England's Euro 2022-winning defender Demi Stokes respects players from France, Spain and Nigeria for taking a stance on conditions in women's football ahead of the World Cup.
The preparations of several teams for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand – which begins on July 20 – have been impacted by disputes between players and coaches or federations.
Earlier this year, France dismissed head coach Corinne Diacre after a group of players – including captain Wendie Renard – refused to represent Les Bleues under her.
The Lyon skipper has since been recalled by Diacre's successor, two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Herve Renard.
Meanwhile, 15 players told the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) they would no longer play under Roja boss Jorge Vilda last September, citing impacts on their "emotional state", though the RFEF has stood by the embattled coach.
Manchester City left-back Stokes – who was an unused member of the Lionesses squad that won last year's Euros before being overlooked for the World Cup – believes the players involved have their teams' interests at heart.
"Obviously, Wendie Renard has her reasons for why she doesn't want to play for France," she said, speaking at the launch of Pixel FC, a collective of dedicated women’s football creators helping to close the visibility gap within women’s football.
"Without people like Wendie taking a stance – if you look at the Spanish team as well – there's not going to be changes.
"All they're asking for is change [in response] to the challenges, and they are just being authentic to themselves.
"If they said they are not playing for France and then go and play for France, people won't take them seriously. So, I respect what they've done.
"Hopefully things can change, things can be resolved and things can be put into practice to help these players, protect these players and support them.
"When players take a stance, I think it just shows the characters that they are."
Only three of the Spain rebels – Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmati and Ona Batlle – have been recalled, with Stokes' City team-mates Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri among those frozen out.
Asked who she was backing in the Spain dispute, Stokes said: "I don't know, I think it's very different when you're in that situation.
"I've got team-mates who have taken that stance and stuck by it, and then equally you've got players who want to play, and I think everyone's very different.
"I can't be the one to judge and say, 'you're wrong or right'. It wouldn't be easy for me to just say I'd do that, because in the moment, it can be very different."
Nigeria have also seen their World Cup preparations hampered by an internal quarrel, with players threatening to boycott games if the Nigerian Football Federation reneges on an agreement to split revenue from the tournament.
Asked if she thought the Nigeria squad would follow through on that threat, Stokes said: "I'm not sure.
"Hopefully they can resolve their issues, and it's probably never nice to boycott, but if they take that stance then they're doing it for a valid reason and they're doing it for a bigger picture and a bigger cause."
The opening race on Wolverhampton’s Tuesday card was voided after Dane O’Neill took a fall from Eagle Eyed Tom.
The gelding, who is trained by Charlie Hills, seemed to stumble and clip heels when leaving the stalls for the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap and unseated O’Neill in the first few moments of the contest.
The race was stopped abruptly before it could be completed and O’Neill was attended to on the track before reportedly being taken off on a stretcher.
Milton Harris is hatching an audacious plan to get Scriptwriter rated highly enough for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup.
The two-mile ‘race that stops a nation’, which will be run at Flemington on November 7, is the richest handicap run anywhere in the world and was worth over £2.5million to connections of Gold Trip, who won it last year.
There there is always fierce competition for a place in the line-up which has a maximum of 24 runners.
But Warminster handler Harris is hopeful the former Aidan O’Brien-trained gelding will show his ability throughout the summer on the Flat, starting with Saturday’s Group Three John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes at York.
“He’s a Group horse, we’ve always thought that,” said Harris. “I’m going to tempt fate. He’s going to run on Saturday at York, I think. The main target has always been the Ebor at York.”
The Ebor victor will be given an automatic entry for the Melbourne Cup, with the York contest the only international win-and-you-are-in race.
Scriptwriter proved himself among the top young hurdlers last season, winning the Grade Two Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham in November.
He also landed a decent all-weather handicap on the Flat at Wolverhampton before being touched off in the Finesse Hurdle back at Cheltenham.
Scriptwriter was seventh to runaway winner Vauban in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot on his return to action last month and while his official Flat rating is 103, he will need to improve if he is to have a chance of going to Australia.
Harris added: “I thought he ran well at Ascot from a bad draw, but just couldn’t win.
“So we are going to York on Saturday and then hopefully the Ebor. If those two races go well, we might have a go at the Melbourne Cup – if you don’t dream, you’ll never have one come to fruition, will you?”
Cyriel Dessers knows there is a void to fill at Rangers following Alfredo Morelos’ departure but he is determined to be his own man at Ibrox.
The 28-year-old Nigeria striker became Michael Beale’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window when he joined from Cremonese on a four-year deal for a reported fee of around £4.5 million.
Dessers will be expected to take over from Colombia striker Morelos, who became a fans’ favourite during his six years in Govan where he scored 124 goals before his contract ran out at the end of the season.
Speaking at a media conference from Rangers’ training base in Germany, Dessers said: “Of course Alfredo did amazing things for Rangers at Ibrox so it is never easy to come after a good striker like he was.
“But on the other side I cannot look at the past.
“I am here for the present and for the future and I hope to do some nice things, some good things for Rangers as well and I hope I can build a similar relationship with the fans but that will depend on our relationship and the things I do on the pitch and off the pitch.
“So I am confident that can work.”
Dessers joins Abdallah Sima, Sam Lammers, Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Kieran Dowell as Beale’s new boys for the upcoming season, with the promise of more signings to come in the re-build as Rangers look to take the cinch Premiership title as well as both domestic cups back from Old Firm rivals Celtic following their domestic treble last season.
The former Utrecht, Heracles Almelo and Genk player looks forward to a “new wind” at Ibrox.
He said: “Rangers of course is a massive club: the history, the stadium, the fans, even the city, everything is amazing.
“But apart from that, of course I spoke with the manager as well and he spoke about what is going on now.
“After not such an easy season, there is a new wind at the club and I want to be a part of that.
“I am at a good age right now, 28 is the perfect age where physically at your top level and you have gained some experience from the last years.
“So I think that is a perfect time to play for trophies and hopefully win some trophies and of course the mentality of Rangers which is present at this moment in the team already is clear and it is clear that I want to be a part of that.
“I think I can bring some things, not only football-wise but mentality-wise in the locker room and I hope I can play a role as well in that.”
Neil Lennon revealed earlier in the week that Dessers had been on his radar while he was boss at Celtic but the Belgium-born forward is happy to be at the other side of Glasgow.
Dessers said: “I didn’t know about that at the time.
“I spoke a couple of times with Rangers in the past years and the contact has always been close so I am happy to finally be here now.
“The first contact came during Covid and it was a difficult time for a lot of clubs to make deals and after that there was always contact and casual conversations.
“If you scored goals you will probably be on some club’s radar but that is not an issue, I am happy to be here.”
Royal Ascot scorer Porta Fortuna could be tasked with taking on the colts following her impressive triumph at the summer showpiece last month.
The daughter of Caravaggio provided Frankie Dettori with his 80th winner at the Royal meeting when storming to Albany Stakes success and the form of that victory was given an immediate boost when the runner-up Matrika won the Group Two Airlie Stud Stakes only eight days later.
Having now struck twice at Group Three level in her three appearances to date, trainer Donnacha O’Brien is keen to keep his unbeaten filly at six furlongs for the time being and she could get the chance to showcase her talent in Group One company if lining up in the Curragh’s Keeneland Phoenix Stakes on August 12.
O’Brien said: “She’s very good and has come out of the race well. We gave her an easy week after the race to freshen her up and she’s back in full work now and everything is going well.
“She’s very straightforward and I suppose she’s a dream filly to ride as she has plenty of pace, travels well, has a turn of foot and also keeps going at the end as well. She’s just a very smart filly.
“We’re thinking of going for the Phoenix at the minute, the Group One at the Curragh. We’ll have to take on colts, but we’d like to give her another run at six. We’ll put her in the Lowther (York, August 24) as well as a back-up, that’s about a week or two afterwards.”
Connections then hope all roads will lead to the Breeders’ Cup, where Porta Fortuna’s American owners will have the opportunity to cheer on their filly in their own backyard.
“I suppose later on in the year the targets will be races like the Cheveley Park (Newmarket, September 30) and the Breeders’ Cup,” added O’Brien.
“We’ve got a few more runs to go before we get there so I’m sure we’ll learn a bit more about her by the time, but the obvious one would be the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf (Santa Anita, November 3) unless for some reason we thought we would go back in trip to the (Juvenile Turf) Sprint.
“The Breeders’ Cup was always the main aim for her at the end of the year, but she’s got a few races to go first and we’ll take each one at a time.”
Porta Fortuna is not the only filly at O’Brien’s Tipperary base with the potential to become a high-ranking two-year-old and the handler also has lofty ambitions for the Niarchos family-owned Mysteries who opened her account in good style at Cork.
“She’s a lovely filly and one we’ve always thought plenty of,” continued the Group One-winning trainer.
“The plan at the minute is to go for the Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown (July 27) and then for a seven-furlong filly there’s a very obvious programme, so it will be there, the Debutante (August 19) and the Moyglare (September 10), all being well.”
Meanwhile, one-time Derby hope Alder is on the comeback trail from the setback which ruled him out of Classic action and could return at Dundalk in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Diamond Stakes on September 29 before getting his passport stamped at the back-end of the year.
“He’s good and we gave him a bit of a break but he’s back in work now,” said O’Brien.
“I’m provisionally aiming him at a Listed race in Dundalk in September and then all being well, we could potentially go travelling with him after that.”
Chris Eubanks has the potential to be a worldwide star after his breakthrough at Wimbledon, according to former American number one James Blake.
The 27–year-old had never made it past the second round at a grand slam until his amazing run in SW19, where he has knocked out last year’s semi-finalist Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on his way to a quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Although the American – who won his first ATP Tour title in Majorca before Wimbledon – has been on tour for some time, his profile has exploded in the United States.
And Blake, who reached a career-high of fourth in the world rankings, has backed him to compete at the very top of the men’s game.
“He has become a superstar back home, which is great to see because he just deserves it, he is the most genuine guy,” said Blake.
“He’s taken advantage of his huge moment, he played so well last week in Majorca and now just playing with that confidence he is going to go far and I do think he has a chance against Medvedev.
“He is playing free and loose and you can see what can happen when you have got a big game and play with a lot of confidence.
“He has got to be a contender now to become a worldwide star, he has got the personality for it.”
Eubanks’ run at Wimbledon means he will now get star billing at the US Open next month and Blake has backed him to embrace it.
“It is going to be new for him but he is going to be one of the stars there, he might be on the side of a bus, he might be up on billboards,” said Blake, who mentored Eubanks earlier on in his career.
“And for him a year ago to be playing Challengers in Korea and toiling away, to be a star in New York is going to be hopefully a life-changing experience for him in a positive way.
“I hope he enjoys being a superstar because that is what he is in the making.”
Kim Clijsters has also played a role in Eubanks’ development after giving him some advice.
“It’s all his credit, I didn’t do anything, just send a few text messages,” she said.
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“We’ve gotten to know each other well since we played World Team Tennis together.
“He’s a great guy, a very open mind. We had really long conversations talking about my experiences in tennis when I was a teenager to still being around now.
“He wants to learn. It’s just great to see he’s doing so well. He’s enjoying it.
Oaks winner Soul Sister has been supplemented for Friday’s Grand Prix de Paris by John and Thady Gosden, with Kieran Shoemark deputising for the suspended Frankie Dettori.
Shoemark partnered the Lady Bamford-owned filly in a recent piece of work on Newmarket’s July course, although Dettori has ridden the daughter of Frankel in all three of her starts this season, with Robert Havlin in the saddle when she won her sole outing as a juvenile.
She gave Dettori a seventh Oaks and his 23rd British Classic success when beating Savethelastdance by a length and three-quarters at Epsom.
However, with the 52-year-old Italian having picked up a whip ban at Royal Ascot, Shoemark comes in for the ride on the filly, who is the sole British-trained runner in a field of eight for the Group One prize at ParisLongchamp.
Soul Sister bounced back from defeat on soft ground in the Fred Darling on her three-year-old debut at Newbury to land the Group Three Musidora at York.
She is the only Group One winner in the line-up, with connections happy to pay the €15,000 supplementary fee.
Thady Gosden said: “Obviously it is the last mile-and-a-half three-year-old race in Europe and unlike the Irish Oaks, it gives you time to come back for the Nassau at Goodwood.
“The Irish Oaks is a little too close to Goodwood if you wanted to take in both races, and we are looking forward to running her at Longchamp.
“Kieran partnered her on the Rowley Mile last week and was happy with her and she has done some routine work subsequently.”
Adelaide River and Peking Opera, respectively runner-up and fourth to Aidan O’Brien stablemate Auguste Rodin in the Irish Derby, remain in contention, while Andre Fabre, who has won the Grand Prix de Paris a record 13 times, relies on First Minister, who landed the Group Three Prix Hocquart at the same track last time.
Caroline Wozniacki is confident she will be able to compete with the top players again when she comes out of retirement next month.
The former world number one, who has two children, announced last month she would be ending her three-year exile this summer and will return for the American hard court swing that begins after Wimbledon.
The 33-year-old, who won the 2018 Australian Open and reached two US Open finals, was at the top of the women’s game for the best part of a decade before she called time on her career in 2020.
Since then Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka have broken away to form a ‘big three’ but Wozniacki says that if she can compete with Serena Williams then she should be able to hack it against the current crop of players.
Speaking ahead of her appearance in the women’s invitation doubles at Wimbledon, she said: “I have played them before, I know exactly what I am up against. I know they are playing extremely well and aggressive and consistent and it is going to be a tough challenge but I am up for the challenge.
“I have fought tough players before and fought my way around so I am going to do the same this time.
“Obviously there are a lot of good players out there and it is a high level of tennis but I played with the greatest of all time in Serena. She’s the best player I ever played and she isn’t around anymore so that feels good to me at the moment! I am happy not to have to play her anymore.
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“I am not putting a time on how long I will play, just see how the body holds up, see how I feel, how the kids and everyone does.
“I am excited to be back and excited to be playing and hopefully it will be my best tennis yet.”
Wozniacki, who resumes her professional career in Montreal later this month, is one of several mothers who are playing on tour.
And the Dane believes she may now have less pressure when she is competing.
“I think for me, I will go out there and enjoy myself and play the way I have been practising and that is all you can do, give it the best when you are out there,” she said.
“My family and my kids is the most important thing in my life to me so I know that if I win or lose they won’t look at me any differently.
“It is going to be a great experience for us as a family to have the kids see a little bit of the world and meet new people and see new cultures. It is such a good learning experience for them so young before they go to real school.”
Kim Clijsters is a flagbearer in the modern era for returning to the tour after having children, winning the US Open in one of her first tournaments back by beating Wozniacki in the final.
And she says the Dane will need to get to grips with new challenges as she resumes her career.
“When you get into a situation like that when you’re a mother but you also become a professional athlete again, you have an expectation of how you did it before and the time that goes into it,” Clijsters said.
“That was for me a little bit hard at the beginning to balance, am I going to put six, seven hours a day focusing on myself again and how do I feel about that?
“You have to leave your daughter or your kids behind so I struggled a little bit with that in the beginning but then you learn that there’s other people that are really good at taking care of your kids too.
“I think that was a little bit of a challenge mentally to get that motherly instinct – you don’t push it aside but you have to balance that so you have enough of both. I think that will be probably the biggest challenge at the beginning.”
Caroline Wozniacki is confident she will be able to compete with the top players again when she comes out of retirement next month.
The former world number one, who has two children, announced last month she would be ending her three-year exile this summer and will return for the American hard court swing that begins after Wimbledon.
The 33-year-old, who won the 2018 Australian Open and reached two US Open finals, was at the top of the women’s game for the best part of a decade before she called time on her career in 2020.
Since then Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka have broken away to form a ‘big three’ but Wozniacki says that if she can compete with Serena Williams then she should be able to hack it against the current crop of players.
Speaking ahead of her appearance in the women’s invitation doubles at Wimbledon, she said: “I have played them before, I know exactly what I am up against. I know they are playing extremely well and aggressive and consistent and it is going to be a tough challenge but I am up for the challenge.
“I have fought tough players before and fought my way around so I am going to do the same this time.
“Obviously there are a lot of good players out there and it is a high level of tennis but I played with the greatest of all time in Serena. She’s the best player I ever played and she isn’t around anymore so that feels good to me at the moment! I am happy not to have to play her anymore.
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“I am not putting a time on how long I will play, just see how the body holds up, see how I feel, how the kids and everyone does.
“I am excited to be back and excited to be playing and hopefully it will be my best tennis yet.”
Wozniacki, who resumes her professional career in Montreal later this month, is one of several mothers who are playing on tour.
And the Dane believes she may now have less pressure when she is competing.
“I think for me, I will go out there and enjoy myself and play the way I have been practising and that is all you can do, give it the best when you are out there,” she said.
“My family and my kids is the most important thing in my life to me so I know that if I win or lose they won’t look at me any differently.
“It is going to be a great experience for us as a family to have the kids see a little bit of the world and meet new people and see new cultures. It is such a good learning experience for them so young before they go to real school.”
Kim Clijsters is a flagbearer in the modern era for returning to the tour after having children, winning the US Open in one of her first tournaments back by beating Wozniacki in the final.
And she says the Dane will need to get to grips with new challenges as she resumes her career.
“When you get into a situation like that when you’re a mother but you also become a professional athlete again, you have an expectation of how you did it before and the time that goes into it,” Clijsters said.
“That was for me a little bit hard at the beginning to balance, am I going to put six, seven hours a day focusing on myself again and how do I feel about that?
“You have to leave your daughter or your kids behind so I struggled a little bit with that in the beginning but then you learn that there’s other people that are really good at taking care of your kids too.
“I think that was a little bit of a challenge mentally to get that motherly instinct – you don’t push it aside but you have to balance that so you have enough of both. I think that will be probably the biggest challenge at the beginning.”
Tottenham have announced the signing of attacker Manor Solomon on a free transfer.
Spurs moved to bring former Fulham loanee Solomon to the club after he was able to cancel his deal with Shakhtar Donetsk.
The diminutive winger has agreed a five-year contract with Tottenham after he returned to the country from holiday last weekend and passed his medical on Monday.
Solomon was allowed to cancel his contract with Shakhtar and sign for Spurs after FIFA in May extended its temporary employment rules relating to the war in Ukraine.
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, foreign players contracted to clubs affiliated to Ukrainian or Russian football associations can “unilaterally suspend their employment” until June 30 2024, provided teams are informed of the suspension in writing by July 1.
With Solomon’s previous terms with Shakhtar due to expire on December 31, he was able to become a free agent after he exercised the right to suspend his current employment with the Ukraine outfit.
The wide forward becomes the fourth addition completed by Tottenham this summer, with Dejan Kulusevski’s loan move being made permanent while last month Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison sealed transfers to the Premier League club.
Israel international Solomon showed flashes of his potential during his loan with Fulham last season despite waiting until January to make his full debut due to a serious knee injury.
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When the 23-year-old was fit, he scored five goals in 24 appearances to earn admirers at Tottenham.
Solomon could face old club Shakhtar in a friendly on August 6 after it was announced last month that Spurs would host the Ukraine champions.
The Premier League side are set to make a financial contribution to Shakhtar’s charitable foundation while an additional donation of net proceeds from ticket sales has been promised to help with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
Tottenham remain in the hunt for new central defenders with talks continuing with Wolfsburg over the signing of Micky ven de Ven.
Spurs also hold interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba and Tosin Adarabioyo of Fulham, but outgoings are another area of priority after Harry Winks recently left to join Leicester.
The club’s stance on Harry Kane remains unchanged despite Bayern Munich’s growing interest.
Kane will return to training on Wednesday, but speculation over his future continues to intensify with only a year left on his deal.
The PA news agency understands Tottenham have offered the forward a new contract that is an increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms.
While Kane is yet to make a decision on the contract, Spurs’ stance remains the same with their star striker not for sale.
Spurs fly out for their pre-season tour of Perth, Bangkok and Singapore on Friday and a decision will need to be made over whether captain Hugo Lloris is part of the travelling party given interest from Inter Milan.
Tottenham are open to selling Lloris for the right offer and an agreement could even be reached to terminate his terms a year early, PA understands.
England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is convinced the Lionesses are yet to test the limits of their true potential as they dare to dream of a maiden World Cup title.
The European champions begin their global mission against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 before taking on Denmark and China to conclude the group stage.
With the July 31 one-year anniversary of her side’s Euro 2022 Wembley triumph fast approaching, Wubben-Moy and her team-mates are ready to consign that victory to the history books and focus on their next chapter.
“In terms of preparation I think it is a Euros but then a level up,” the 24-year-old said during a training session on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
“The focus, the desire, the intensity, I think it’s all taken a step up and that’s what I’d expect really.
“We’ve come off the back of a Euros, we’ve won that, and it’s not a case of settling on that, it’s ‘ok, what’s next? how much more can we push?’ because I don’t think this team knows how far we can go really and that’s quite a nice place to be in because in that sense you can dream and always be excited about what’s next.”
England arrived in Australia, tournament co-hosts alongside New Zealand, on Friday and will train at the Sunshine Coast Stadium until they make their way to Brisbane ahead of their opener.
While several Lionesses have praised the hosts for making them feel at home in such a short period of time, there are some unquestionable differences between this World Cup and last summer’s Euros in England – things like the kangaroos roaming the grounds of the team hotel.
Wubben-Moy continued: “From the food room you can look out onto the water, and there are these like mad, massive blue fish, similar to the colour of the kit actually, so there’s going to be plenty of wildlife that we see. Hopefully none of the scary ones, because I think quite a few people are scared of spiders and snakes.
“I don’t mind spiders but snakes, nah, no, not having it. Oh, the thought of it. So hopefully we don’t encounter any of them.”
While a combination of retirements and injuries will force Sarina Wiegman to debut a new-look line-up from the identical one she fielded for every match last summer, Wubben-Moy is less likely to be among her head coach’s top choices to start at the back.
Millie Bright, named captain in place of the injured Leah Williamson, looks set to return after recovering from the knee injury that kept her out of the Lionesses’ pre-departure goalless draw with Portugal, while stalwarts Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood will feature in their third consecutive World Cups.
Jess Carter and Esme Morgan both earned starting places in that friendly, while Wubben-Moy remained on the bench.
However she is employed this tournament, the Arsenal defender vowed she will make the most of the experience.
She added: “I think it’s difficult, a player is always going to want to play as much as possible.
“I guess I’m not naive to the fact that the minutes I’ve got this year with England haven’t been massive, so my focus on this tournament is to enjoy it, gain the most out of it and actually ideally give the most of myself.
“I’ve spoken a lot about consistency and being the best person that I can be for my team-mates, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch, and I hold myself to high standards in general, so that’s definitely something that I see as a goal for the tournament, regardless of whether I get minutes or not.”
Ange Postecoglou is excited about the role “leader” James Maddison will play in helping implement his style of football at Tottenham.
Maddison completed a transfer worth £40million plus add-ons to Spurs last month after five years with Leicester where he won the FA Cup and scored 55 goals in 203 appearances.
England midfielder Maddison had been tracked by Tottenham since he was a teenager at Coventry and officially begins work with the club on Wednesday when the next group of international players, including Harry Kane, return.
His new boss feels the playmaker will be key to the sizable task of getting a squad accustomed to pragmatic, counter-attacking football now in sync with the aggressive, possession-based style set to be used by the Australian.
Postecoglou said: “Really excited to get James as part of the group.
“Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals.
“They’re not easy to come by. He’s proven himself at that level in the last few years as somebody who can do that.
“When you look at Tottenham the last few years, they’ve been really reliant on the front three to get their goals.
“I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James – even better if we could get James, so we ended up getting James.
“I was really pleased and the fact we did it early was great because it allows him to have a break. He’s had the birth of twins so I don’t know what shape he’ll be in when he gets here!
“But once we get him in, it means he can come on the tour with us and I know he’s really excited about joining the group.
“He obviously knows a few of the lads and I think he’s in a stage of his career where it feels like he can be a leader, which is great as well because we need players who want to embrace that responsibility within this group.
“Whether it’s their first year in or they’ve been here for ages, we’re going to need leadership on the field and he feels like he can be a player who does that.”
Postecoglou held his first press conference since switching Celtic for Spurs on Monday and struck the right chord between confidence alongside realism.
Tottenham finished eighth in the Premier League last season – using three different head coaches – but more significantly have spent the last four years playing counter-attacking football.
Gradually it wore down a disgruntled fanbase impatient for success with no trophy since 2008 and while a return to an aggressive, front-foot style will be welcomed, Postecoglou is aware rebooting a squad used to a certain way will be no mean feat.
He added: “Absolutely that will be the biggest challenge and that’s what I’m concentrating on at the moment.
“We don’t have the whole group here but the guys we have, it’s about changing that mindset and changing the way the players see the game and maybe their roles within in.
“Because even with the positions they play, there’s going to be adjustments in how I want them to do things. Again, I love that. That’s why I’m here.
“If it was just me rolling up and they’re going out there, doing their thing, it wouldn’t excite me. That’s part of the challenge – it will be a shift from the way the club has played for three or four years.
“In terms of how quickly the players embrace that, the new players coming in will help. That’s the part I have control over, whether that’s James Maddison or Guglielmo (Vicario) in goal.
“They’re players who fit in the direction I want to go in, which helps. Then it’s about seeing with the existing group how many of them are able to adjust and embrace the way we’re going to play.”
The 154th Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale in 2026, the R&A have announced.
The Southport venue has hosted the Open on 10 previous occasions, most recently in 2017 when Jordan Spieth edged out fellow American Matt Kuchar to lift the Claret Jug.
Three shots clear of Kuchar heading into the final round, Spieth was a shot behind after his fifth bogey of the day on the 13th, which involved a 20-minute ruling and playing his third shot from the practice ground.
But the former Masters and US Open champion amazingly played the next four holes in five under par to card a remarkable closing 69 and finish three shots clear of the unfortunate Kuchar.
The victory gave Spieth the third leg of a career grand slam and saw him join the likes of Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Padraig Harrington in winning the Open at Royal Birkdale.
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said: “Royal Birkdale is a world-class championship venue and its outstanding links will once again provide the world’s best men’s professional golfers with a tough but fair test of their talents and capabilities as they compete for the Claret Jug.
“It has produced many memorable moments that are woven into the story of this historic Championship, including a dramatic final round in 2017 when Jordan Spieth won for the first time.
“We look forward to another special occasion in three years and it will be fascinating to see which player will emerge to join a list of renowned Champion Golfers to have won at Royal Birkdale.”
The 2026 Open will be staged from July 16-19.
This year’s Open gets under way at Royal Liverpool next week, with Royal Troon hosting in 2024 and Royal Portrush in 2025.
England have moved early to throw their backing behind Jonny Bairstow, retaining the wicketkeeper for next week’s fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
The selectors have resisted the temptation to send a mid-series call out to Surrey’s Ben Foakes, with Bairstow retained as the only gloveman in an unchanged 14-man squad.
The Yorkshireman has endured a difficult series behind the stumps, missing eight chances of varying difficulty in the first three games, leading to calls for Foakes to be restored.
But England have nipped such talk in the bud at the earliest opportunity by naming the same group for next Wednesday’s clash in Manchester, another must-win for the hosts who are 2-1 down with two to play following their victory over Australia at Headingley.
Foakes has repeatedly been hailed as the best wicketkeeper in the world by captain Ben Stokes, but the 30-year-old was the odd man out at the start of the summer when Bairstow’s return to fitness following a badly broken leg and the rise of Harry Brook left England with a dilemma.
Bairstow’s movement has not looked as sharp since returning from injury, hardly any surprise after he sustained three separate fractures in his left leg, ligament damage and a dislocated ankle, but he retains the backing of a hierarchy who like to stick to their guns when it comes to personnel.
He has only fired once with the bat in the current Ashes series, making a run-a-ball 78 on the first day of the series, but he has shown before just how dangerous he can be when the mood is with him.
He was England’s Test player of the year in 2022, setting the tone for the ‘Bazball’ era with four exhilarating hundreds last summer. Head coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes both promised his place would be kept open when he suffered his freak accident on a golf course and have been as good as their word.
He will now be hoping to pay that faith back at Old Trafford. Ollie Robinson also takes his place in the 14 despite back spasms rendering him a peripheral figure in the previous match.
Robinson will join up with the side and is being monitored by the medical team, but is favourite to make way for the return of record wicket-taker James Anderson at his home ground.
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