Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui has warned his players they are in the middle of a “war” as they attempt to ease themselves clear of the scrap for Premier League survival.

Lopetegui’s men sit seven points above the drop zone ahead of Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa, in which victory could be enough to assure them of a place in next season’s top flight.

However, last weekend’s 6-0 drubbing by unlikely Champions League contenders Brighton left them shell-shocked, and their Spanish manager knows there could be a lot of hard work still to be done.

Lopetegui told a press conference: “We need points to achieve our aim. We had this need the last match and Saturday too, in the same way a challenge.

“It’s about the will to win because this is our aim and we have to achieve our aim. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be long, and we have to be ready in the good and bad moments.

“We are in the middle of the battle. We are in the middle of the war, like a lot of teams. That’s why we have to put out 100 per cent energy in the next match. This is football so we have to be ready until the end.

“Saturday we have a challenge and I’m sure the fans are going to understand the importance of the match, we are going to need this help, this environment, this energy in the bad moments. I am sure the fans are going to help a lot in the next match.”

Wolves had eased their fears with wins over Chelsea, Brentford and Crystal Palace either side of defeat at Leicester, but a traumatic day at the AMEX Stadium prompted concerted soul-searching during the days which followed.

Lopetegui said: “We were not happy, of course, but it sometimes happens. We analysed inside with the players and we have to be ready for the next challenge full of energy, full of confidence, because we are fighting for a big aim, a very hard aim, with a lot of teams involved.

“We are going to be there until the end, so we have to be ready for the next match.”

Lopetegui will make a late decision on defender Nelson Semedo, who limped off at Brighton with a knee injury which has forced him to miss two days’ training this week.

Owen Coyle urged his Queen’s Park side to grasp their chance to reach the top flight with a cinch Championship shoot-out win over Dundee on Friday night.

The Glasgow side, who are ground sharing with Stenhousemuir while Lesser Hampden is being revamped, are two points behind the Tayside outfit at the top of the table with the title and an automatic place in the cinch Premiership up for grabs in the final fixture.

In what promises to be one of the most exciting finales to the Championship campaign as nine teams still have something to play for, Queen’s Park, Scotland’s oldest senior club, are looking for a remarkable third successive promotion.

Boss Coyle, on their official Twitter account, said: “We are full of excitement. Looking forward to an unbelievable night. A chance to be champions of the Championship.

“Given the journey we have been on, to be given the opportunity to take Queen’s Park into the Premiership, I think at the start of the season we would have done somersaults for that opportunity.

“If someone said in the last game of the season you would be at your home from home with the chance to win the game and go into the Premiership as champions, of course we would have grasped that.

“What we have to do is deliver on that and that needs a big performance, one that we are more than capable of.

“I am pretty sure the lads are as excited as I am about the game.”

Coyle concedes that having to win the game against Dundee makes the task straightforward.

The former Burnley, Bolton and Ross County manager said: “We know we have to win. Obviously Dundee are at the top of the league at the moment.

“They know they can afford a draw and be champions.

“That itself probably sets you in a quandary while we know we have to win the game so that is our mind-set, to go and win the game against a good side, good players, big squad, a Premiership club, as we know.

“But what we have to do is show that we want to be that Premiership club and we have 90/95 minutes to do that.

“We need to be at our best. We have shown that when we are at our best we win games.

“We have won more games than any other team in this league up to this point because we play to win games. That is why the game on Friday suits us.

“We go all out to win games, we commit players forward and look to have that creativity that we have been known for to create the chances to ultimately scores goals because we will have to score to win the game.”

Promotion play-off spots are still to be confirmed with two points between third-placed Partick Thistle and Morton in sixth spot.

Thistle, who are two points behind Queen’s Park, travel to Raith Rovers, the only club with nothing to play for in terms of either going up or going down.

Scottish Cup finalists Inverness host Ayr United and Morton travel to second-bottom Cove Rangers who have the chance to move out of the relegation play-off spot.

Bottom side Hamilton, who are one point behind Cove, take on Arbroath at Gayfield knowing they need to get at least a point to avoid automatic relegation.

Amad Diallo will return to Manchester United this summer on a mission to catch the eye of manager Erik ten Hag.

The 20-year-old midfielder, a £19million signing from Atalanta in January 2021, has been one of the stars of Sunderland’s Sky Bet Championship campaign having endured a less than successful spell at Rangers during the second half of last season.

United’s loan manager Les Parry was on Wearside on Wednesday and Black Cats head coach Tony Mowbray, who admitted he wished the loan arrangement had been for two years, now expects the Ivory Coast international to get a chance to prove himself in pre-season.

Mowbray said: “I think Manchester United are happy, but I think the next step is for them to take him on pre-season to America. That’s what I think is going to happen. Then they’ll see how he gets on.

“They know what they’ve got, they bought him, but I think when the new manager came in, it was right on the cusp of whether they were going to keep him or not. He liked some of the stuff, but then he maybe wasn’t sure about other things.

“I’m sure he’s been watching Amad’s clips from games, just as I watch all of our players who are out on loan, and seeing what he can do.

“But he’ll need to see him on a daily basis and feel what he brings. I’m sure everyone will have an opinion on whether he’s good enough or not good enough for Manchester United, but the reality is that the manager needs to watch him, see and feel him in a game, and see what he brings.”

Amad has made 39 appearances for Sunderland and scored 12 goals heading into Monday’s trip to Preston, in which victory could yet propel the club into the play-offs at the end of their first campaign back in the second tier.

Leicester boss Dean Smith hopes Jamie Vardy can fire his side to Premier League safety after the veteran’s recent revival.

Vardy has scored in the last two games to help move the Foxes out of the bottom three having previously gone 19 games without a goal.

Smith, who is on a short-term SOS mission at the King Power Stadium to keep Leicester up, says the 36-year-old is “firing” ahead of the crunch run-in.

“People will have seen in his last few performances the hunger and desire he has got, the work rate, the fact his legs are still there and his brains are definitely still there,” Smith said ahead of Monday’s trip to Fulham.

“We are really pleased that he is back scoring goals for us. He has got his first away goal at Leeds and his first home one on Monday (against Everton), we are really pleased he is in a good place at the moment.

“He knows as well as anyone as a striker with his record he will be judged on goals. He probably hasn’t had the pitch time to earn the goals or chances but he has created a penalty for us against Wolves. He has come on and scored against Leeds and scored a goal on Monday.

“He is in a good vein of form at the moment, which is what we need with only four games to go.

“I don’t think we have had to rebuild his confidence, we have had to play more to his strengths. We know he is an intelligent player with his runs, but he needs the ball to go into the right areas with his runs.

“We have to have a supply line to him and he has to make the runs as well.”

Leicester could have Ricardo Pereira back after a hamstring injury, while there is also good news over Kelechi Iheancho (groin) and Jonny Evans (virus).

“Ricky Pereira has been training with us, he has only been doing part of the session,” Smith said.

“He will be training with us on Saturday and Sunday so that will be a boost to the squad to have him.

“Ricky is due to train with us on Saturday. He part trained yesterday and if he came through Saturday, I am sure he would put himself forward for selection on Monday.

“Kels has responded to the treatment so won’t be back for Monday, but we may get him back for the last two games which we weren’t hopeful of when he first sustained the injury.

“Jonny is back training. He has trained the last couple of days and trained really well, so it is nice to get that experienced head around.

“Even just to have him on the training ground, there is so much the other lads can pick up from him with his knowledge and his experience. It’s great to have him back.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche has given his backing to Michael Keane amid criticism of the defender’s performances.

Keane, 30, has displaced Conor Coady to become a regular again in Everton’s back four since Dyche – his former manager at Burnley – arrived at Goodison Park, but fans have not necessarily been happy with the result as the relegation-battling Toffees have shipped 20 goals in the 10 games Keane has started.

But Dyche said he retains full faith in a player capped 12 times by England.

“I have faith in all the players,” he said. “I can only pick 11 so I have faith in all of them. At the end of the day, it’s the ups and downs of a footballer, the ups and downs of teams, the ups and down of careers – it all goes into the melting pot.

“These are things the players have to work through, how to handle the goods, bads and indifferents.

“A lot of noise grew in the Newcastle game (a 4-1 defeat on April 27). I thought (Keane) was our best player until the second goal – that’s how it can change very quickly.

“He is a very good player amongst many good players here. Sorting the best 11 at any time, form related at any time, that’s the key to it.”

Coady, a loan signing from Wolves last summer, was a regular alongside James Tarkowski in the first half of the season, but has not featured since February 25, while fellow defender Yerry Mina is available again after injury but has not played since January.

“All the players need to keep doing what they are doing until we pick them, you can only pick 11,” Dyche said. “I make that clear to the players, you can question it and I am happy to speak about it, but you can only pick 11 players.

“Everyone has to stay fit, sharp and committed to the cause and that is what we are looking to do for when the team has to change or does change.”

Monday’s draw left Everton still 19th in the table, albeit only one point behind the three teams above them.

On another night they might have comfortably won at the King Power Stadium having taken 23 shots at goal, but they were equally indebted to Jordan Pickford saving James Maddison’s penalty late in the first half to avoid going 3-1 down.

Dyche said the performance gave his side confidence and reason to believe in what they were doing, saying “it reaffirms to them that we are on the right track”.

But with a trip to Europe-chasing Brighton on Monday to be followed by the visit of reigning champions and title favourites Manchester City, Everton cannot afford to play so openly.

“There’s a risk and reward,” Dyche said. “Defending correctly, attacking correctly, you have to find a balance somewhere. Some games just pan out like that.

“Palace (a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on April 22) was the complete opposite, that was a slow, methodical game.

“Maybe the intensity of it, the feel of it, the fact it was a big game, sometimes that can bring an openness to a game and sometimes it stays tight but you can’t define a game until it starts and you see it in front of your eyes.

“You want to control performances but Leicester wanted to win the game and we wanted to win the game. You have to balance it, I think we did that but we didn’t get the result we were looking for.”

Former boss Javier Gracia says he and his children will be cheering Leeds on from Spain as they watch Saturday’s game at Manchester City on television.

Gracia has returned home to Malaga after being sacked on Wednesday, just 10 weeks and 11 Premier League games after succeeding Jesse Marsch as head coach.

Director of football Victor Orta departed Elland Road by mutual consent on the same day.

In a desperate late bid to retain top-flight status, Leeds have appointed Sam Allardyce with just four fixtures remaining.

Gracia told The Athletic he will be watching the former England boss’s first game in charge at the Etihad Stadium.

“I will be with my children, who will have their Leeds jerseys on and chanting ‘Up the Whites’,” Gracia said.

The 53-year-old said he had been informed of Leeds’ decision on Monday – his birthday – via a phone call from chairman Andrea Radrizzani.

“It was a call to explain the situation. It was all handled correctly by the club. I have to accept the decision from the club’s owner and that’s it,” Gracia said.

“I can honestly say my time at Leeds has been an enriching experience, and the human qualities of Victor Orta have been an authentic pleasure to be around.

“It was one of the places in my career where they have made me feel good and comfortable in myself.

“It’s been a very intense period. It hurt me a lot to lose my job, but I have to say Victor’s exit is just as difficult for me, if not more.”

Gracia had collected 10 points from his first six games in charge before a second-half collapse in a 5-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace sent them on a vicious downward spiral.

A 6-1 loss to Liverpool at Elland Road followed in their next match, while in five defeats from their last seven matches in April they conceded 23 goals, a top-flight record for a calendar month.

Leeds fans will point to their side’s collapse against Palace as the beginning of the end for Gracia.

“It was incredible to me that we went in at half-time drawing,” he said. “We were balanced in our play. Then the situation that followed was hard to understand. The second half was very tough to take.”

The former Watford boss cited injuries to players Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Max Wober as key factors in Leeds’ loss of form and that being on the wrong end of “fine margins” also contributed.

“I had the feeling that the players felt a little like a boxer who had been hit, who is down for a few moments and wants to get up but he is not able to,” he added.

“A player can enter subconsciously into the vicious circle from which they cannot escape.

“And we did not have that moment go our way with the fine margins. In the last minute against Leicester, Patrick (Bamford) had a chance just wide and Marc Roca came close to scoring a winner.”

Inverness manager Billy Dodds has argued the traditional Scottish Cup final kick-off time should not be moved to suit anyone else.

Both Caley Thistle and Celtic expressed major disappointment after it was announced their Hampden meeting on June 3 would kick off at 5.30pm in a break with a long-standing convention.

The evening kick-off for the game, which will be shown live on the BBC and Viaplay, appears to have been moved so as not to clash with the Manchester derby FA Cup final, which kicks off at 3pm and will be screened in Scotland by both the BBC and STV.

Celtic criticised a lack of consultation after the Scottish Football Association made the announcement and Dodds feels the situation is unfair.

In a clip shown by BBC Scotland, the former Rangers striker said: “Any time I have been involved in Scottish Cup finals as a player and a coach, you can’t beat three o’clock on a Saturday for your showpiece but suddenly it’s gone to 5.30 which is a shame for our game up here because, for me, others are getting looked after better.

“It’s not ideal. I don’t think we should ever move our showpiece final to suit anybody.

“I can only imagine it’s for TV rights or something and we don’t want to clash.

“It’s not ideal for me but I’m just glad we’re there. I would rather, like everybody else, 3pm on Saturday should be your showpiece final.”

From a players’ perspective, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was not too concerned but expressed sympathy with Inverness fans, the majority of whom are set to spend their post-match Saturday night out on buses.

O’Riley said: “I don’t mind. I suppose because it’s a bit later we get to sleep a bit more, so that’s one positive.

“It’s another game, a different time of day and if you win it you win a trophy, that’s the main thing.”

Asked about the possible problems Inverness fans could have in getting back home after the game, he said: “I didn’t really think about that but I’m sure that’s quite brutal, but they can probably make the most of a night out in Glasgow if they chose to.”

Explosive West Indies batsman Johnson Charles has been called up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the remaining matches of the 2023 IPL season.

In what will be his first stint in the IPL, the 34-year-old Charles joins KKR as a replacement for Litton Das, who departs to represent Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series against Ireland from May 9-14. He was contracted by KKR at a cost of USD$60,000.

Charles returned to the West Indies set up in October 2022 after a six-year absence from the team.  In March 2023, he exploded scoring a 39-ball ton against South Africa and is expected to provide some stability to the KKR line-up that has struggled this season. KKR with only three wins from their nine matches so far this season are currently eighth in the 10-team league.

He will team up with former West Indies players Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in the KKR line-up

 

 

 

 

 

Matt O’Riley returns to the scene of his fast-track Celtic debut on Sunday hoping to clinch a second successive cinch Premiership title.

The 22-year-old midfielder signed from MK Dons in January 2022 and went straight into Ange Postecoglou’s side for the trip to Hearts where he set up Giorgos Giakoumakis for the visitors’ second goal in the 2-1 win.

With five post-split fixtures remaining, the reigning champions are 13 points clear of Rangers at the top of the table and will retain the title with a win over the Jambos while taking a giant step towards the domestic treble.

Speaking at Toryglen Regional Football Centre where he was publicising a new walking football initiative supporting those affected by Parkinson’s, O’Riley said: “My first game was at Tynecastle. It was a good night.

“It was a few days after I signed so I was thrown straight in which is probably the best way and it is quite a hostile atmosphere as well so it is probably the kind of game that you want to be involved in.

“Two games later I was playing against Rangers as well so it was quite an introduction.

“Nothing is officially done so we will train as we always do.

“We would rather win than draw or lose, naturally. So that will be the aim but saying that, it is definitely a hard place to go.

“It won’t be easy. Our frame of mind has to be right before the game and hopefully we can get the job done.

“It (possible treble) is obviously exciting. One more trophy than last year so that would be great.

“We haven’t done anything yet. We have one trophy, we are in a very good position to do something special but there is still a lot of work to be done.”

With the ViaPlay Cup already won and the Scottish Cup final against Championship side Inverness at Hampden Park on June 3, the Hoops are eyeing a clean sweep of trophies.

Celtic are away to Hearts then Rangers in their first two post-split fixtures and have been only allocated 1,264 tickets for Tynecastle and none at all for Ibrox.

O’Riley said: “Personally I would rather win the league in front of our fans but if we can win it there (Tynecastle) it would be great.

“They (fans) will all be watching on television. I am sure there will be fans outside Tynecastle hoping we get the job done on that day and I am sure that later on in the season when we play home games we will be able to, hopefully, celebrate with them if we get the job done.”

Celtic FC Foundation is teaming up with Parkinson’s UK and Glasgow Life to help deliver free weekly walking football in Glasgow.

The project will be free for people with Parkinson’s and will hopefully appeal to a greater number of people living with the disease, particularly those not currently engaged in physical activity.

Celtic FC Foundation coaches will assist Glasgow Life, the charity that delivers culture and sport in Glasgow, and will also undertake Parkinson’s awareness training.

O’Riley said: “It is a very important initiative. We have a really good Foundation.

“This is my first time doing anything with Parkinson’s but the idea of giving back is a really good thing.”

Lewis Hamilton said it is a “dream” to be in Miami ahead of the city’s second Formula One race this weekend.

The sport is back in the Sunshine State for the fifth round of the new campaign, which marks the first of three races to be staged in the United States this year.

A debut event on the Las Vegas strip will take place in November, while Austin’s grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas has been a permanent fixture on the F1 schedule since 2012.

“It is a dream for us to be in Miami and in the United States,” said seven-time world champion Hamilton.

“They have the Miami Heat and the Miami Dolphins, too.

“They are massive sporting fans here so to be in such an important city like Miami where sport is huge – and now Formula One is part of that – it is great to see.

“For such a huge country, it is amazing that we finally have three races here. The difficult thing with Formula One is that you usually visit a country once a year. But the growth has been huge and it is such a big market for the sport.”

Hamilton finished sixth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend and he is already 45 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen.

The 38-year-old’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the season.

But the noise coming out from both camps is that Hamilton will agree a new deal.

Hamilton’s former McLaren team-mate, and 2009 world champion Jenson Button, said this week that he cannot envisage his compatriot walking away from the sport.

“I just want to get back to the front,” continued Hamilton, who was speaking at an IWC sponsorship event in Miami.

“That is what I am working on – trying to get this team back to the front.”

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson remains wary of the threat posed by Harry Kane and his Tottenham team-mates, despite their London rivals’ recent struggles.

Spurs, under interim boss Ryan Mason, host Palace on Saturday looking to end a four-match winless run which has included three defeats.

Hodgson in contrast has won four of his six games since returning to Palace, including a thrilling 4-3 win over West Ham last time out.

Tottenham were on the wrong end of the same scoreline against Liverpool in their last game, conceding a stoppage-time winner moments after equalising, but Hodgson, who gave Kane his England debut in 2015, is not reading too much into their poor form.

“I think the danger for all teams that go to (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) is that you’re up against a good team with very good players,” he said. “I think Harry Kane is very close to world class, if not in my opinion fully deserving of it.

“There’s a lot of players in their team as well who have got incredible ability. They’re still vying for a Champions League place, we know how difficult a game it will be.

“Crystal Palace when I was at the club didn’t go to Tottenham and win matches, so if we do that it will probably be a first for me I should think.”

Palace’s win over West Ham saw his team hit the 40-point mark and Hodgson wants his players to maintain their drive and ambition.

“I’m hoping more from my point of view to finish the season well,” he said. “I think it’s been a very good six games and 13 points is an excellent reward from six games, but I’d like that to be a good reward now after 10 games and that would be dependent on how much drive and ambition players have.

“I can’t guarantee the players will maintain their desire, but they’ll be given every opportunity

“We need to keep winning and to win you need the lot. You need the desire, the attitude, focus, preparation, quality of attacking play, quality of defending play. You need to be switched on at all times over the course of the game, you need to defend set-plays well, you need to use your own set-plays very well and then you need that little bit of luck.”

Hodgson was full of praise for his side’s attacking players.

The four goals against the Hammers meant Palace have now scored 13 times in his six games at the helm.

“The attacking talent we have in that front six is good without a shadow of a doubt,” he said.

“We’re talking about playing at the highest level (in the Premier League). I am full of praise and admiration for them and I can only hope that they will go on for even more success as the seasons go by.”

New Zealander John Mitchell has been named as the new head coach of the England women’s team.

Mitchell, who has had two spells on the coaching team with England’s men’s side in a lengthy career, is currently defence coach for the Japan men’s side and will take up his new role after the Rugby World Cup later this year.

Mitchell succeeds Simon Middleton, whose trophy-laden eight-year spell ended with another Six Nations Grand Slam last weekend.

He said on englandrugby.com: “The Red Roses have set an incredible standard and foundation for women’s rugby, being the most successful team in the Six Nations, which is a tremendous achievement.

“We now have the opportunity to build on this, mature in key areas and become a truly champion side that can rightfully contest for the World Cup in 2025.

“I would like to honour the hugely supportive Red Roses fans with successful performances as we work towards winning and selling out Twickenham Stadium for the Rugby World Cup in 2025.”

The black mark on Middleton’s reign was two World Cup final defeats to New Zealand and Mitchell’s main target will be to claim the prize on home soil in two years’ time.

Louis Deacon will keep his role as forwards coach and will be acting head coach until Mitchell joins while England’s most capped player and former captain, Sarah Hunter, has been appointed to the role of transition coach, working with the senior team and upcoming players.

Lou Meadows has been promoted from her role as under-20s head coach to attack coach for the senior team, with Charlie Hayter becoming head of women’s performance.

Executive director of performance rugby, Conor O’Shea, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming John back to England Rugby together with Louis, Charlie, Sarah and Lou.

“This will be a formidable coaching team to take the Red Roses to the next stage in their development.”

Record-breaking sharpshooter Erling Haaland says treble-chasing Manchester City are attacking the run-in with momentum and the right mindset.

Pep Guardiola’s men kicked off a manic May with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

Second-half efforts from Nathan Ake and Phil Foden came either side of Haaland’s 51st goal of the season as City secured a ninth straight Premier League win.

The result saw Guardiola’s men move back ahead of Arsenal at the summit as they eye a fifth title triumph in six seasons, with talk of a treble continuing in the background.

“It was not easy,” Haaland said after beating West Ham. “It’s not easy when they come and play like that but we scored with Nath and then it kind of opened up more. In the end (it was) a so important three points.

“We are in good shape, the mentality’s right. The only thing we can do is focus on the next game and try to win the next game.

“Now it’s Leeds, we have to focus on the game, we have to only think of that game and to try to win it.”

Saturday’s league match at home to Leeds is followed by the first leg of their mouth-watering Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid on Tuesday.

City are looking to reach the European showpiece for the second time in the club’s history, with AC Milan or Inter Milan lying in wait in Istanbul on June 10.

A week earlier comes a fascinating all-Manchester FA Cup final against rivals United, providing Haaland with the chance to end a fine first season in unforgettable fashion.

“Potentially nine games left and I’m enjoying it,” he said. “To have games all the time, this is something I love so we will see.”

Such occasions are why Haaland join City, whose lofty expectations he has somehow surpassed since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

 

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The 22-year-old has plundered goals aplenty this season and took his Premier League haul to 35 on Wednesday, breaking the competition’s single-season record.

 

“It’s a bit unreal,” Haaland said. “I am really proud and I’m happy. I just have to thank all my team-mates and the staff for making it possible.”

Haaland got a guard of honour from staff and team-mates as he left the pitch after surpassing Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s previous record.

“It was a nice moment,” he told club media. “It was really painful to get hit in the back by everyone but it was a nice moment.”

Not only did Haaland make history on Wednesday but there was a significant landmark for Guardiola, with Foden’s deflected volley City’s 1,000th goal in all competitions under him.

“I am enjoying it every single game,” Haaland said of life as a striker under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

“It’s hard, he demands a lot, but I try to do my best to develop and do my best on the pitch. That’s what you have to do – nothing more to do than do your best.

“It’s a pleasure and I love to play under Pep. I’m really happy to have him as a coach.”

 

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City are not the only English team going for continental glory as West Ham have a Europa Conference League semi-final date against AZ Alkmaar looming large.

Lifting that trophy would be huge for the east London club but Premier League survival has yet to be assured and Manchester United arrive on Sunday evening.

West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell told WHTV: “It’s a four-game season now and we’re four points clear of the bottom three.

“So, three or four points or whatever it might take to keep us up, we just want to get it sooner rather than later.

“We’ve also got a European semi-final which are going to be two massive games, but obviously every game between now and the end of the season is going to be vital.

“Once the lads are back, I’m sure they’ll be back by Sunday and be raring to go, so as I say every game from now is massive.

“It’s Man United in the late game on a Sunday night and the crowd will be up for it and we want to get the three points.”

London Irish’s game against Exeter looks set to go ahead on Saturday despite the club’s failure to pay staff, with director of rugby Declan Kidney vowing to “keep the flag flying”.

Talks are ongoing between the current ownership and prospective new buyers but, with those negotiations taking place behind the scenes, the April payroll has not been met by either party.

There have been suggestions of a potential boycott of the fixture by players, but Kidney indicated that the team’s desire to end their Gallagher Premiership season on a high remains undimmed.

“I can confirm no employee here – players or staff – has been paid as of yet, but we have been given a lot of assurances from the prospective new ownership that it will happen over the coming days,” he said.

“Preparations (for the match) are in full swing, everything is going ahead. Training has taken place fully. As far as we are concerned we are ploughing ahead to the match on Saturday.

“We are the professional arm of a club that is 124 years old. We know our responsibilities. It is our duty to keep the flag flying here and that is what we are doing.”

Kidney confirmed that all insurance premiums had been covered, removing one possible roadblock to the fixture taking place, but he was unable to shine a light on when things could be expected to reach a conclusion.

While insisting credible promises had been made, the former Ireland coach said no date had been forthcoming for delivery of overdue wages and he had not been made aware of a clear timeline for completion of the sale.

At the end of a season that has seen Worcester and Wasps go bust, such lack of clarity is an obvious worry for all associated with the club, but Kidney has been overwhelmed by the commitment his squad have shown under adversity.

“Obviously there are concerns around it, but they’re not in our control,” he said.

“We’re not the first company to have delayed payments in terms of our salaries but we can only control what we can control. You can draw too many comparisons between us and other teams but I think it would be wrong to do that.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of players I’ve been working with, in terms of application and positiveness.

“These lads are about way more than money. They are just the salt of the earth, fantastic people to work with. Nobody is looking for their hand to be held, everybody is looking forward to getting on with the job.

“All I can say is what happened to date, I cannot guess the future but I can say for certain the quality of people here is so strong. We entrust in the owners and prospective owners will come to a positive resolution here.”

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