Mauricio Pochettino has rejected suggestions he said Chelsea’s players are not good enough, claiming his words following Sunday’s defeat by Wolves were taken out of context.

Immediately after the 4-2 loss at Stamford Bridge that left his team in the bottom half of the Premier League table, the Argentinian appeared to say he did not have the squad to significantly remedy the club’s plight.

Chelsea were booed off at half-time and again at the final whistle, with audible anger directed against both the players and Pochettino personally, while the name of former owner Roman Abramovich could also be heard being sung.

A visibly emotional Pochettino said at the time he understood supporters’ fury in the aftermath of a 10th league defeat in the 23 games of his tenure, and intimated neither he nor the team have been good enough this season.

He has now, before Wednesday’s FA Cup replay at Aston Villa, moved to clarify his position, criticising reports which he felt deliberately took his words not in the spirit in which they were meant.

“Now (when) I’m watching TV and media, some guys take advantage of some situations to take my words out of context,” he said. “That question came from my post-match press conference – are the players good enough to be in the top four or top six? I said, ‘today, we were not good enough, and me the first’.

“Then they said, ‘Pochettino said the players aren’t good enough’. What? It’s taking it out of context, my words. In that game, we were not good enough. I don’t want to hide the reality.

“Be careful. Some people take advantage, when we lose a game, to say things that never appeared in my mouth. That upset me a little bit.

“The most difficult thing is to explain to my wife. ‘Why did you say the players are not good enough?’ I never said that. You know what I had to do last time? To show her the press conference. That is not a joke. It is the reality we live in.”

Pochettino also defended Ben Chilwell, who captained the side in Sunday’s defeat, after he appeared to suggest in a post-match interview that Wolves had shown more desire for the victory than Chelsea.

The defender told Sky Sports: “I think they probably showed that they wanted it more than us.”

However, Pochettino contested that Chilwell intended to question his team-mates’ will to win.

“He said, ‘we didn’t win the 50-50 duels’. That was my interpretation. The result we suffered against Wolves, we are Chelsea and everything is bigger than normal. I was talking with him and it was never his intention to say we didn’t show desire.”

Pochettino added that Thiago Silva had met with him privately to discuss a post sent by the defender’s wife on social media on Sunday that appeared to call for the manager to be sacked.

“He came today to talk with me. I’m not going to talk about (what we said). He came and wanted to talk with me.

“That was private. That’s it.”

Harry Cobden paid an emotional tribute to his late colleague Keagan Kirkby after steering Fire Flyer to a second victory in the space of a week at Taunton on Tuesday.

Kirkby, 25, a point-to-point rider and highly-valued member of the Paul Nicholls team at Ditcheat, died following a fall at Charing point-to-point in Kent on Sunday.

Title-chasing Cobden rode a four-timer for Nicholls at Musselburgh on the same afternoon and was back in action for the first time since aboard Fire Flyer in division two of the Racing TV Club Day Novices’ Hurdle, with jockeys at the Somerset track observing a minute’s silence and sporting black armbands.

Having finished second to Brechin Castle in a Listed bumper at Cheltenham before chasing home the exciting Gidleigh Park on his hurdling debut at Newbury, the six-year-old landed cramped odds of 2-13 when going one better at Wincanton last week and was sent back into action just five days later.

It was not entirely plain sailing for the 5-6 favourite, whom Cobden said Kirkby rode in his work at home, with Secret Squirrel giving him a real run for his money, but Fire Flyer got on top late on to score by a neck.

“Paul had his mind made up that he wanted to get him out quickly because he wanted to give him the four weeks to the EBF Final from today,” Cobden told Racing TV.

“I’d just like to say a special word for Keagan Kirkby because he rode that horse every day, so that was for him. He deserved that.”

The British Horseracing Authority and Point-to-Point Authority have pledged to carry out a full review into the tragic death of Kirkby to gauge whether any lessons can be learned.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes Daizen Maeda has come back from the Asian Cup in better shape than he left.

The forward has declared himself ready to start in Wednesday’s cinch Premiership contest against Hibernian at Easter Road.

Maeda made two substitute appearances for Japan before starting in Saturday’s quarter-final defeat by Iran, playing the first 67 minutes.

The 26-year-old had played the last five games before the Premiership winter break after recovering from a knee injury, and Rodgers feels the attacker is up to speed after his international duties.

“Daizen Maeda is back, which is great news, and fit and healthy,” Rodgers said.

“He is actually in a better place now than he was when he left because he was still trying to get up to speed.

“He has gone away, trained, played some games. I spoke to him when he did come back and he feels ready to start if we need him.”

Celtic will otherwise have an unchanged squad for the trip to Edinburgh following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Aberdeen, with Greg Taylor still working his way back from a calf problem.

However, the left-back might return against St Mirren in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup on Sunday.

“We will see how he is for the weekend but he is out on the pitch,” Rodgers said.

“He is moving really well, it will just be getting the sign-off from the medical team. If it’s not the weekend, he will be ready for the next game.”

Irish trainers are responsible for a record 61 entries of the total 94 received for this year’s Randox Grand National – with the Aintree spectacular also having a new start time of 4pm this year.

The race has been brought forward by 75 minutes, having previously got under orders at 5.15pm, while a reduced field of 34 will also be introduced as officials continue to look at making the race as safe as possible.

Last year’s hero Corach Rambler heads the ante-post betting for Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell, with another previous winner, the Emmet Mullins-trained Noble Yeats, likely to be popular, too.

Those with previous good form over the fences booked in for a return to Merseyside include the likes of Vanillier, who was second last year, and Becher Chase runner-up Coko Beach.

He is one of a 26-strong entry for Gordon Elliott that also includes Conflated and Samcro, while Willie Mullins is responsible for 13, with Cotswold Chase winner Capodanno and Irish National hero I Am Maximus part of his team, although Gaillard Du Mesnil is not.

Others prominent in the ante-post lists include John McConnell’s Mahler Mission, the Martin Brassil-trained Panda Boy and King George winner Hewick, from the yard of Shark Hanlon.

Monbeg Genius, Nassalam, Kitty’s Light and Galia Des Liteaux are among the leading prospects entered from English-based yards. The weights will be revealed in a fortnight’s time in Liverpool.

Last year’s race was delayed due to Grand National protesters making their way onto the track, with the contest eventually going off nearly 15 minutes later than scheduled.

Following the annual review of the race, a number of changes were announced last October, including a reduction in field size, the introduction of a standing start and moving the first fence closer to the race.

It had been agreed an earlier start could help to ensure the safest ground conditions, but subsequent discussions were required before a new time was agreed.

Sulekha Varma, the Jockey Club’s north west head of racing and clerk of the course at Aintree, said: “We leave no stone unturned in providing world-class standards of welfare for our participants and undertake a review after every Grand National.

“These reviews look at a wide range of factors and the learnings from the process drives a number of changes, large and small, annually. In October we announced that one of the changes being made from 2024 would involve bringing forward the start time of the race, which has been 5.15pm since 2016.

“This was a decision we took after a number of participants and other racing stakeholders raised concerns about the long build-up to the race throughout the day and heightened tension as a result. These were not issues which had been identified as a problem when the race was previously staged at 3.45pm and 4.15pm.

“Bringing forward the start time of the Grand National by 75 minutes to 4pm will also help us to maintain optimal jumping ground, as warm or breezy conditions can dry out the racing surface.”

Christian Horner faces a hearing on Friday following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour” at Red Bull’s Formula One team.

Red Bull – the Austrian energy drinks company which owns the team – confirmed on Monday an independent investigation had been launched after it was made aware of the allegations.

The PA news agency understands the allegation has been made by another member of staff for the British-based team which last year carried Max Verstappen to his third consecutive world championship.

Horner, 50, who has been Red Bull team principal since 2005, strongly denies the accusation.

He said: “I completely deny these claims.”

PA understands the hearing is likely to take place at Red Bull’s headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Horner has been team principal at Red Bull since their entry into F1 19 years ago, overseeing seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

Red Bull won 21 of the 22 rounds staged last year, with Verstappen setting a record of 10 consecutive victories as he cruised to his third title in as many years.

Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was awarded a CBE for his services to motorsport in the New Year Honours List.

Red Bull are due to launch their latest car on February 15 ahead of the new season which starts in Bahrain on March 2.

A spokesperson for Red Bull said on Monday: “After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation.

“This process, which is already under way, is being carried out by an external specialist barrister.

“The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has no doubts his players can cover enough hard yards as they prepare to face Brest for a place in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.

After Brest fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to draw their recent Ligue 1 match at Parc des Princes, Enrique faced questions over the squad’s fitness levels.

In the Champions League group stages, PSG were one of the lowest ranked teams for distance covered per match on average, at 113.84 kilometres.

Many of the PSG players are reported to have hired personal trainers to add extra fitness work on top of their sessions at club training.

Enrique, though, rejected suggestions his players needed to build up some additional stamina.

“My teams play with possession to make the opponent run, so we do it less – not a single of my teams in my career has not run enough miles to win games,” the PSG coach said.

“In the Champions League, behind Manchester City, we are the team with the most ball possession – and we are much stronger when we have the ball.

“That doesn’t mean an opponent can’t have the ball more than us, the team which creates the most chances and takes the fewest is us.”

Enrique told a press conference: “For several years now, players have been calling on physical trainers, physiotherapists, osteopaths and nutritionists.

“If there is co-ordination and there are good balances (of training), that seems good to me.

“The players are becoming more and more professional and the club has a clear line on what it means to live the life of a professional and to have the best professionals to help the players.

“The vast majority have a chef at home, they have all the advantages – I would have liked to have a chef and a physiotherapist just for me (as a player), but it was a different time.”

Enrique hopes PSG can learn from their last meeting with Brest to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the French Cup.

“The advantage of playing two matches against Brest in a row is that we know our difficulties,” said Enrique, who will be without forward Randal Kolo Muani because of a viral infection.

“It is hard to press them, so we have to be better with and without the ball.

“We expect a difficult match, but it will also be a different match, since it is the Coupe de France.”

Enrique added: “In the championship, it is a lot of consistency. In the cup, it is knockout – if we have a bad match, we can be eliminated.

“It is a different approach and you have to be very strong mentally.”

Impaire Et Passe looks set to head straight to the Aintree Hurdle in April after being scratched from both the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham Festival.

The Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old was considered one of the most exciting horses in training following an unbeaten novice campaign that saw him land the Ballymore at Cheltenham and a Grade One at Punchestown, but he has suffered defeat in each of his three outings so far this term.

He was touched off by leading Stayers’ Hurdle contender Teahupoo on his reappearance in the two-and-a-half-mile Hatton’s Grace and has since proved no match for his Champion Hurdle-bound stablemate State Man in either the Matheson Hurdle or the Irish Champion Hurdle over two miles at Leopardstown.

With connections of the opinion he requires a step back up in distance but that a first foray over three miles in the Stayers’ Hurdle would be a step too far, Impaire Et Passe will not be in action at the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds in five weeks’ time.

Anthony Bromley, racing manager for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, said: “The feeling after Daryl (Jacob) rode him the other day was that we need to keep him to two and a half miles and there isn’t a two-and-a-half-mile race at Cheltenham. We’ll wait for Aintree and see if we can get him sparkling again.

“We don’t feel he’s reached the form that he was showing last year, so the idea is to wait for Aintree and if he’s not sparkling going into Aintree we’ll just wait for novice chasing next season.

“We can’t see either race at Cheltenham being what needs at this moment. Two miles looks too short and we don’t want to go three miles at this stage.

“Daryl was adamant to go two and a half at Aintree and freshen him up for that.”

Impaire Et Passe is one of four horses scratched from the Champion Hurdle along with his stable companion Vauban, James Owen’s high-class juvenile Burdett Road and the Henry de Bromhead-trained Bob Olinger, who also appears bound for Aintree after splitting State Man and Impaire Et Passe when second in the Irish Champion Hurdle on Sunday.

Seven have been taken out of the Stayers’ Hurdle, with Ahoy Senor and Ashdale Bob among those joining Impaire Et Passe as absentees.

Dual winner Allaho tops six horses scratched from the Ryanair Chase along with Dysart Dynamo, Idas Boy, Jonbon, Sir Gerhard and Greaneteen.

Dysart Dynamo and Greaneteen are also out of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, as are Dinoblue, Fil Dor and Nube Negra, while the Cheltenham Gold Cup field has also reduced by four, with Envoi Allen, Royale Pagaille, Stay Away Fay and the fatally injured Datsalrightgino all withdrawn.

Sixmilebridge could be added to trainer Ben Pauling’s small but select team for next month’s Cheltenham Festival following an impressive debut at Sandown last weekend.

The Naunton Downs handler is fast approaching the 50-winner mark for the current campaign and has unearthed several exciting prospects who are under consideration for the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds in five weeks’ time.

Pauling is particularly strong in the novice hurdle division, with Fiercely Proud and The Jukebox Man both placed in graded company and the unbeaten Handstands and dual winner Tellherthename both facing crucial tests this week in the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon and Betfair Hurdle at Newbury respectively.

Point-to-point recruit Sixmilebridge was unraced under rules prior to running in Sandown’s bumper finale on Saturday, but was backed as if plenty was expected and duly justified favouritism with an impressive victory, teeing himself up for a potential tilt at the Champion Bumper.

“In everything he’s done at home he’s been impressive,” said Pauling.

“He’s not a keen horse, he’s just a good work horse, and we’ve struggled with him throughout the whole season in getting his lung health spot-on.

“He still wasn’t spot-on on Saturday, but it had got to the point in the season where we either rolled the dice to see how we got on or we shut up shop for the season. We decided to roll the dice and we were delighted to see what we got because there’s probably a fair bit of improvement to come when he’s 100 per cent healthy.

“If I can get his trach wash clean, he would be the sort that I would roll at the Cheltenham bumper because he seems to have that mental attitude you need and travels well without being too keen – he looks like he knows his job.

“We might let him roll in the Cheltenham bumper, which would be unusual for me, but I do think he’s potentially a bit special.”

Sixmilebridge’s victory was the second leg of a Sandown double for Pauling and his owners the Megson family, with the tricky but talented Harper’s Brook striking gold in a valuable handicap chase.

The eight-year-old had thrown away victory on his previous outing at Ascot when pulling himself up on the run-in, but having got the job done on Saturday, he too is Festival-bound.

Pauling added: “He is a horse with enormous ability, an unbelievable stride and the scope he has is just mad, but he is a bit of a character to say the least, so any day you get his head in front is a good day.

“I was thrilled with the way he travelled through the race off a strong pace. He was nearly taken out at the third-last by the loose horse and it was unfortunate at the last for the other horse to fall, but we can now look forward to going to Cheltenham with an exciting horse for the Grand Annual.

“He’s been given a mark of 140 which is spot-on as it’ll get you in, but you’ll be near the bottom of the weights. I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Harry Redknapp-owned The Jukebox Man has not been seen in competitive action since finishing third in the Grade One Challow Hurdle at Newbury in late December, but he is also on Pauling’s Prestbury Park teamsheet.

“Jukebox will go straight to Cheltenham and I’d say he’s more of an Albert Bartlett horse than a Baring Bingham horse,” the trainer said.

“If the Baring Bingham came up on proper heavy ground then I’d probably stick at two-and-a-half, but I think he’s probably more of a three-miler.

“He ran a blinder in the Challow. It was pretty tough going that day and they went a proper, honest gallop considering the conditions.

“I just thought that even though that he seems great at home, he could do with a proper opportunity to freshen up. He’s in really good form and I think he’s only going to improve.”

Sevilla have conveyed their “disgust” after winger Lucas Ocampos appeared to be touched in what the club described as an “obscene act” by a home supporter in their victory at Rayo Vallecano.

The Argentina international, who has called for LaLiga to take the incident seriously, appeared to be poked in the backside by a fan as he was preparing to take a throw-in in the 32nd minute of Monday’s contest.

His club released a statement expressing their support for the player and calling for LaLiga to take “appropriate measures” in response to the incident, while Rayo have condemned the act and are in the process of identifying the fan in question.

A statement on Sevilla’s official website read: “On the obscene and completely inappropriate act suffered by Lucas Ocampos at the Estadio de Vallecas:

“We would like to place on record our disgust at the incident that occurred on Monday during our match against Rayo Vallecano, in which our player Lucas Ocampos was subjected to an obscene and completely inappropriate act by a home fan.

“We hope that the appropriate measures outlined in the regulations will be taken to prevent such behaviour from happening again on a football field and we have expressed this to LaLiga directly.

“These gestures and behaviours should not be allowed in our competition if we aspire to be the best league in the world.

“We send our full support to Lucas Ocampos, who showed composure and immense professionalism, despite the unacceptable behaviour of the fan who harassed him.”

Ocampos, 29, who turned around to confront the fan, also demanded action after his side’s 2-1 victory, telling DAZN: “I hope the league takes it seriously, like it takes racism, like it takes those things .

“I don’t think all the Rayo people are like that, because the truth is that they always treat us with respect.

“There is always a fool and I hope it doesn’t happen in other areas, because if it happens in women’s football, we know what can happen.

“I restrained myself because I have two daughters and I hope that tomorrow it doesn’t happen to them. Let’s hope they make the decision they have to make and I hope that a fool like this doesn’t stain the fans, because the truth is they behaved very well.”

Rayo released a statement saying they “condemned” the behaviour of the fan.

The statement added: “This isolated action is solely the individual responsibility of the fan who carried it out, with neither Rayo Vallecano nor any of the other almost 15,000 spectators who filled the Estadio de Vallecas for the match against Sevilla having any responsibility for it and who had exemplary behaviour.

“Rayo Vallecano at this time is working to identify the fan so that, if he is a season ticket holder, it can adopt the appropriate disciplinary measures according to the internal regulations.

“Rayo Vallecano has always promoted the maximum respect towards referees, footballers and coaches. Individual actions like this are opposite to the values ​​that Rayo Vallecano promotes.”

The PA news agency has contacted LaLiga for comment.

Naomi Osaka fell to defeat against Danielle Collins in her opening match at the Abu Dhabi Open.

The four-time grand slam champion made her comeback last month following the birth of her first child, reaching the second round of the Brisbane International before losing a close contest to Caroline Garcia in her opening match at the Australian Open.

Those performances gave plenty of cause for encouragement but Osaka faded badly against American Collins, losing 7-5 6-0.

Rallies were few and far between in a first set dominated by serve until Collins claimed the crucial break at 5-5.

From there, the former Australian Open finalist ran away with the contest, with Osaka committing 20 unforced errors and looking dispirited as she dropped serve four times in a row.

Osaka plans to play a fuller schedule than she did prior to her 15-month break but it is clear the 26-year-old has plenty of work to do if she is to get back to the top of the game.

Collins, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, moves on to a second-round clash with top seed Elena Rybakina.

Title-chasing rider Sean Bowen has been cleared to make his comeback from injury at Huntingdon on Thursday.

Bowen, out of action since a fall at Aintree on Boxing Day, has seen his long-established lead at the top of the jump jockeys’ standings chipped away at in recent weeks by Harry Cobden.

Before racing on Tuesday Cobden had reduced the lead to just five, and that during a time when his main backer Paul Nicholls is habitually quiet. His runners have clicked back into gear recently, though, and he provided Cobden with a four-timer at Musselburgh on Sunday.

Bowen has one ride at Huntingdon, on Olly Murphy’s new recruit Roccovango in the Mulberry Developments Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.

“It was great to jock Sean back up on a horse this morning,” said Murphy.

“He’s riding out tomorrow, his rehab has gone well and he told me he was on the Equicizer yesterday, did some exercises and all was good.

“We’re looking forward to having him back. He’s a huge part of our team and is someone all the young lads look up to as well.

“He’s a big part of the furniture at Warren Chase and we’ll be doing all we can to get back behind him, along with many other people, to make him champion jockey.

“He was flying up to Christmas, he’d been riding extremely well all year but unfortunately the life of a jump jockey means injuries are a part of it and he had a bad fall at Aintree on Boxing Day and missed six weeks.

“Harry Cobden has clawed back a lot of his lead, he is riding extremely well as well and he’s ultra-talented. We wish the two of them the best of luck, but obviously our loyalty is to Sean.

“It will be good for jump racing if the two of them stay injury-free until the end of the season and have a good tussle.”

Asked to sum up Roccovango’s chance, Murphy said: “He’s a new recruit who had some nice novice form. I’d like to think he’s got a nice each-way chance.

“Harry Derham’s horse (Nordic Tiger) will be hard to beat escaping a penalty for winning last week, but I’d like to think my lad could be competitive and it would be magic if we can give Sean a winner on his first ride back.”

Brendon McCullum credits the inspirational leadership and “total conviction” of Ben Stokes for giving England a fighting chance of leaving India with a series win.

The score is tied at 1-1 after two gripping Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, giving England a realistic shot at becoming the first side to win away on Indian soil since 2012.

Head coach McCullum will lead his side to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a short break before the contest resumes on February 15 and, while the players will be resting up with family rather than hitting the nets, he insists they will be ready to “drop the shoulder and go hard” when they return for the third Test in Rajkot.

A crucial part of England’s ability to do just that so far has been the contribution of three novice spinners in the form of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, who have defied their lack of experience to claim 26 wickets between them against players who have grown up against the turning ball.

And McCullum was glowing about Stokes’ ability to instil belief in the group.

“There are heaps of positives. Our spin bowling unit, albeit young and raw, have shown they’ve got what it takes,” he said.

“I put it down to the skipper. He has total conviction in his methods and is incredibly empathetic towards people.

“He spends time with them to ensure his messaging is really consistent, in his body language and behaviours, and he backs up what he says to them off the field with opportunities on the field. He is desperate to lead this team and he wants to take this team to whatever level he can take it.

“I am absolutely delighted in how they have performed with very little experience under their belt. You look around and you just see guys who look like they belong at international level.

“I think 1-1 is probably a fair reflection of where the contest is at the moment and, if the next three Tests are anything like these last two, it’s going to be one hell of a series.”

A return to form for Joe Root would be the biggest possible boost for England’s prospects, with the former skipper yet to make an impression with the bat.

A total of 52 runs from four innings represents a meagre return for a cornerstone player with a strong case for being the country’s best ever sub-continental batter.

The manner of his most recent dismissal, slogging wildly at the wily Ravichandran Ashwin, caused consternation, but McCullum harbours no such concerns.

“There are three Tests left, still an opportunity to score a whole s*** ton of runs,” he said with a smile.

“Joe’s a world-class player and as good as anyone England has ever seen.

“People will look to the dismissal, look at the method of his option, but he was trying to get the field back so he could milk them.

“It is the bravery you have to show at times and sometimes you get out doing it, that’s just the way the game rolls. There is no doubt from our point of view about that approach.”

England are not currently anticipating any changes to their Test squad for the second phase of the trip.

A virus has made an unwelcome intrusion on the camp but should be gone before the series resumes and concerns over Root’s injured little finger have eased.

There is no expectation of Harry Brook returning to the tour, with the team management giving him space to deal with the family matters that brought him home on the eve of the series.

The only uncertainty surrounds Jack Leach, who injured his knee in Hyderabad, missed the next game and has now been hit by illness.

“It is still pretty inflamed, but I don’t really know because he has been crook,” McCullum explained.

“His knee is pretty bad though and it was remarkable he got through what he did in the first Test match.”