followed by a run which saw Scotland lose just twice in 14 matches, under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish, and Hendry abruptly dismissed suggestions their form was a concern heading into their group campaign against hosts Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
When asked about the Hampden reaction, the centre-back added: “It probably says a lot about how successful we have been that they are disappointed with that result.
“Look, we were extremely disappointed in that changing room as well but it shows how far we have come that they are disappointed with that type of performance against Northern Ireland.
“We know the fans’ frustration, we understand it, and we will try and make them extremely proud in the summer.
“We have done extremely well to get ourselves into the Euros and won’t let that slip by us.
“We will go into that camp in June extremely positive, with the motive to try and get out of that group.
“It’s about remaining positive, sticking together and believing we are heading in the right direction, because we are, we believe we are.
“It’s disappointing but we have a lot to look forward to in the summer, and so do the fans. So we have just got to stick together and stay positive.”
Scotland were generally slow in possession before becoming more direct as the second half progressed, as key attacking players struggled to reach their recent standards.
Hendry said: “Northern Ireland made it very difficult for us. We just didn’t seem to get into the game. It was probably important we scored first in the match and we didn’t do that.
“Northern Ireland obviously got a break and managed to hold on to the lead and we struggled to break them down.
“These games happen, we won’t dwell on it too long. We will look forward to meeting up in the summer.
“It was just one of those nights. We dominated the game, possession-wise, it was just unfortunate we couldn’t break them down.
“You have sometimes got to give plaudits to the opposition. Northern Ireland defended really well, we were unfortunate not to break them down.
“We just take it on the chin, we stick together, we remain positive. It’s a setback but we will bounce back from it pretty quickly. We will certainly learn from it but not dwell on it too much.”
Napoli defender Juan Jesus says it is “difficult to comprehend” the decision not to punish Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi over allegations of racism.
Brazilian Jesus accused Italy international Acerbi of an abusive comment relating to skin colour during a 1-1 draw between their clubs earlier this month.
But the case was dismissed by a Serie A sports judge on Tuesday due to a lack of evidence.
Jesus feels “very bitter” about the verdict and believes his complaint may have been treated differently if he had not responded “as a gentleman”.
“I have read several times and with great disappointment the decision of the sports judge, who felt there was no evidence that I was the victim of a racist,” said the 32-year-old in a lengthy statement released with his legal representatives.
“While respecting the decision, it is one I find difficult to comprehend and it leaves me feeling very bitter.
“Quite honestly I am crestfallen by such a serious incident in which my only mistake was that I dealt with it ‘as a gentleman’, deciding not to interrupt an important game, with all the inconvenience that would have caused the spectators watching the match.
“I did so believing that such an attitude would have been respected, and perhaps taken as an example.
“Following this decision, I imagine that anyone else finding themselves in a similar situation to mine will act in a very different manner, in order to protect themselves and to curb the disgrace of racism, which, sadly, we are struggling to rid ourselves of.”
According to Jesus, Acerbi apologised on the pitch before changing his version of events the following day.
The 36-year-old Inter player publicly protested his innocence but agreed to withdraw from Italy’s squad for games against Venezuela and Ecuador after discussing the matter with national team manager Luciano Spalletti.
Judge Gerardo Mastrandrea suggested Acerbi’s comments may have been offensive but could not determine whether they were of a racist nature.
Jesus fears the episode could “set a serious precedent for justifying certain behaviour after the event” but expressed hope it may help the football world reflect on the “serious and urgent” issue of racism.
“I really do not understand how ‘go away negro, you’re just a negro’ can be considered to be certainly offensive but not discriminatory,” continued Jesus’ statement.
“I do not understand all the commotion that evening if it really was ‘just an insult’, for which Acerbi himself felt the need to apologise, the referee decided to notify VAR, the match was suspended for over a minute and his team-mates hurried to speak to me.
“I cannot fathom why Acerbi only started to change his version of the events the following day while with the national team, instead of denying it immediately after the match, when it actually happened.
“I didn’t expect it to end like this. I fear – and I hope I am wrong – that this could set a serious precedent for justifying certain behaviour after the event.
“I sincerely hope that this sad matter can help the world of football to reflect on an issue that is both serious and urgent.”
Everton fans have demanded clarity over a protracted takeover bid which they say has left the club “in limbo”.
The Toffees’ Fan Advisory Board (FAB) has written to current owner Farhad Moshiri, prospective owners 777 Partners and the Premier League seeking answers, with the takeover appearing to have stalled since it was first agreed last September. Fans also want to know what would happen if the deal does not proceed.
“Our club is caught up in an endless swirl of uncertainty. In football terms, it’s like the referee has been sent to the VAR monitor but is stuck there with no sign of sharing a decision so the game can move on,” FAB chair Dave Kelly said.
“Whilst we understand that some of the decisions being considered are complex and we hope that they are subject to the rigour and scrutiny they deserve, supporters, players and this great club of ours are being left in limbo. We’re now asking for some long overdue clarity on how we can all move forward.”
Moshiri has been asked to speak to fans about what would happen if the 777 deal did not receive Premier League approval, whether his deal with 777 is timebound, whether other investors are waiting in the wings and whether he will continue to fund the club until a satisfactory investor is found.
“An interim board, an interim CEO, and an owner in absentia is not good enough for our club which is faced with sporting and financial uncertainty, the ramifications of which will reach far and wide,” the FAB’s letter to Moshiri, seen by the PA news agency, states.
“Your club and its supporters need clarity, vision, and leadership and we urge you to now provide it.”
The FAB’s letter to 777 co-founder Josh Wander urges the American investment firm to engage with supporters, and highlights that the lack of consultation to date is “a source of deep concern”.
“Concerns are being expressed that 777 Partners do not have the capacity, ability, or culture to make our club stable and successful,” the letter states.
“Given these concerns, we would encourage you to attempt to reassure Evertonians worldwide at the earliest opportunity of your vision, strategy, and operational wherewithal to bring Everton Football Club back to its rightful place at the pinnacle of football.”
The letter to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters seeks clarity over whether the league’s rules allow it to reject a takeover bid, or whether deals can only be “held in abeyance” until the necessary paperwork is provided.
“If the latter is the case, is the provision of such documentation time-bound or could this already protracted process drag on indefinitely due to the inability to reject outright?” the FAB asked Masters.
The FAB requested responses from all three parties by Friday.
Everton have been docked six points this season for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) in the period up to the 2021-22 season, and face the threat of further sanction after a second complaint was served in January for the period ending June 30, 2023.
The independent commission hearing the second complaint will reportedly conclude on Wednesday. Under league rules, a decision has to be communicated by the commission within seven days of the hearing ending.
Kikkuli could be Juddmonte’s “dark horse for the year” as he prepares for the early stages of his three-year-old season.
A half-brother to the mighty Frankel and by the owners’ Classic-winning sire Kingman, he is the last foal out of Kind and is fittingly trained at Beckhampton by Harry Charlton, the training facility from which Kind blitzed her way to two Listed victories during her on-track career.
With such a regal bloodline, there was plenty of excitement surrounding the colt’s Newmarket debut towards the end of last season, where Kikkuli showed plenty of promise to keep on for second behind subsequent Listed scorer Zoum Zoum.
The third from that seven-furlong maiden, Balmacara, has recently given the form a timely boost and connections are hopeful there is plenty of untapped potential still to be seen from Kikkuli this term.
“Harry is happy with the horse and feels like the horse has done well from two to three, he has got a lot stronger and is training nicely,” said Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon.
“His debut is good form and I think Kikkuli was ready for a day out that day. Harry had said he was far from the finished article.
“It’s good form and we would like to think there could be some improvement to come, so he could be a dark horse for the year.”
Kikkuli is set to stick to calmer waters for the time being with the goal of shedding his maiden status in the early stages of the campaign, while the hope from his team is that he could blossom into a big-race contender by the time Royal Ascot arrives later in the summer.
“We will probably start off low key with him and go for a maiden or a novice and then just see how we go,” continued Mahon.
“If he is going to make into good horse, then it will be probably from Royal Ascot time onwards he will be stepping into those good races.
“But if we can get a maiden or a novice done in the next six weeks or so it would be great and we can just move up slowly from there.”
Oisin Murphy is aiming to repeat last year’s All-Weather Championships Finals Day heroics when he returns to Newcastle on Good Friday.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a fantastic afternoon at Gosforth Park 12 months ago, walking away with a treble in some of the most valuable races on the bumper card and all for his long-time training ally Andrew Balding.
Murphy is back in the north east with a stacked book of rides and as well as linking up with Kingsclere handler Balding, he will also get the leg-up from John and Thady Gosden, Rod Millman and Roger Varian over the course of the afternoon.
One of the Irishman’s best chances of success is the Juddmonte-owned Fire Demon, who is the general favourite for the BetMGM All-Weather 3 Year Old Championships Handicap.
However, Murphy is full of respect for some of the other leading contenders in the six-furlong event having partnered David Evans’ track-and-trip scorer Blue Prince in his last two starts.
Murphy said: “I had a great day at Newcastle on this card last year. It’s a little bit more competitive this time and many of the races are handicaps.
“Fire Demon won well at Kempton and seems in good shape since the race. He seems to be improving, but I actually respect Blue Prince and Sommelier a lot – Blue Prince has already won there and I feel it will suit Blue Prince a lot more than Lingfield where I was just beat on him last time.”
Murphy will donning the blue and white silks of King Power Racing for Balding aboard recent Kempton winners Fivethousandtoone and Teumessias Fox.
It was in the King Power silks Murphy teamed up with Balding to land the Easter Classic through Notre Belle Bete in 2023 and synthetics specialist Teumessias Fox is fancied to repeat the dose.
“Teumessias Fox Fox loves the all-weather and goes well fresh. He has a lot going for him, he’s easy to ride and I would hope he would put up a bold show,” continued Murphy.
He went on:”Fivethousandtoone won really well at Kempton last time and is in great shape and is moving well. It’s a competitive race, but he’s fairly treated by the handicapper on past form and hopefully he will go well.”
Millman’s Just A Spark and the Gosdens’ Vaguely Royal are two other rides, and he will will finish the afternoon aboard another King Power Racing-owned candidate, the Varian-trained Fantastic Fox in the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap, with the six-year-old course-and-distance winner arriving having won three of his last five.
Rob Page will remain as Wales manager despite the failure to qualify for Euro 2024.
Wales agonisingly missed out on a place in Germany this summer as Poland won a play-off final 5-4 on penalties at Cardiff City Stadium following a goalless 120 minutes.
The defeat left question marks over Page’s future, but those doubts have been quickly removed by Football Association of Wales president Steve Williams.
Williams told BBC Wales: “The FAW can confirm Rob Page is their manager for the forthcoming campaign in accordance with his contract.
“Rob is the manager. His contract runs to the end of the World Cup and that is how we continue to work.”
Page took over from Ryan Giggs in November 2020, first on an interim basis and led Wales at the delayed European Championship the following summer.
He was appointed permanent manager after Wales’ World Cup play-off final victory over Ukraine in June 2022.
The 49-year-old subsequently signed a four-year deal the following September two months ahead of the World Cup.
But Page’s stock with fans fell following a poor tournament in Qatar when they scored only once and finished bottom of their group with one point.
Key players such as Gareth Bale, Wales’ talismanic captain and record caps holder and goalscorer, and Joe Allen retired after the World Cup.
Page had to rebuild the side during Euro 2024 qualifying, which saw Wales finish below Turkey and Croatia in their group and rely on the play-offs to make a third consecutive European Championship.
After Tuesday’s play-off final defeat, Page said: “I’ve got a great relationship with Dave Adams, the technical director.
“We’ve had our issues in the past, haven’t we? It’s been well documented. But everything’s fine. Everything’s great. I think they appreciate it.
“The board, the chief exec, the president, I think they see the journey we’re on and what we’re trying to do.
“In 12 months, from retirement of senior players to introducing younger players and being one kick away from qualification. I think they see the work we’re doing and the supporters do too.”
FAW chief executive Noel Mooney had put Page’s future in the spotlight in October by saying the manager’s position would be reviewed, having not qualified for Euro 2024 automatically.
Page and Mooney held clear-the-air talks after those comments – and the FAW will conduct a review into the Euro 2024 campaign over the coming weeks.
Wales return to friendly action this summer with a planned home game before heading to Slovakia on June 9.
The Nations League gets under way in September with Wales pitted against Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey, while qualification for the 2026 World Cup starts in 12 months’ time.
Next month’s Alleged Stakes has been identified as a potential comeback target for last season’s Derby third White Birch.
John Joseph Murphy’s grey kicked off his three-year-old campaign in the best possible fashion by winning the Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown and was beaten only a neck into second place by The Foxes on his next appearance in the Dante at York.
The Ulysses colt ran another fine race in defeat when placed behind Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel in the premier Classic at Epsom, and while he disappointed in the Irish Derby, he rounded off his season with a creditable fourth place in a Group Three at Leopardstown in September.
George Murphy, assistant to his father, reports White Birch to have wintered well and hopes he will return to competitive action at the Curragh on April 6, granted suitable conditions.
“He’s in full work and looks super, he’s training very nicely,” he said.
“He’s a fine, big, tall horse so you’d hope he could improve from three to four. He’s doing everything nicely at the moment.
“I’d say that (Alleged Stakes) could be an option, but if the ground is completely bottomless we might just hold off for another bit. We’ll just see what the weather does over the next couple of weeks, but that’s definitely in our minds at the moment, to go for the Alleged.
“It’s got to the stage where you nearly can’t remember a good day it’s been raining for so long, but it’s surely got to turn at some stage.”
Should White Birch come through his return with flying colours, a return to Group One company in the Tattersalls Gold Cup on May 26 could be on his agenda.
Murphy added: “There’s a few races, those two (Alleged Stakes and Tattersalls Gold Cup) are high up on the list at the moment, but it’s been so difficult with the weather you just don’t know which way things are going to go over the next fortnight.
“We’ll play it by ear for the moment, but we’ll probably start over a mile and a quarter and explore going a bit further as the year goes on, that’s the way we’d be looking at it.”
Brazil and Tottenham forward Richarlison said he was in a “depression” after the 2022 World Cup.
The 26-year-old was his country’s top scorer in Qatar, with three goals in four games as they went out in the last 16, but he struggled mentally after the tournament.
He has admitted he saw a psychologist, who “saved my life”.
“I’d just played in a World Cup, man, at my peak,” Richarlison told ESPN Brasil. “I was reaching my limit, you know? I don’t know, I’m not going to talk about killing myself, but I was in a depression there, and I wanted to give up.
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“Even I, who seemed to be mentally strong. After the World Cup it seemed like it all fell apart.
“I think the therapist, like it or not, saved me, saved my life. I only thought rubbish. Even on Google, I only searched for rubbish, I only wanted to see rubbish about death.
“Before I went to training, I wanted to go home, I wanted to go back to my room because, I don’t know what was going through my head. I even went and told my dad I was going to give up.
“It’s kind of sad to talk like that, you know? What I went through after the World Cup, discovering things here at home from people who had lived with me for over seven years. It is crazy.
“To go to my father, who was the guy who chased my dream with me, and say, ‘Dad, I want to give up,’ is crazy.”
Richarlison, who has scored 11 goals in 26 games for Spurs this season, was sceptical of seeking therapy prior to his episode, but now recommends it to anyone struggling.
“Today I can say, look for a psychologist, if you need a psychologist, look for one because it’s nice for you to open up like that, for you to be talking to the person,” he said.
“Today a (psychologist) came to thank me for taking this to the world of football, to the world, outside the pitch too, because it is very important and, whether we like it or not, it saves lives.
“I had this prejudice before, I thought it was nonsense, I thought I was crazy. In my family, there are people who think that anyone who goes to a psychologist thinks they are crazy, they think they are insane.
“But I discovered this and thought it was wonderful. The best thing, really the best discovery I’ve ever had in my life.”
Harry Cobden feels he finally has a chance of getting involved at the business end of the Randox Grand National after confirmation he will keep the ride on the 2022 winner, Noble Yeats.
Since the retirement of Sam Waley-Cohen, son of owner Robert, Sean Bowen had been riding the Emmet Mullins-trained nine-year-old, and he was on board when he ran a brave race to finish fourth to Corach Rambler last year.
With Bowen on the sidelines through injury earlier this year, his championship rival Cobden picked up the ride in the Cleeve Hurdle, which they won, and he maintained the partnership in the Stayers’ Hurdle.
While unplaced there, connections have decided to stick with Cobden for Aintree.
“I’m really looking forward to riding Noble Yeats in the Grand National. He’s trained by a very shrewd man in Emmet Mullins who knows how to ready a horse for this race as he did so well a couple of years ago when Sam Waley-Cohen rode him to victory,” said Cobden in his blog for Planet Sport.
“I’m glad I’ve had a couple of goes on him now because it does take a bit of time to understand how best to ride him. I know plenty about him, but I’ll definitely watch his two National runs back before the big day.
“Connections are quite keen for the ground to dry up a bit as he’s probably slightly more effective on a sounder surface, so let’s hope there isn’t too much rain between now and the race.”
He went on: “To have a genuine chance in the National is fantastic. Every other ride I’ve had in it hasn’t really had much going for it, so to know he stays the trip and has plenty of experience over the fences is great and I’m very excited.
“I haven’t had much success in the National itself, but I won the Topham a couple of times aboard Ultragold, so I do know the sort of horse required to go well around there. Unfortunately I don’t often get to the second circuit in the big race itself, so let’s hope that changes this year!
“It’s the biggest and most well-known race of the season and it would be amazing to win it. To me it’s only second to the Gold Cup and of course I’d love to win it. I’m very lucky to have a horse this year that has a proper chance and I can’t wait to have a crack at winning it on him.”
Barbadian driving sensation Zane Maloney is focused on consistently improving his performances, as he seeks to continue building on his sweep of the Formula Two season-opening events.
Maloney’s comments followed another positive weekend in Melbourne, Australia, where he again made the podium after finishing third in the feature race, on the heels of a 10th place finish in the sprint a day earlier.
This latest podium adds to the 20-year-old’s sprint race and feature race victories on the opening weekend of the season in Bahrain.
“Satisfied but of course we just need to keep making steps forward. I think we have showed the last three rounds that Bahrain wasn’t a fluke. We have had the pace each round. We just need to keep working on it,” Maloney said in a post-race press conference.
“I think qualifying from my side is much better than last year. I just need to keep improving that. We have always been fast in the race and made good moves, so we just need to keep going. Everyone is catching up, so we need to keep performing well,” he added.
In the feature race in Melbourne, Maloney, who drives for British team Rodin Motorsport, finished third behind 19-year-old French-Algerian driver Isack Hadjar and 20-year-old Estonian Paul Aron.
Two weeks ago in Jeddah, Maloney trailed in seventh in the feature and just missed out on a podium place in the sprint race when he ended fourth.
He was left ruing his luck again last Saturday when a costly error left him down the field instead of near the podium.
“Should have been a podium. From my side, I made a big mistake which lost me lots of places. But the second half of the race was really good from my side, so I am pleased with that. Happy to be back on (the podium after a) bit of a chaotic race. For sure the pace has been good all year so far. I think we have proved that each round. It is cool to have a clean Feature Race,” Maloney reasoned.
The Bajan sensation’s next assignment will be the May 16-18 Grand Prix at Imola.
Olympic champion Matty Lee will miss this summer’s Games after undergoing spinal surgery.
The 26-year-old took the Olympic title in Tokyo in the 10 metres synchro event alongside Tom Daley, and Commonwealth gold with Noah Williams two years ago, but has struggled with pain in his back this season.
Lee wrote on Instagram: “A week ago today I went under for a discectomy on my L5/S1 disc in my spine.
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“The surgery went well but my surgeon told me my nerve was very stuck and it took longer than expected to remove my bulging disc without damaging my nerve. He also told me it wouldn’t have got better on its own so to have the surgery was the right decision.
“What this means for me this year is self explanatory which is very sad but the reason I look so damn happy in hospital is that I’m no longer in chronic pain, we’ve found a solution and I have something to work on.
“This season so far has been really tough, felt like I’ve been dragging myself through the dirt. In a weird way I’ve been put out my misery but it’s also forced me to look after myself and that’s what’s important.”
Daley will be favoured to win another Olympic medal in the same event in Paris this summer after teaming up with Williams.
Joe Cole feels like “the time is now” as England head into this summer’s European Championship.
Gareth Southgate is preparing to take charge of his fourth and potentially last major tournament, having reached the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals as well as a continental final.
England’s agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 showpiece remains raw but has only increased the squad’s desire to go one better in Germany.
Cole believes those shared experiences are indicating this can be “a real positive summer”, with the former international excited by what Southgate’s side can achieve.
“Listen, they were penalty kicks away from winning a tournament,” the former England international told the PA news agency. “There’s been semi-finals, quarter-finals – the experience is there now.
“They have got young players in the squad, but they’re so experienced and so knowledgeable, as a team and as a group. You know, I think the time is now.
“The only difference going into this tournament is there’s a little bit more expectation on them and it’s how do they cope with that, but I think they’ve got the right manager for that.
“I think Gareth will manage the anxieties of the squad – of the team – and just keep them focused on the task in hand.
“I think Gareth is in the right place. Very, very good character in that situation. I think it actually sort of would benefit to have someone of his character there.”
Cole is well placed to analyse England’s chances having represented his country 56 times and worked as a pundit throughout the build-up to Euro 2024.
The retired creative midfielder is also a former international team-mate of Southgate, who he believes deserves more appreciation for the job he has done in charge of the men’s team.
“Factually, Gareth Southgate is the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey,” Cole said.
“If you’re going to have a discussion with someone and anyone’s picking holes out of it, that is the facts.
“He’s taken the team deeper in tournaments than anyone and he’s just underappreciated. Underappreciated the job he’s done.”
Cole – who has signed up to play in Soccer Aid for UNICEF on June 9 – was in the same 2002 World Cup squad as Southgate and part of the last England side to play in a major tournament in Germany.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s much-hyped ‘Golden Generation’ bowed out in the quarter-final stage of the 2006 World Cup and Cole believes things are better for the national team this time around.
“It’s a different landscape,” Cole said. “We had different problems to deal with than this group of players.
“When you go into a tournament, you need moments to happen for you. Every tournament we played in, it was either a penalty shoot-out or it was a sending off or an injury.
“These big moments went against us, but ultimately I feel this group are better educated from a footballing perspective.
“I feel where we are in England – in terms of how we play football – is the right way now.
“I feel for many, many years, we weren’t playing in the right way tactically, so I think this group have been brought up under a different system. Underneath it all, I think ultimately they’re better equipped because of that.”
England continued their Euro 2024 preparations with Saturday’s late 1-0 loss to Brazil and even later Jude Bellingham goal in the 2-2 draw with Belgium three days later.
Southgate’s side have two further warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland in June, with the squad due to fly out to Germany the day after Cole pulls on an England shirt once again in Soccer Aid.
“It’s always nice to go back and play at Stamford Bridge,” he said of the June 9 clash against a World XI at former club Chelsea.
“It always surprises me how popular it is. The kids love it, people tune in, it’s a real family occasion.
“It’s great to be part of and it’s just one of them things that’s a win-win all round for everybody. We love doing it and most importantly it’s for a great cause.”
:: Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2024 takes place on June 9 at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets
Joe Tizzard’s Eldorado Allen will be one of just a handful of British horses flying the flag for the home side in the Randox Grand National at Aintree.
The grey has some solid form in staying chases to his name, winning the 2022 Denman Chase and finishing second in the Charlie Hall and the Betfair Chase during the same season before coming home fourth in the Coral Gold Cup earlier this term.
He reverted to hurdles for a sole outing in January and was last seen pulling up on heavy ground in the Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival.
Tizzard is therefore hoping conditions will be quicker in Liverpool come the National as he believes the gelding has become more comfortable on a firmer surface throughout his career.
“He is (an intended runner), he’s had a couple of poor runs and as he’s got older he wants better ground,” the trainer said.
“I tweaked his wind after his hurdle run but if you go back to his Coral Gold Cup form where he was fourth, he ran a good race in that.
“He was staying on really well, he’s a horse that’s got a bit of class, he gets into a nice rhythm.
“I wouldn’t mind it drying out a bit, I don’t mind admitting I’d like a bit of decent soft ground for him.
“He’s got a chance of running a nice race, it’s no more than that and it’s a privilege to have a runner in these nice races.
“The horse has taken us to some special days out and there’s no reason why he couldn’t get into a nice rhythm and be bang there three out and get us all excited.”
Eldorado Allen has run at Aintree several times but never around the Grand National course, so Tizzard will take him to David Pipe’s yard at Nicholashayne to school over National-type obstacles.
“I’m preparing him as normal in his work but I will take him down to Pipe’s and give him a pop over the fences,” he said.
“I couldn’t live with myself if we didn’t do it and he went and tipped over at the first or something like that, you’d question yourself, so we’ll go down and we’ll jump eight or 10 National fences and that’ll be it.”
Tizzard’s runner is likely to be one of the smallest ever British contingent to line up in the race, but the trainer is not overly concerned by the situation and does not expect it to be permanent.
“That is where we are at the moment, I don’t like to ever get too negative about this sort of stuff,” he said.
“It wasn’t that long ago that were was barely an Irish runner but that is how it’s gone, there are two Irish trainers with a lot of entries but that happens every day in Ireland.
“It’s how it is at the moment but things will change, there’s no point in English people entering horses that they don’t think are good enough or the right type for the race.
“I’m sure if we had the horses then the English trainers would be running them, as simple as that, you’ve only got to look at our result from Cheltenham this year and see there are two are three horses that will be in the Grand National next year and that will increase the numbers.”
Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia will miss the rest of the season after suffering a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury.
The 20-year-old suffered the injury when making his Blues debut as a substitute against Crystal Palace in December.
Chelsea said in a statement on their website: “Midfielder Romeo Lavia is to unfortunately miss the remainder of our 2023-24 campaign following a setback in his recovery.
“Recent medical assessments have confirmed that Lavia, who sustained a significant thigh injury against Crystal Palace back in December, will not feature again this season.”
Lavia, who joined Chelsea from Southampton last summer for an initial £53million, has endured a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge.
He missed the first half of the season due to an ankle injury.
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