Pep Guardiola has said he is “not optimistic” the Vinicius Junior racism row that has erupted in Spain will drive a change of attitude in the country.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius was racially abused by fans during his side’s game at Valencia in LaLiga last week.
The affair has sparked a wave of criticism of Spanish football and the way it deals with such matters.
It is thought to be at least the 10th time Brazil international Vinicius has been racially abused this season alone.
Manchester City manager Guardiola, the former Barcelona boss, believes the Spanish game can learn from English football on the issue.
“They should,” he said. “Here they are so strict. They know what they have to do.
“Of course racism is a problem everywhere, not just in one specific place. Everywhere we have (people) thinking we are better than our neighbours, we are better than the other ones, for all generations everywhere.
“Our ancestors come from migrants, come from wars, come from dictatorships, you have to move from other countries, build families there and come back to where you’re born.
“The problem is that there is racism everywhere. Not just for gender but for colour, for attitudes. We believe that our language is better than the other one, our country is better than the other one.
“As much as you travel in other countries, you realise we are the same, with the same fears, with the same good things.
“We need to accept the diversity as a strength, like a human being – and still right now, we are far away from that.
“Hopefully it can be one step to getting better in Spain but I’m not optimistic. I know a little bit the country and I’m not really optimistic.
“There are a lot of black people stepping forward to defend what they should not (have to) defend. Hopefully justice can help to do it but in the same time is it going to change anything in Spain?”
Pep Guardiola is convinced his Manchester City players will be ready to make the most of their “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to win the treble.
Having wrapped up the Premier League title last weekend, City are now focusing on next month’s FA Cup and Champions League finals, in which they will face Manchester United and Inter Milan respectively.
First, City need to finish off their Premier League campaign, which they will do at Brentford on Sunday, before the players have two days off.
They will then return to training next week and give the two glamour ties full attention.
City manager Guardiola said: “Everybody knows what position we are in. It comes once in a lifetime, twice in a lifetime?
“Being champions in the Premier League three games before the end and to play two finals – that doesn’t come every season.
“Once we are there, first of all you have to relax and enjoy and do your best, but no-one can be sure we will be in that position again.
“They are ready. I see many details – how they come up on days off to make treatments, how many hours they stay to make the treatments, how players are individually concerned maybe they cannot play the FA Cup final and Champions League final.
“When you see that you don’t have to tell anything and do anything.
“We prepare for the finals like we prepare every single game. We are not going to change any routine.”
City have a number of fitness doubts ahead of the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium and Guardiola may be unwilling to take unnecessary risks given the magnitude of the games that follow.
Defender Nathan Ake is the chief concern with the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last five games but John Stones and Phil Foden suffered knocks at Brighton in midweek.
They were both substituted as a precaution and will be assessed, as will the likes of Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Manuel Akanji, who were left out altogether.
“It’s getting better,” Guardiola said. “They’re training Saturday afternoon and we’ll decide how they are for the last game because we need to keep our rhythm as much as possible before the long weeks to prepare for the finals.
“No-one (is ruled out) but some of them are half-half. We will see.”
Guardiola, speaking at a press conference, stressed the importance of relaxing during the days off next week before the hard work begins.
He said: “In my experience the best way to play important finals is to be disconnected as much as possible.
“When I started, it was ‘I have to prepare the final. I have to make a lot of videos’. Now it’s completely the opposite.
“We need to disconnect. Even our physios and doctors and cooks, they work incredibly hard in this period. They don’t have time off. They need to disconnect.
“Go with your families. If the sun is shining, play golf, do whatever you want and (have) quality (rest) to prepare for the finals. Arrive in the best conditions for the finals.”
Guardiola is a keen golfer himself but says his time off will be about “family time, good restaurants”.
“My back doesn’t allow me,” he said when asked if he will be hitting the fairways.
Get Ahead stamped her class on the EBF British Stallion Studs Cecil Frail at Haydock.
Clive Cox’s filly was the 7-4 favourite to strike Listed gold for the first time, having finished third twice at this level last season and again on her reappearance at Bath last month.
She was unable to land a telling blow when sixth in the Group Three Palace House Stakes at Newmarket three weeks ago, but showed her true colours returning to a sounder surface on Merseyside.
The daughter of Showcasing, a half-sister to 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean, travelled strongly throughout the six-furlong contest in the hands of Richard Kingscote, who always appeared confident he had matters well in hand.
Once asked to extend, Get Ahead readily quickened up to grab the lead and she was ultimately good value for the official winning margin of a length and a quarter, with Kape Moss best of the rest in second.
Cox said: “I’m very pleased, she’s a really nice filly and she’s got a lot of speed, so I’m pleased she’s stretched out to the six furlongs well today.
“She’s coming on all the time and maturity has been the answer to her really. She’s a half-sister to Chaldean and it’s a privilege to train a filly with such a quality pedigree.”
When asked about future plans, the trainer added: “Now she’s won a Listed race, we can explore a bit higher. She’s always shown a lot of promise, but with maturity, especially for the fillies, when it’s working for you it’s extremely pleasing.
“We’ll try to stay on the right side of the fence now, she likes quicker ground and it was great that Haydock provided that today.”
Cox and Kingscote were completing a double on the card following the earlier success of Spirit Of The Bay in the curtain-raising Tyldeseley Handicap.
Steven Naismith feels it would be wrong to frame Saturday’s fourth-place shootout with city rivals Hibernian as make or break for his prospects of becoming Hearts manager on a permanent basis.
The 36-year-old has won two of his six matches in charge since replacing Robbie Neilson on an interim basis last month and has been unable to stop Aberdeen claiming third place in the cinch Premiership.
Naismith acknowledges “results have not been perfect” but he is adamant Hearts, who have been praised for their attacking intent in recent matches, are now “a much better team” than when he first took the reins.
A 2-1 win over Aberdeen last weekend followed by Wednesday’s 2-2 draw away to Rangers has helped strengthen his case in the eyes of many supporters.
Naismith feels his ability to lead Hearts forward in the longer-term should be of more relevance when deciding his fate than the result of Saturday’s derby, where a Hibs win would see them pip the Jambos to fourth place.
“I would be disappointed if it’s coming down to one game,” he said. “The whole thing’s been a process – not just on a Saturday, every day we train and work.
“The way I work, I’ve been very open with everybody and said: ‘Come and see what we do’, and if it works, it works. In some respects it might be coming across as that way (that the derby is make or break), but I’ve not seen it that way.
“I’ve seen it as taking over for this period of time and at the end of it I’ll reflect over what I thought went well, what didn’t go well, how well I’ve done, but that’s for after Saturday.
“I think over the course of the seven weeks, there will be moments where people will have been like: ‘He can do the job’, and there will be moments where people will go: ‘Nah, he’s not got enough experience’.
“That’s why I’m saying I don’t feel I will be judged on one game. It’s a big game because it’s a derby and we’re next to each other in the table but we’ve not been solely focusing on this game.
“We’ve been focusing on a plan to try and win games consistently and have something here that lasts, where we’re building something that doesn’t just give you short-term results.
“The club needs something bigger than that, and since I’ve come in and taken charge, that’s been at the forefront of my mind.”
Naismith, the former Kilmarnock, Rangers, Everton and Scotland attacker, first joined Hearts as a player more than five years ago and has remained at Tynecastle, more recently as a coach, ever since.
He feels his knowledge of the club will stand him in good stead if he is appointed Hearts’ permanent manager.
“I think it’s helped me in the seven weeks I’ve been in the role,” he said of his familiarity with Hearts. “I think it also helps me that I may be considered for the job longer term because I’ve got a real understanding of this club.
“I came here and in my first six-month loan spell, there was a lot I didn’t know about the club even though I’d been in Scottish football for 15 years, in terms of the demand, the size of the club, where the club’s ambitions were.
“I didn’t really know that from the outside but then you come in and very quickly you understand that, which then gets you an understanding that we need a certain type of player characteristic that can deal with the pressure.”
Ryan Mason insists the Tottenham job remains an attractive proposition despite another protracted search for the head coach role.
Spurs saw another contender to permanently replace Antonio Conte exit the running this week after Feyenoord boss Arne Slot committed his long-term future to the Eredivisie club before he signed a new deal on Friday.
Tottenham held an interest in Slot but no direct discussions with the 44-year-old took place, the PA news agency understands.
Other managers linked with the vacancy, such as Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, have also pledged their immediate futures to their current clubs, but acting head coach Mason is under no illusions the top job at Spurs remains desirable.
Asked if the Tottenham job was still an attractive proposition, Mason replied: “Absolutely, yes.
“It is Tottenham Hotspur, it is a big club. Not just for managers or coaches, but for staff members, for players.
“Anyone here should feel the privilege and honour to represent the badge. If they don’t, then they shouldn’t be here. It is as simple as that.”
When Conte left his position on March 26, Tottenham were firmly in the race for Champions League qualification but they travel to relegation-threatened Leeds on Sunday with only a faint chance of securing a place in the Europa Conference League.
Mason insisted that, while European football for next season is crucial, the most important task for the club is to put a plan in place.
“Obviously it has its implications and it’s not where the football club wants to be. We definitely want to be competing in Europe,” Spurs’ acting head coach stated.
“Any European competition is important for a club this size but at the same time the most important thing, regardless of whether we’re in or out of Europe, is that there is a plan and there is commitment from everyone to that going forward.”
During the last few weeks, Mason has repeatedly referenced the need for commitment at the club without going into specifics.
Even before Conte departed two months ago, the future of the Italian was uncertain with his deal set to expire this summer anyway.
Mason again refused to be drawn on whether any coaches, players or staff had lacked commitment this season, but admitted the squad had been affected by the turmoil off the pitch.
He added: “The results before he (Conte) left weren’t amazing. I don’t think results have dipped a huge amount.
“Obviously we were in a different position but I think you could feel it, you could feel it the weeks leading up to it there was uncertainty and it’s never great to have that uncertainty.
“We’ve probably been in that situation for the last eight weeks where there’s been a lot of uncertainty.
“That is why one of my main things when me and my team of people came in, I wanted to create a togetherness and make us feel part of something towards the end of the season.”
Dan Evans has criticised the state of British tennis and believes Emma Raducanu’s success has papered over the cracks.
There will only be three British players in the singles main draws at the French Open starting on Sunday and, for the first time since 2008, no women.
Of the 10 British players in qualifying, none made the final round, while 2021 US Open champion Raducanu joined Andy Murray in withdrawing having undergone surgery on both her wrists and one ankle.
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Speaking ahead of his first-round clash with Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, Evans said: “They’ve been lucky that they had a grand slam champion and she’s a very good tennis player but the rankings don’t lie, do they?
“Men’s or women’s, the rankings don’t lie. Men’s, not many of us playing qualis, not many main draw. I don’t want to sound like a broken record. But there’s way further to go than just the top players. It’s from the bottom up.
“We’re in a massive, massive habit of sending people to college now. I don’t think that massively helps. It’ll be interesting. I think the grass last year really helped paper over some cracks as well. After the grass, there will be a bit of soul-searching I imagine, after their holidays.”
Evans has been a long-time critic of the domestic set-up and recently criticised some of his fellow British players for not competing enough and being willing to grind out life on the tour.
A late bloomer after serving a drugs ban and admitting to enjoying the party lifestyle too much, Evans knows well both the pitfalls and what it takes to achieve success.
The world number 24 said: “You’ve got to work hard. I know what it’s like to not work hard and what you get from that and I know what it’s like to work hard and get decent rewards.
“I’m not sitting here saying I know the answers. I have a fair idea of the answers and I would do it very differently to what’s happening now I think. There’s enough people playing junior tennis. We just don’t help them.”
Evans reserved his strongest ire for former Lawn Tennis Association performance director Simon Timson – now occupying the same role with Manchester City – who was the architect of a performance strategy that heavily funds a small number of players.
“It’s just heartbreaking that a guy next door to you is getting 70 grand or something, but you’re better than him,” said Evans. “But a guy with these stats is telling you, ‘No, no, he’s better’.
“You can look who has been on PSP (Pro Scholarship Programme, the highest level of support). It’s hardly flourishing reading is it? And that’s what I think we need to (do) – get a bigger pool and just pool it all in and get going. It’s simple maths. But Simon Timson, he was the mastermind of it all.
“I couldn’t give a s**t about it. Simon Timson sat next to me and told me, ‘In all due respect to James Ward and Heather Watson, I put you three in the same bracket. You are close to finishing your career.’ And I said, ‘Thanks man’. That was that meeting.
“And I seem to have done all right since that meeting. He sent me to a psychologist, that was about it. I told him that it was a stepping stone, the job, and that’s exactly what it was. He wouldn’t be there in three years and he wasn’t. He didn’t know what he was watching.”
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Evans is certainly an example of what can be achieved with hard work and the right attitude, and he will hope to continue his improvement on clay when he takes on Kokkinakis on Sunday.
The British number two has lost his last three matches but reached the semi-finals of clay tournaments in Marrakech and Barcelona.
He joked of his relationship with the surface: “We had a good week at the start, and then we’ve not been on talking terms really, sleeping in separate beds.
“No, it’s been good. I feel comfortable. I’ve been playing good. It’s probably helped having an Argentinian coach, little intricacies, which the British probably don’t know because they’re not so brought up on the clay.”
Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal the competition will be even tougher if they hope to mount another Premier League title challenge next season.
Wolves visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday for a fixture that at one stage looked like it would mark Arsenal’s coronation as champions for the first time in 19 years.
Instead they go into their final game eight points adrift of champions Manchester City, the same margin that Arteta’s side led by in early April, with their courageous title tilt having finally been ended by defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday.
Arsenal’s challenge has wilted since they threw away a 2-0 lead against Liverpool at Anfield on Easter Sunday, followed by successive draws against West Ham and Southampton before City finally took control of the race with a thumping 4-1 win against the Gunners at the Etihad.
Arteta called for his players to end a nevertheless memorable season on a high against Wolves, but pointed to what is likely to be an even more intense struggle next campaign if the club are to finally end a two-decade wait to be champions.
“The competition is going to be even harder next season,” said Arteta. “In my opinion it’s been the hardest this season in 22 years that I’ve been in this league.
“In order to (compete) we have a really promising plan, we have to reflect a little bit, take a step back, make sure this is the right one and go again with more determination and hunger in the tummies to do even better.
“Now is about finishing the season in style and providing a great performance and a victory in front of our people to show our gratitude.
“(We) received a lot of incredible energy they have given us throughout the season, and (we will) start to build for next season. We have to wrap it up in the best possible way. It’s been some journey, full of emotions.
“Looking with a bit of perspective, there’s a lot of things not only on the field that have happened at the club that deserve a lot of credit for a lot of people.
“We have to nail everything that we do, we have to seek excellence in everything that we touch and we participate in that’s going to have a big impact at the club.”
Arsenal’s late collapse was in part precipitated by the loss of defender William Saliba to injury in March, with the deputising Rob Holding criticised for failing to match the 22-year-old’s imperious form across the season.
Arteta remained hopeful that the back injury the defender picked up during the team’s Europa League exit to Sporting Lisbon will not stretch into next season and that he will be ready to resume training after the summer.
There is also optimism that Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has played only 21 times in the league due to injury, will be fit to take part in pre-season.
Arteta said of Saliba: “He’s evolving the right way, the last few weeks have been much more positive than the previous two months.
“We wanted to protect him, it’s an injury that needed some care and attention. We’ve been pretty conservative to give him the best possible chance to have a good pre-season and to go again next season.
“Tomiyasu will be (back) around pre-season like Willy, they’ll be in a good place. They’ve been working so hard the boys, it’s been a really difficult year for (Tomiyasu) with some issues that he’s had.
“He’s a tremendous person, a top professional, we just want him to be available because when he is he’s really helpful for the team.”
Cameron Norrie’s title defence in Lyon ended with a one-sided loss to Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in the semi-finals of the ATP Tour event.
More concerning than the 6-3 6-0 defeat, though, was Norrie’s physical condition, with the British number one clutching his stomach at points during the second set.
Norrie is Britain’s main hope for success at the French Open, where he is due to start his campaign on Monday against eccentric Frenchman Benoit Paire.
The 27-year-old won his fourth ATP title in Lyon last year but dropped serve in the opening game against Cerundolo and never looked like getting back into the contest.
It appeared he might retire when he headed to his bench during the opening game of the second set but Norrie did at least manage to finish the match.
Renowned for his physical prowess, Norrie must now concentrate on trying to ensure he is fully fit for the year’s second grand slam.
Little Big Bear bids to get his season back on track in a fascinating renewal of the Betfred Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.
Narrowly beaten on his debut last spring, Aidan O’Brien’s colt went on to win his next four races, with a stunning display in the Phoenix Stakes ensuring he ended the year as Europe’s champion juvenile.
Following nine months off the track, O’Brien decided to roll the dice in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket three weeks ago, but the son of No Nay Never pulled fiercely for his head in the rain-softened ground on the Rowley Mile and eventually passed the post last of 14 runners.
Despite that disappointing performance, Little Big Bear is a hot favourite to get back on the winning trail on Merseyside, returning to six furlongs on a quickening surface in the hands of Frankie Dettori.
O’Brien said: “We’re looking forward to seeing him run again.
“It was a possibility that he’d return to sprinting and the Guineas was just a little bit of a non-event for him.
“We felt that if he was going to go for the Commonwealth (Cup at Royal Ascot), then he had to have a run back sprinting before then, so that is why he’s back here.
“It will be nice to get him back on a bit of nice ground and we’ve been very happy with him at home, obviously the Guineas wasn’t that long ago but we’re happy with what he’s done since.”
Little Big Bear is unlikely to have things all his own way in the six-furlong Group Two, with a clutch of high-class contenders prepared to take him on.
The horse rated the biggest threat by bookmakers is the Archie Watson-trained Bradsell, who was brilliant in winning the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer and then suffered a season-ending injury when fourth behind Little Big Bear in the Phoenix Stakes.
There was plenty of encouragement to be taken from his comeback run when third behind the reopposing Cold Case in the Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot and Watson expects him to strip fitter for that run.
“I’m very happy with him. He travelled very well at Ascot and got a bit tired late, which was to be expected. I hope he can take a good step forwards fitness-wise from there,” said the Lambourn handler.
“It looks a very strong trial for the Commonwealth Cup. I’d say whatever wins will be the one to beat at Ascot, so at least we’ll all know after the weekend.
“We’re delighted with our horse, so fingers crossed.”
Cold Case’s trainer Karl Burke is expecting another bold showing from his charge, despite having reservations about underfoot conditions.
He said: “It looks a competitive race, but he’s in great form.
“Quicker ground is probably slightly against him, but he’s going to have to face that at some stage and we are very happy with him at home.
“Fingers crossed he can run a big race.”
Little Big Bear is one of two Irish-trained runners along with Kieran Cotter’s Matilda Picotte.
The Sioux Nation filly drops back in distance following an excellent effort to finish third in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier in the month.
“Her Guineas run puts her in the picture and we should be bang there. Her run in Newmarket was an exceptional performance off the pace she set,” said Cotter.
“In an ideal situation we would have liked a bit of rain, but she handled quick ground when she ran at York in the Lowther and she is pretty versatile.
“We’re looking forward to it and hope we come home with a bit of sterling.”
George Boughey saddles Al Dasim, who won three times at Meydan earlier in the year before finishing down the field in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night.
Norfolk Stakes winner The Ridler (Richard Fahey), Shouldvebeenaring (Richard Hannon) and Mill Stream (Jane Chapple-Hyam) complete the quality field.
Sam Allardyce has confirmed he will discuss whether he will continue as Leeds boss with the club’s hierarchy after Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season.
Allardyce gave his biggest hint yet that he would be interested in remaining in the role, even if Leeds are relegated on the final day, after their last match against Tottenham at Elland Road.
The former England manager said: “That’s to be decided at the end. It’s always been a case of we will discuss whatever we need to discuss at the end of the season based on where we are.
“Also based on what I think the club needs to go forward and based on what the club thinks and if that’s aligned with each other, then we’ll wait and see.
“But that discussion, it doesn’t happen in a morning or one day, it happens over a period of time and I just hope that we’re talking on a very positive nature on Monday morning and I have a hangover!”
Leeds’ top-flight status hinges on them beating Tottenham and even victory will not be enough to save them unless the results of both relegation rivals, Everton and Leicester, go their way.
Injuries to strikers Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo in last week’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham appeared to have dealt Leeds’ survival hopes another blow.
But Rodrigo returned to training on Friday while Bamford has not yet been ruled out and Allardyce said he would be prepared to take a risk with any of his injured players with so much at stake.
“I’ll gamble on anyone’s fitness if they want to play, if I think they can make a contribution to help us try to win the game,” Allardyce said.
“It’s the last game, they will have plenty of time to recover, but there is obviously medical issues where if you play them the risk is too great and a lot of it is up to the player himself.”
Leeds turned to Allardyce after sacking Javi Gracia with four games of the season remaining in a last-ditch bid to escape the drop.
The former Bolton, West Ham and Everton boss has collected just one point in his first three outings but said camp spirit had risen after last week’s bitter disappointment when survival was taken out of Leeds’ hands.
The 68-year-old, whose side have trained this week at Elland Road, added: “I’ve loved the mood and loved the application. We’re going to live or die on Sunday in terms of the result.
“We train here (at Elland Road) for three days building up to the game. Familiarity, it’s all about this arena on Sunday with obviously the fantastic atmosphere that will go with it.”
Unai Emery has welcomed pressure as Aston Villa look to seal a European return.
Victory over Brighton in Sunday’s Premier League finale will book seventh spot and a place in the Europa Conference League play-offs.
Villa last competed in Europe in 2010-11 and Emery is relishing the task on Sunday, with the Seagulls having already sealed their Europa League spot.
“For me, the pressure is amazing to try to feel matches when you’re playing for something important,” he said.
“We want to be excited, not anxious, but to be excited, be very motivated and to enjoy the process. When you’re in the match, you have to be prepared to focus only on your game plan.
“The players are doing that. When you are very focused and you’re really trying to work hard on your style and idea, and your players are practicing hard, this is a good way.
“That is a moment you feel you are doing all you can on the pitch.”
Alex Moreno is out with a hamstring injury while Philippe Coutinho is also sidelined and Diego Carlos is expected to miss out.
Emery added: “In front of us is the most important match we are going to face. We are trying to prepare for it like the last matches we played, being motivated and enjoying the process.
“Our time is coming on Sunday with our supporters in Villa Park to enjoy this match. We are going to face a very difficult team.
“They are playing amazing football. Their structure, tactically, is very strong. I enjoy the matches we are playing in the Premier League and the matches we are watching of other teams. One of those teams is Brighton.”
Memories of Roaring Lion will be evoked at Epsom next weekend when Running Lion runs in the Betfred Oaks and Dubai Mile contests the Betfred Derby.
The John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion finished third in the Derby in 2018 before winning the Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and the QEII on Champions Day.
His owners Qatar Racing were rightly excited about his second career at stud, but it was sadly cut short after just one season when he died due to colic.
Gosden said: “He was a real tough cookie and he was a character too. He had so much talent he could play about and still run huge races.”
Gosden, along with his son Thady, also trains his daughter Running Lion, an impressive winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket.
“She did it in great style. The ground was a little bit testing that day, but she travelled well and flew home,” said John Gosden.
“We know she’s bred really to be a mile-and-a-quarter filly, her father was the last one off the bridle in the Derby and if she gets the distance, she’s in there with a huge shout.”
Oisin Murphy rode Roaring Lion to all his major success and believes there are similarities between the pair.
“They have the exact same shape shoulder and carry their head in a similar position and also have a similar constitution thus far, nothing has phased her so that’s really positive,” said Murphy.
“I’d imagine she will still be going pretty well coming around Tattenham Corner and I’ll know my fate then in the next furlong or two.”
Dubai Mile, a Group One winner at two for Charlie Johnston, will bid to give the trainer a first Derby winner with his first runner after a fine effort to be fifth in the 2000 Guineas.
“It’s amazing for Roaring Lion to have a runner in both the Oaks and the Derby from his one and only crop,” said Johnston.
“We haven’t needed to do a huge amount since Newmarket. He came out of that very well and it’s just a case of getting him there in one piece now.”
Boss Julen Lopetegui will continue talks with Wolves about his future.
Lopetegui’s long-term future at Molineux has been in the spotlight with uncertainty about his position.
Financial fair play regulations will impact the club’s spending power this summer and Lopetegui has previously said he only discovered the constraints last week.
He has been calling for investment since securing Premier League safety and the manager will continue to speak to chairman Jeff Shi about what backing he will receive.
He said: “We will see, we have to discuss with the chairman and owners. The most important thing is what the solution is going to be. When you have a problem you have to solve the problem.
“This is all. About my future, I have a contract and we will see what is going to happen, This is football, we don’t know.
“We have to talk, it’s not about one or two days. We have to talk about the solution and the future to be able to have a squad ready to compete again.
“This year has been a wake-up call. We have to learn why it has happened and to overcome and make our homework this summer. It’s not about one or two days. We need a clear picture.
“It’s important to have the squad ready. Maybe not 100 per cent of players but maybe 90 per cent. For me it’s very important, to have the squad ready to start working with us on July 1.”
Wolves to go Arsenal for Sunday’s Premier League finale and Joao Moutinho will not feature and is likely to have played his last game for the club as he is out of contract in the summer.
Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) is out while Lopetegui himself is banned from the touchline for collecting four yellow cards.
He added: “On Sunday we have an important match because it’s the last of the season. They have been very close to winning the Premier League and will want to make a good match in front of their fans. We have to be ready to compete with them.”
Lewis Miller wants Hibernian to turn Edinburgh green on Saturday as they look to beat city rivals Hearts to fourth spot in the cinch Premiership.
Hibs go into the final league weekend of the season two points behind their rivals but fresh from a 4-2 win over champions Celtic at Easter Road on Wednesday and with the bragging rights from last month’s 1-0 win over the men in maroon in Leith.
Miller, the 22-year-old year-old Australian full-back who signed from Central Coast Mariners last June, knows fourth spot guarantees European football albeit so could fifth place, providing Celtic beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final.
He said: “European football is what everyone is talking about. That is what everyone is excited about.
“If we get this win against Hearts, not only will Edinburgh be green but we will also secure European football which will be unreal, for a boy coming from Australia, who is unheard of.
“We got the win in the last game against Hearts. That showed that we have developed and changed as a team.
“Confidence is sky high at the moment and I don’t think anyone scares us, no matter who we play. And the way we are playing I don’t think anyone can stop us.
“I have never played there (Tynecastle) before but obviously the atmosphere is going to be intense.
“It is a massive derby. I am excited. We have a lot of experienced players that will help guide the younger ones. It is going to be awesome.”
Miller hopes his move to Edinburgh leads to full international honours like his countrymen at Hearts, Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson, Cammy Devlin and Garang Kuol, who scored the late equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Miller said: “The Scottish Premiership has a lot of Australian players and pretty much all of them play for the Socceroos.
“So hopefully I am next. Obviously everyone wants to play for their country.
“I think if I keep playing the way I am playing I should get there.
“European football is a lot better; tactics, speed technique. It is exactly what I needed to develop as a player.
“I am quite young and I think this is the perfect move for me and now it is slowly coming together.”
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