The Real Whacker will have the weight of history on his shoulders in Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham, but his trainer Patrick Neville is unconcerned.

It is two years since the Irish handler made the move from his home in County Limerick to set up at Ann Duffield’s Sun Hill Farm in the Yorkshire Dales, a switch which coincided with the unearthing of a horse that would take his career to new heights.

The Real Whacker was a €21,000 purchase by Neville as an unraced three-year-old in 2019 – and but for the Coronavirus pandemic, there is every chance he would now be in different hands.

“I took a chance on him as I bought him myself a store horse and I had him a year and a half before he was ready to run in a point-to-point. The plan was to run him in a point-to-point and sell him,” Neville explained.

“I knew he was a good horse, we had him ready to run in a point-to-point as a four-year-old and then Covid struck and that was it.

“We said that was our chance gone then as he was a five-year-old, so said we’d keep him and give him a run on the track.”

The Real Whacker finished sixth of 18 as a 150-1 shot on his racecourse debut in a Listowel maiden hurdle in the autumn of 2021, after which he was packed up to make the move across the Irish Sea.

It did not take him long to make an impact on British soil, bolting up at Carlisle in Duffield’s name, as Neville – who currently trains a string of around 20 horses and rides his stable star every day – worked on getting set up in the UK in his own name.

He said: “When we ran him in Listowel the ground was a bit too good and he was a couple of weeks off being really ready. He had an educational run and he ran very well.

“It was a good race he won in Carlisle and we then took him to the Grade Two in Doncaster (River Don Novices’ Hurdle), where he was a bit unlucky because there was a woeful head wind that day, he got pulled across the track in the straight and lost a lot of ground. He was still a bit green at that stage as well as it was only his third run, so it was a good run to finish second (to Mahler Mission).

“He was to run in the Albert Bartlett then, but he got a knock so we didn’t run him and he was left off then for the season. He came back and had run over hurdles at Cheltenham in October on ground that was a bit quick for him and we decided after that we’d go straight over fences.”

While the son of Mahler was clearly a high-class operator over the smaller obstacles, it is since being switched the larger obstacles that he has really excelled – winning each of his three starts to date, all at Cheltenham, including the narrowest of Festival triumphs over leading Gold Cup contender Gerri Colombe in the Brown Advisory in March.

“I always thought he was going to be a proper chaser. His run in Doncaster showed me that he was a real good horse and the day he won in Carlisle, the way he pulled away from good horses over three-mile-one, he just galloped away from them,” said Neville.

“Going to Cheltenham in March, I wasn’t even thinking of any other horse in the race, only our own horse – that’s the way I think every day.

“You could be sizing up everything else and thinking about different tactics and all that, but I just like to think of our own horse and what we’re going to do.

“Gerri Colombe is a good horse, he’s proved it every time he’s run. I’m still listening to people saying ‘if there was another stride’ he’d have won, but life is full of ifs and buts, isn’t it?

“If they both run in the Gold Cup and he annihilates us, well isn’t it good to be there taking him on and having a go?

“I had a great craic with the owner of Gerri Colombe (Brian Acheson) in Aintree earlier in the year. He’s a good sport and if we finish second to him in the Gold Cup we wouldn’t mind!”

Having sidestepped a small-field engagement at Carlisle a couple of weeks ago, The Real Whacker will instead make his comeback on familiar territory in one of the season’s most prestigious handicaps with 12st on his back.

Al Ferof 11 years ago was the last horse to carry top-weight to victory in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, while you have to go back to Dublin Flyer in 1995 to find the last winner rated in the 160s.

Neville, though, is not one for worrying about statistics, instead focussing on getting his pride and joy to Prestbury Park in the best possible shape for what he views as a starting point rather than the end goal for the season.

He said: “I don’t get too nervous about these things. All we can do is look after him and get him there healthy and well and fit and as good as we can.

“I don’t take much notice of all this carry on with people saying ‘if he doesn’t win on Saturday, he’s not this or he’s not that’. It’s only the start of the season for us.

“He’s come back a bit stronger, so we’d be hoping he’d improve. He’s only ran seven times, so he’s still a very lightly-raced horse for his age.

“We gave him that time and gave him time between races because he’s such a lightly-framed horse and he tries so hard. Even in his work and his cantering he puts everything in, so I think if you ran him too often you’d end up with a very light horse.

“He’s fit and ready for his run and whatever happens on Saturday, and I’d be expecting a big run, he’ll definitely improve.

“You can’t be confident in a race like that, but we’re going there hoping he’ll run very well.”

While looking forward to this weekend’s assignment and another stop or two along the way, in Neville’s mind there is one day that matters above all else and it arrives in four months’ time.

He added: “We’re working back from the Gold Cup and after Saturday we’d be looking forward to Christmas and going for the King George. There’s no reason why not, there isn’t a whole pile else.

“The Cotswold Chase at the end of January might be nearly too near the Festival, so if he ran at Christmas we might just leave him then, but we’ll see.

“Obviously there’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge between now and March and there’ll be a lot of talk about different horses and there’s always a new kid on the block coming.

“There’s a lot of good horses around at the moment, but we have something to dream of anyway, which is what it’s all about.”

Connections of Delta Work believe the dual Festival hero has plenty on his plate as he goes in search of a third win around Cheltenham’s cross-country course in Friday’s Glenfarclas Handicap Chase.

The five-time Grade One winner was something of a pantomime villain when denying his stablemate Tiger Roll a fairytale farewell at Prestbury Park in 2022, but punters roared him home when he successfully defended his crown in March at the chief expense of another Elliott-trained runner in Galvin.

The Cullentra pair lock horns again in the Cotswolds on day one of the November meeting – but while their class came to the fore in a conditions race at the Festival, this contest is a handicap, meaning they will have to concede weight to the rest of the field.

With 7lb-claiming amateur Rob James offsetting some of Galvin’s 12st burden, Delta Work will carry top-weight of 11st 13lb under Keith Donoghue – and that hefty load, combined with the rain-softened ground, means Gigginstown House Stud’s Eddie O’Leary is not overly optimistic.

He said: “As expected he’s carrying an awful lot of weight and it’s very hard to fancy him in that ground off that weight.

“We’d be hopeful more than confident, I’d say. There’s a big difference (with the weights) in March on March ground.”

Elliott’s duo are joined on the trip from Ireland by the Mouse Morris-trained Foxy Jacks and Gearoid O’Loughlin’s Whatsyourstatus, while the home team is headed by Martin Keighley’s Back On The Lash, who bids to win the race for a third time.

The nine-year-old struck gold in 2021 and in last season’s renewal when it was run in January. He was subsequently pulled up behind Delta Work at the Festival and again failed to complete in the Grand National or on his recent reappearance at Exeter, but Keighley is hopeful of an improved performance.

“He schooled around there last week and he was really good,” he said.

“Obviously the two Gordon Elliott horses are going to be really hard to beat, but he loves it round there and it’d be great to see him bounce back to form. We could just do with not too much more rain.

“He needed that run (at Exeter), he seems in top form again now. He just comes alive around the cross-country jumps, he loves it round there as long as the ground is not too soft.

“He’s actually 2lb lower than when he last won it. He’s won this race the last two years, so hopefully he can make it a third.”

Diesel D’Allier finished third to Back On The Lash in 2021 before winning at the track the following month and finishing fourth to Delta Work in March.

His last two runs over the fences have not been so positive, but trainer Richard Bandey was encouraged by a comeback run over hurdles at Worcester last month.

He said: “He had a nice run over hurdles the other week, just as a prep run which he hasn’t had before, so it was good to get that into him.

“He’s in much better form than he was last year – we were always up against it last season with a few little issues, but we’ve had a much clearer run this year so hopefully he’ll give a good account of himself on Friday.

“It’s always going to be hard work with Delta Work and Galvin in there, but we’ll give it a go.”

England face Malta at Wembley on Friday night with Euro 2024 qualification already sewn up but there are other issues that remain outstanding.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main talking points ahead of the game.

Seeds of doubt

While a spot at next summer’s finals in Germany was assured with victory over Italy last month, Gareth Southgate’s side still have something to play for in the game against Malta and the trip to North Macedonia.

Only the top-five best performing nations throughout the qualifying campaign will be top seeds for the draw in Hamburg next month.

Four points across both fixtures should be enough, while six would confirm England’s place in the first pot, so there is still something to play for on Friday.

Southgate’s own reshuffle on the cards?

While Southgate has continually stressed the need to finish Group C strongly to ensure the aforementioned top seeding, he will know England are heavy favourites going into Friday’s game.

Having initially picked a strong squad for the fixtures, he may yet decide to give some of his fringe players a chance to impress.

The likes of centre-backs Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori, for example, will be pushing to start in place of the injured John Stones, while Ollie Watkins will be keen for another chance to show he can be the man to provide the goals if captain Harry Kane is unavailable.

New kids on the block

While some squad players could feature, there is also a chance for a number of debutants to stake their claim for a late run into Southgate’s thoughts for his 23-man Euro 2024 squad.

Although not included in the original list of call-ups for the forthcoming games, Southgate has added a trio of uncapped players to the squad after injury withdrawals.

That means Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, Manchester City teenager Rico Lewis and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer could all make their senior bows against the minnows of Malta.

Can Trent bridge the gap to midfield?

Having burst on to the scene at Liverpool as an attacking right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s attributes have long-seen him touted as a potential midfielder.

After struggling for minutes with England at full-back, Southgate played Alexander-Arnold in midfield in the reverse fixture in Malta and he starred with an eye-catching performance that included a fine goal.

Alexander-Arnold has since taken on more of a hybrid role at Liverpool, too, and is now listed on England’s squad sheet as a midfielder, so he may get another chance to shine there this time around.

Tributes to a 1966 great

The fixture against Malta is the first time England will have played since the death of Sir Bobby Charlton last month.

A 1966 World Cup winner who scored 49 goals in 106 caps, Charlton has been described as the greatest England player of all time, having also won the European Cup and three league titles at Manchester United.

Wembley will remember Charlton before the game on what will be an emotional moment for all those in attendance.

JPR One could have been found the perfect opportunity to showcase his class over the larger obstacles in the SSS Super Alloys Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.

The six-year-old has always been held in high regard by trainer Joe Tizzard and the team at Venn Farm, but injury has hindered his progress and delayed the start of his chasing career by a season.

A winner of four of his eight starts, JPR One now takes the next step up the fencing ladder after a successful debut in his new discipline at Newton Abbot last month.

“He was impressive the last day and this is obviously a step up, but I was quite keen to keep him at two miles as he showed plenty of pace and jumped well at Newton Abbot,” said Tizzard.

“Soft ground over two miles should be ideal for him. He had a school on Wednesday morning and schooled lovely and this is the next step.

“He got an injury last autumn which held us up and stopped us going novice chasing and he’s only a six-year-old now, so it might have been a blessing in disguise.

“He bounced back and won at Taunton and then went to Aintree. He’s a strong horse now who has always jumped well. I’m excited about him.”

Champion Chase winner Put The Kettle On (2019) and Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge 12 months ago have both taken this prize back to Ireland in recent years and looking to join them on the roll of honour is Cian Collins’ Mighty Tom.

The eight-year-old had to settle for second behind Gavin Cromwell’s Letsbeclearaboutit in a Cork Grade Three on his chasing debut and brings some smart hurdling form to the table.

“He probably bumped into a Grade One horse at Cork last time and the drop back to two miles will suit him on Friday,” said Collins.

“The ground will be nicer on Friday which will be to his liking, it is just the 12 days since his last start that is the biggest worry. But I’m happy with him and hopefully he will handle it.”

There are only four going to post for the Grade Two contest with Jonjo O’Neill’s Petit Tonnerre and Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s Homme Public completing the quartet.

The latter took on an experienced cast when making a successful first start over the larger obstacles on good ground at Wetherby and his training team are hoping for similar conditions at Prestbury Park.

“He definitely seemed to improve for fences (at Wetherby), he just wouldn’t want it too soft,” said Greenall.

“He’ll take his chance and I would say he enjoyed the ground at Wetherby as well. It should be ideal for him.”

Rory McIlroy felt like “something had to give” as he explained his surprise decision to resign from the PGA Tour’s policy board.

McIlroy cited professional and personal commitments for standing down as a player-director in a letter sent to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

The world number two has been LIV Golf’s most vocal critic and admitted he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” when a shock deal between LIV’s Saudi backers and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour was announced in June.

Speaking after an eventful opening 71 in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, McIlroy told Sky Sports: “I just think I’ve got a lot going on in my life between my golf game, my family and my growing investment portfolio, my involvement in TGL [an indoor golf league], and I just felt like something had to give.

“I just didn’t feel like I could commit the time and the energy into doing that. I don’t mind being busy, but I just like being busy doing my own stuff.

“Something had to give and there’s guys that are on that board that are spending a lot more time and a lot more energy on it than I am. It’s in good hands and I felt like it was the right time to step off.”

Competing for the first time since a career-best performance helped Europe regain the Ryder Cup in Rome, McIlroy carded five birdies and four bogeys in his 71, along with an extraordinary par on the 18th.

His drive on the 650-yard par five bounced off the rocks surrounding a creek which runs the length of the hole and landed in the chip bark off the fairway, from where he pulled his second shot into the creek, only to see it bounce out and on to a bridge.

“I was hoping that my tee shot was going to miss the hazard right but I didn’t exactly think that it would do what it did,” McIlroy, who conceded he was rusty, said.

“And the second shot from the mulch, it just sort of started left on me, and yeah got another stroke of luck by coming back over the bridge.

“I was a bit in two minds about whether to go left and cut it or go right. I felt with the longer club there was a chance of clipping the bridge on the way through. So I took a wedge and just tried to hit it as hard as I could and ended up making a good five.

“The up and down on 17 [from a bunker] and the par on 18 was actually a pretty nice way to end the day.”

Playing partner Jon Rahm was not so fortunate, the defending champion dropping shots on the 17th and 18th to finish level par, five shots off the lead shared by Ryder Cup team-mate Nicolai Hojgaard and the French pair of Julien Guerrier and Matthieu Pavon.

Hojgaard, who was level par at the turn before making five birdies in the next six holes, admitted he had been inspired by being part of Luke Donald’s victorious side in Rome.

“It was huge,” the 22-year-old said.

“Spending time with the best players in the world, fighting for a common goal was amazing, and just being around those guys, seeing what they do, what do I do different, what do I need to work on.

“It gave me a lot of confidence going into the last end of the season here. You want to play with those guys but you also want to beat them.”

Fellow Ryder Cup stars Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton were part of an eight-strong group on three under par.

Sir Alex Ferguson may have one of the most decorated footballing CVs around, but he is attempting to break new ground when his horse Spirit Dancer lines up in the Bahrain International Trophy on Friday.

The Group Two event has a $1million prize fund and Ferguson’s candidate, who is trained by Richard Fahey, booked his ticket when picking up York’s Strensall Stakes in the summer.

Spirit Dancer now faces the toughest assignment of his career as he takes on a strong cast that includes Aidan O’Brien’s Point Lonsdale and the Group One-winning Above The Curve among others.

However, despite being known as one of the most fiercest of competitors on the touchline, Ferguson believes he cuts a much more relaxed figure in the paddock before a big race and would relish the chance to get his hands on yet another international sporting trophy with the talented son of Frankel.

“I think my competitive element was left in football,” he told Racing TV’s Raceday.

“I never question the trainer and I never get upset if the horse loses because its a different sport for me – I can’t tell a horse what to do, but at least I could tell my players what to do. In that respect I’m not a critical judge at all, ever.

“I enjoy being there and if a horse wins of course you are excited, especially in big races.

“Spirit Dancer has given us great joy and I’ve started a stud and he’s the first product of the stud.”

Meanwhile Spirit Dancer’s trainer is optimistic the six-year-old’s calm demeanour will be an asset when dealing with the rigours of international competition.

“The target all season was Bahrain because it’s a million dollar race and a good opportunity in trip, track and everything will suit,” Fahey told Great British Racing.

“He’s a very laid-back horse. When you go on about international runners, you’ve got to pick the right horse and this horse’s mind is great and I’m sure he’ll probably drive the plane back on the way home because he’s just so laid back. There’s no issues with him at all.”

Defending champion Dubai Future is one of two in the race for Saeed bin Suroor, who also saddles Real World.

They are just two of a strong Godolphin challenge which also features Andre Fabre’s Birr Castle and two from Charlie Appleby’s stable, Nations Pride and Highland Avenue.

John and Thady Gosden’s Princess Of Wales’s Stakes winner Israr and Noel Meade’s Layfayette are other familiar names taking part, while Cambridgeshire winner Astro King has been in great form this term and bids to cap a fantastic year for Daniel and Claire Kubler.

Claire Kubler said: “He is going to be our biggest runner outside of Europe which is incredible. It’s very exciting.

“It’s great having Bahrain putting on a race like this to attract international contenders and hopefully Astro King can put his best foot forward and do us proud.”

Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah insists he has achieved nothing yet because he is not classed as one of the world’s greats.

The defender has made his Anfield breakthrough this season and earned the faith of boss Jurgen Klopp.

The manager said this month he was surprised about his rapid rise, with Liverpool having considered sending Quansah out on loan again after he spent the second half of last season with Bristol Rovers in League One.

But the England Under-21 international, who made his Young Lions debut last month, has now made nine appearances for the Reds this season.

However, it is not enough for the ambitious 20-year-old, who wants to make a lasting mark on the game.

He said: “No (his season has not exceeded expectations), because no-one has said ‘Jarell Quansah is one of the best players in the world’ yet.

“No-one’s said ‘he’s a top centre-back’. No-one’s said ‘he’s all this’, so until I’m regarded as at least one of the best players in the Premier League, then there is no reason for me to sit on what I’ve got and go ‘Oh yeah, I’ve played nine games for Liverpool’. That’s never been the end goal.

“I’ve always just wanted to be a winner. I’ve hated losing since I was young. I used to cry when I lost. When I lose, it still ruins my weekend and stuff like that.

“There is no point in setting goals that you think you could reach. You might as well just set a goal that maybe looks out of reach but you never know what you can get to.

“Surprised could be deemed an interesting word but I think he (Klopp) means I wasn’t expected to be there yet.

“I don’t think it was ‘It’s a surprise, I’ve trained with him before and he’s not a good player’. It was about how soon it’s come and how I’ve dealt with the adversity I have been thrown into.

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“It’s not expected from being on loan at Bristol Rovers to going straight into the first team, and to do as well as I did. That’s where the surprise came from.”

Quansah made his debut in Liverpool’s late 2-1 win at Newcastle in August, coming on as a substitute for the injured Joel Matip after Virgil Van Dijk was sent off.

He also had a goal disallowed in the Reds’ 3-2 Europa League defeat in Toulouse last week, while Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all offered words of wisdom.

He said: “They just say enjoy it. It sounds so simple and cliche but it is easy for young centre-halves to not play their game, play safe and not do what they do at other levels just because it is a step up.

“Them saying that relaxes you a bit, so when I get told to enjoy it I can be free and just play. I don’t have to worry about making mistakes because they’re going to happen.

“I can’t remember the last player who had a perfect career and never made a mistake, that is going to happen and that is the way you learn best so just enjoy myself and do the best I can.”

Now, Quansah is preparing to travel to Serbia on Friday for Saturday’s Euro 2025 qualifier in Backa Topola, before returning to face Northern Ireland at Goodison Park on Tuesday in Group F.

Lee Carsley’s side are second in the group following last month’s late 3-2 defeat to Ukraine, having smashed Serbia 9-1 at the City Ground.

The loss to Ukraine in Poland, after levelling at 2-2 having been 2-0 down, was just England’s third in qualifying since 2011 but Quansah is happy to learn the lessons.

He said: “We didn’t lock the game down as the way we should have and their goal was a sucker punch.

“Things are definitely going to be different (in Serbia), it’s always tough going away from home as we found out against Ukraine.”

Italy midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura says they cannot allow the pressure of their fragile Euro 2024 qualification hopes to affect performances.

After defeat to Group C leaders England last time out, Luciano Spalletti’s side sit third, three points behind Ukraine – whom they face in their final game – with a match in hand.

But first they must get past North Macedonia, a country they have not beaten in their last three meetings and who famously won a play-off 1-0 in Palermo in March last year to end Italy’s hopes of making the World Cup.

Although Italy would have the fall-back of another play-off if they fail to overhaul Ukraine, it is something they are desperate to avoid.

“We must not burden ourselves with too much pressure, fear or worry,” Bonaventura told Raisport.

“On the pitch you have to make decisions quickly and this is something that only works well when you are calm and serene.

“Two tough games await us. It is important to start well against Macedonia to send a message, taking advantage of our quality.

“It won’t be a walk in the park, we are obliged to win, which is never easy.”

Spalletti’s defensive options worsened on Thursday when Alessandro Bastoni was sent back to Inter Milan for further treatment after reporting a calf muscle problem.

Roma vice-captain Gianluca Mancini was called up as cover as the Italy coach is already without injured defenders Rafael Toloi, Giorgio Scalvini, Destiny Udogie and Davide Calabria and the suspended Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

Federico Gatti or Alessandro Buongiorno will likely replace Bastoni in the side. Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi has also been drafted in as a precaution with Guglielmo Vicario suffering a minor fever.

Reports suggest when the team arrives in Rome, Spalletti will meet Francesco Totti to put an end to their feud stemming back to 2017 when he was Roma coach and the local hero’s 19-year spell at the club ended somewhat ignominiously as a substitute for most of the campaign.

“I’m happy to talk to him again, to be able to call him again because when I had him as a coach he was a source of inspiration for me, as a footballer he showed me important things on the passing lines full of creativity and imagination,” Spalletti said earlier this week.

Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski insists there is no pressure on North Macedonia as they prepare to face two of Europe’s elite in Italy and then England.

“We have no pressure and in the last few games we have achieved excellent results against Italy,” he told a press conference.

“The next matches will allow us to understand what level we are at, and I think this is the right time.”

Liam Dawson sees a lot of promise in Rehan Ahmed but cautioned against expecting too much, too soon from the teenage leg-spinner.

England’s dismal World Cup seems set to usher in a changing of the guard for the ODI side and Ahmed may have more of a role to play, even if Adil Rashid remains the country’s premier white-ball spinner.

Ahmed has impressed in seven appearances in national colours across all formats since last December and joins Rashid in being named in the ODI and T20 squads for next month’s trip to face the West Indies.

The 19-year-old links up with England after a lean domestic summer but Dawson is a huge admirer of his fellow spin bowling all-rounder and is certain he will flourish if England persevere with him.

“Rehan’s very young so you’ve got to give him a bit of time – he’s nowhere near the finished article,” Dawson told the PA news agency.

“I played with him last winter and I think he’s a very good bowler. You’ve just got to be patient with him. Spin bowling isn’t easy in England, you don’t get conditions that suit very often.”

Dawson subscribes to the notion spinners get better as they grow older and he has the numbers to back it up after taking 49 wickets at 20 to go with 840 runs at 40 in this year’s County Championship.

His form for Hampshire – where he was an ever-present for the matches in which he was available – warrants an England recall with a five-match Test series against India to come, starting in January.

Dawson has long since stopped worrying about his fringe status for England in all formats but the 33-year-old believes he is a superior player than when he earned the last of three Test caps in July 2017.

“Without a doubt,” he said. “I was only 27 then. I certainly think I’m a better player now. I’ve played a lot more cricket and in a lot more pressure situations. I understand that side of the game more.

“In red-ball cricket my bowling has improved every single year. I’d say that’s a huge thing that has improved. It’s going to be very hard to beat what I’ve done this season.

“There’s not much more I can do than what I’ve done this year. I’ll keep trying to work hard, keep trying to improve but I’m very realistic that the season I’ve just had doesn’t come around too often.”

A difficult conundrum awaits Dawson if England do make overtures for him as he has already committed to a lucrative stint in South Africa’s SA20, which overlaps with a couple of Tests of the India tour.

The canny slow left-armer would be a valuable inclusion on the turning tracks of India but any England return would likely be brief and he does not have the safety net of a central contract to fall back on.

Dawson is a regular in the high-paying T20 franchise leagues and, with England’s blessing, he was among a group of players to miss a tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.

“Don’t get me wrong, everyone’s desperate to play for their country but it also gets to a point where financially, you have to take that into consideration,” he added.

“As a player, for someone in my situation who hasn’t got a central contract – I certainly didn’t expect one – I’m not getting younger now, you have to make money.

“There’s so many competitions now you can play in. It’s brilliant to be a player now and hopefully I can play for a few more years and try to continue to perform.”

Sports clubs can play a vital role in breaking down barriers for vulnerable young people to help develop their life skills on and off the court, according to Plymouth City Patriots coach Paul James.

The 59-year-old recently celebrated his 500th victory as a head coach in the British Basketball League when the Patriots inflicted a first defeat of the season on runaway championship leaders London Lions.

As well as his continued focus at the elite level, James also helps the club run sessions in the community, offering free coaching for young and vulnerable children.

The Patriots are part of a programme which is being delivered locally and supported by nationwide sport for development charity StreetGames, in partnership with the Plymouth Drake Foundation’s children in poverty initiative.

The community organisation projects are designed to help steer young people away from crime and into positive activities aimed at teaching teamwork, resilience and discipline.

James’ professional playing career started as a 17-year-old at his hometown club Leicester then with Bracknell before moving into coaching, which eventually led to a spell in charge of England men’s senior national team.

While some of the youngsters within the Patriots’ community programmes may also have aspirations to get to the top of the sport, James believes just giving someone the chance to develop themselves within a team environment could prove the biggest lasting impact.

“We have got a lot of people playing who ordinarily would not have had an opportunity to play basketball, let alone sport,” James told the PA news agency.

“I look at these kids who are walking around now who have good friendships and a lot of confidence, they are starting to understand teamwork. It is something that they have never really had before.

“A lot of kids have barriers that they face to accessing sport, because they can’t afford it, so StreetGames have a ‘doorstep fund’, which allows us to offer free places for children at our basketball camps.

“It is a chance for them to come out and gives them an opportunity to play basketball, something they normally wouldn’t have an opportunity to do, so we are very proud to partner with StreetGames to be able to offer this to vulnerable kids.”

James feels playing sports can only help provide a positive outlet for youngsters to grow, both physically and also for their own mental health.

“I think it was different back then (when I started out) – you could be outside playing whatever sport all day, every day,” James said.

“That is not the case now and I certainly see that in some of the children that we are working with. I think a lot of that is down to not having access to sports or access to do things.

“But I feel that it is not just about coaching, it is about life skills.

“Yes basketball is there, it is a facility to get people off the street and get them involved in sport – but it is about your mental health and actually being a good person, treating people how you want to be treated.

“There is an important part for us coaches to play in just general life skills and advising kids of the way to be, how to handle yourself.

“It is definitely more than just having an hour session coaching – it is spending time with them, asking ‘how are you feeling today? How is school doing?’

“It is asking all those questions, just really trying to help and guide them, give them confidence to be able to speak out and just talk about how they are feeling.”

On the court, James is hoping the Patriots, currently a couple of points behind eighth place, can build some momentum to make a late run for the end-of-season play-offs.

“We have got a really good group of guys and are working exceptionally hard. It is just trying to find that consistency,” he said.

“Our aim for the season is to make the play-offs if we can, so we have still got time to do that.”

Toulouse president Damien Comolli insists that his club’s use of data is the reason behind their success rather than “football wisdom”.

The entire football operation of the Ligue 1 club, who beat Liverpool in the Europa League last week, is entirely driven by data, from player and manager recruitment to which set-pieces to use in a match and when.

It is bearing fruit as promotion from Ligue 2 in 2022 was followed by success in last season’s Coupe de France, which earned them their ticket to European football this season. 

And Comolli, who worked at Tottenham and Liverpool as sporting director, believes all their success comes from their use and understanding of the data.

“Our whole football operation is driven by data, whether it his how we recruit a coach or sign a player, the way we play, the way we attack, the way we defend, from where we shoot, from where we cross, where we press,” Comolli said at Web Summit in Lisbon.

“We try to optimise the wage bill and transfer budget using data. Data is part of our culture.

“Where we gain a competitive advantage is we have decided to stick by data compared to the football wisdom. We are very disciplined at it.

“At the moment we are struggling in the league, doing well in Europe. But with underlying data, we don’t look at results.

“The day after the game, none of the pages of the match report will contain the result. It will show the underlying data, why we lost or why we won.

“We need a bridge between the mathematics and science and the football people. Those individuals that can translate the data that is applicable to coaches and understandable to everyone, that bridge is absolutely key.”

The use of data and artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more prominent in today’s game and Comolli believes it will have a big impact in the future of the game.

He thinks that it will be particularly important in injury prevention.

“In the last four seasons our player availability for per game has been at 95 per cent, the highest in France,” Comolli added. “We are constantly using data to measure player’s loads, we are are using AI to measure in-game data.

“In the future it will help coaches make better decisions, when to make a substitution, when to make a tactical adjustment or not make one.

“We played at Anfield, we were losing 4-1, our best striker was still on the pitch and we had a game a few days later. I messaged the analyst, ‘Why is he still on the pitch?’.

“His data was showing he was in the red, so we brought him off. He went on to score in the next four games, maybe if we played him for longer he would have got injured or fatigued.”

Aidan O’Brien’s St Leger winner Continuous will miss the Japan Cup next weekend due to stiffness.

His scheduled run at Tokyo racecourse on November 26 had garnered plenty of interest amongst the locals.

Not only was he due to take on the brilliant Equinox, currently rated as the best horse in the world, but Continuous is a son of Heart’s Cry.

Heart’s Cry was a quality performer in Japan and beat Deep Impact, the sire of O’Brien’s dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin, in the Arima Kinen of 2005 as well as winning the 2006 Sheema Classic in Dubai.

Continuous was far from disgraced in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when a little over three lengths behind Ace Impact in fifth, however, his trip to the Far East has now been scuppered.

O’Brien said: “Unfortunately Continuous was stiff after his latest exercise which means he won’t be going to Japan.”

Ruth Jefferson’s classy chaser Sounds Russian is on the road to recovery after an injury sustained when he was brought down in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

The gelding had a fruitful season prior to the fall, winning the Edinburgh Gin Chase at Kelso on debut and then finishing second by narrow margins in both the Rowland Meyrick and the Cotswold Chase.

His next start was a return to Prestbury Park for the Gold Cup, where he started at 50-1 under Sean Quinlan in a field of 13.

Six fences from home he was still in contention when the leader, Ahoy Senor, fell and knocked him off of his feet as he followed on behind.

The resulting knee injury has required an operation and Sounds Russian has now started the pre-training phase of his return to action.

Jefferson said: “He’s in pre-training so he’s been doing some treadmill work, he’s seen the physio, he’s been doing a lot of flat work and fitness work at the moment. He’ll probably be back with me in the next month or so.

“He’s not always behaved himself so he might not be as fit as I was hoping he’d be when he gets back to me, which will push me back to February.

“He doesn’t take a lot of getting fit, that’s one thing about him, but it does mean everything has to slow down a stride.

“He damaged his knee and had to have it operated on, they took 12 chips of bone out. It was a funny injury really but he’s been sound on it, that’s the main thing. Ridden or otherwise, he’s been very sound on it.”

Jefferson predicts the bay will not make it to the racecourse before February and when he does a switch to hurdling is open to him as he is still a novice over smaller obstacles.

She said: “I’ve got no idea what he’ll be doing, he’s still a novice over hurdles so it’s possible we could revert to hurdling for the rest of the season because I don’t know what there’ll be for him when he comes back chasing-wise.

“He’s only rated 111 over hurdles so if the handicapper leaves him at that I’ll be delighted, it might make more sense to do that but there’s a few more bridges to cross before then.”