Andy Murray has revealed he is still unsure exactly when this summer he will retire as a tennis player.

Murray, 36, said last month that he “did not plan on playing much past this summer” and in an interview with The Times he explained why he cannot be more specific about when he hangs up his racket.

He said: “I would love the chance to play in another Olympics, but also genuinely only if I felt like there was a chance of winning a medal.

“I’m also very conscious that because of how amazing my experiences at the Olympics have been, I would want to be there by right and not just take one of the other guys’ spots, because it is a brilliant opportunity.

“We have top doubles players (Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski are ranked inside the world’s top 10) and also Jack (Draper), Cam (Norrie) and Evo (Dan Evans) in singles as well.”

Murray, a three-time grand slam winner, who held the number one spot in the men’s singles rankings for a total of 41 weeks in the same era as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, could focus on the doubles at the Paris Olympics, which will be played on his least favourite surface, clay.

He reached the quarter-finals in partnership with Salisbury at Tokyo 2020 and added: “When I played with Joe, I had the conversation beforehand with him that my feeling was there was a greater chance of me winning a medal in doubles than singles.”

Murray said he was “bored” of being questioned about when he will retire, saying: “It’s been happening since Wimbledon last year in most weeks. It’s something that I’ve had to talk about and entertain.

“Obviously at some stage the end will come. It’s not an easy decision to know exactly when that will be or when it should be.”

The Los Angeles Clippers need to discover their identity, so said Paul George after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks made it four defeats from five games.

Los Angeles slipped to a 110-93 defeat to the Hawks on Sunday, leaving them just one game ahead of the surging New Orleans Pelicans in the tussle for the number four seed in the Western Conference.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 28 points while George added 26, though James Harden contributed just nine, albeit while laying on as many assists.

But the Clippers' veterans did not have enough to drag Tyronn Lue's team over the line.

When asked if the Clippers were resembling a team of stars who though they could switch their game on at ease, George replied: "I mean that's what we're appearing to look like, which is not good.

"We want to be a team that's consistent and we want to establish an identity. I've always spoken about having an identity and I think it's extremely important.

"Right now, I don't think we have an identity."

Leonard suggested the Clippers' mentality has to change.

"It's between the ears with us," he said. "We've got to go out and do it.

"Just seeing what we want to do. That's it. What type of team we want to be.

"If everybody's saying they want to be one of the last teams standing, then we got to go out and do it."

Coach Lue is searching for answers.

"When they do it, it works," he said. "When you have so much talent and you have guys that can do it so easily, they don't understand that your talent is great, but the talent's got to be for the team as well.

"Maybe it's me. Maybe I've got to do something a little different to make sure that we're doing what we're supposed to do. [But] I'll never really overreact because I know we're a good team. 

"If you want to win, I know what it looks like. I've been there, I've seen it."

What the papers say

Manchester United centre-half Harry Maguire, 31, is being eyed by West Ham boss David Moyes for a summer move, reports the Sun.

Also in the Sun, England forward Marcus Rashford is said to be giving Paris St Germain the cold shoulder in order to stay at Manchester United.

The BBC reports that Arsenal will consider selling winger Reiss Nelson to fund a big-money move for Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mason Greenwood: Football Transfers reports that Atletico Madrid are eyeing a possible summer move for the 22-year-old forward, with Manchester United believed to have set a £50million price tag.

Leny Yoro: According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the French defender is interested in playing for Real Madrid, with Lille wanting 100million euros (£85.6million) for the 18-year-old.

Olivier Giroud: The 37-year-old striker is eyeing a move to Major League Soccer in the US, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting he is eager to relocate to either Los Angeles or New York when his contract with AC Milan ends.

What the papers say

Manchester United centre-half Harry Maguire, 31, is being eyed by West Ham boss David Moyes for a summer move, reports the Sun.

Also in the Sun, England forward Marcus Rashford is said to be giving Paris St Germain the cold shoulder in order to stay at Manchester United.

The BBC reports that Arsenal will consider selling winger Reiss Nelson to fund a big-money move for Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mason Greenwood: Football Transfers reports that Atletico Madrid are eyeing a possible summer move for the 22-year-old forward, with Manchester United believed to have set a £50million price tag.

Leny Yoro: According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the French defender is interested in playing for Real Madrid, with Lille wanting 100million euros (£85.6million) for the 18-year-old.

Olivier Giroud: The 37-year-old striker is eyeing a move to Major League Soccer in the US, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting he is eager to relocate to either Los Angeles or New York when his contract with AC Milan ends.

Dame Laura Kenny has always been able to light up any room she steps into, and never more than when she is in a velodrome.

Bright and bubbly, she became the face of British Cycling’s more than decade-long dominance on the track from the moment Kenny, then Trott, announced her talent to the wider world at London 2012.

The two Olympic gold medals she won barely 20 miles from her childhood home in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, were the first of five that made her Britain’s most successful female Olympian, and the most successful female Olympic cyclist on the planet.

But on Monday she announced it will be five and out, calling time on her decorated career at the age of 31, ending outside chances she may ride at the Paris Games.

Already in a hurry, Laura Trott was born a month prematurely with a collapsed lung. Diagnosed with asthma, she was advised to take up sport to regulate her breathing.

She started trampolining but switched to cycling after mum Glenda began riding to lose weight. Laura and her sister Emma went along – and both made careers out of it, Emma as a road rider and coach, and Laura as one of the greatest track stars the sport has ever seen.

She started winning races at her local track, Welwyn, aged eight, and got hooked on success. A world junior omnium title earned her a place on Britain’s senior roster and aged only 18 she was part of the team pursuit squad that won European gold.

Having set herself a goal of making the Rio Games in 2016, Kenny was on her way to the London Olympics.

There was an inevitability to winning team pursuit gold – the world record was broken all six times Trott teamed up with Joanna Rowsell and Dani King (nee Rowe). Two days later, Kenny came from behind to claim omnium gold as well.

That made her Britain’s second double champion of the Games after Jason Kenny. A day later the pair were seen kissing as they sat behind David Beckham at the beach volleyball. Cycling had its new golden couple.

After they replicated their London success in Rio – Laura winning two golds and Jason three – they got married close to home in Cheshire.

They say opposites attract, and if Jason is a self-professed “miserable sod”, Laura is the charismatic marketer’s dream with the success to match. “It was just like yin and yang,” Laura said.

Thoughts like this tumble out of Kenny every time she sits down for an interview. She might want to talk about her love of Bruce Springsteen’s music, or how she once saw her grandmother’s ghost, or how she and Jason ended up adopting a family of ducks that came into their garden.

But she is just as open about the challenges she has faced, and recent years have been an emotional rollercoaster.

A year after Rio, Laura gave birth to son Albie. While Jason quietly retired – a decision he reversed before even announcing it – Laura was clear she intended to return in time for Tokyo.

She did so, but perhaps needed the Covid-enforced postponement of the Games to recover from a string of injuries suffered in early 2020. In Tokyo, Britain’s dominance in the velodrome came under increasing threat, and they settled for silver in the team pursuit.

Kenny’s fifth gold came alongside Katie Archibald in the first ever women’s Madison at an Olympics, but she lost her omnium crown after a heavy crash in the scratch race.

That disappointment was nothing compared to the trauma that was to come. In November, Kenny suffered a miscarriage. Then in January she had an ectopic pregnancy and lost a fallopian tube during emergency surgery.

She did not reveal either until she had just won team pursuit silver at the Nations Cup in Glasgow, but in characteristic fashion she spoke openly of the impact – how she questioned her future in the sport but used cycling as a her safety blanket.

She surprised herself with Commonwealth Gold in the summer of 2022 before the healthy arrival of a second son, Monty, in 2023 gave Kenny the sign she needed to know it was time to retire.

Dame Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from cycling.

The 31-year-old leaves the scene as Britain’s most successful female Olympian, and the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history.

She was also the first British woman to win golds at three consecutive Games after her titles at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Kenny’s five Olympic golds.

Team Pursuit – London 2012

There was something inevitable about Great Britain’s win in the women’s team pursuit. Including pre-Olympic races and the event itself, in the six times Kenny, then Trott, had joined Joanna Rowsell and Dani King (now Rowe) in riding the event, they broke the world record six times. They lowered the bar to three minutes 15.669 seconds in qualifying, shaved off another second in the first round, and then won gold in a time of 3:14.051.

Omnium – London 2012

A day after the team pursuit, Trott was back on track for the first three events of the omnium. She led after day one, having won both the flying lap and elimination race, but was worried 10th place in the points race would cost her. “I messaged my dad halfway through the omnium saying, ‘I can’t do this, I’ve messed this up’,” she later said. “He is always that person that keeps me calm.” Whatever he said in reply, it worked. Although American Sarah Hammer nosed in front after the individual pursuit and doubled her advantage in the scratch race, Trott won the closing time trial to claim gold.

Team Pursuit – Rio 2016

The women’s team pursuit was expanded from three riders per team and three kilometres to four riders and four kilometres in Rio, but there was no change at the top of the standings as Trott and Rowsell Shand teamed up with Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker to retain Britain’s title. And there was a familiar pattern too as they broke the world record in all three rounds, eventually winning in a time of four minutes 10.236 seconds.

Omnium – Rio 2016

After her tense battle with Hammer in London, Trott left absolutely no doubt about who would win omnium gold in Rio. She was either first or second in the opening five events, and so went into the closing points race with a 24-point cushion over her American rival which would never be threatened. “To do what I did in London and to come here and do it again, honestly I cannot believe it,” she said.

Madison – Tokyo 2020

The Tokyo Olympics were a very different affair for Kenny for many different reasons. She gave birth to son Albie a year after Rio, returning to competition in 2018. But she suffered a string of crashes in the run up to the Games, and had they not been postponed for a year amid the pandemic, it is not clear she would have made it. Britain’s dominance was under threat and they had to settle for silver in the team pursuit. But Kenny and team-mate Katie Archibald had done their homework for the first women’s Madison to be staged at an Olympics and bossed the race, winning the first three sprints and then extending their advantage after the Dutch pair of Kirsten Wild and Amy Pieters, reigning world champions, were caught in a crash with 70 laps remaining.

Dame Laura Kenny, Britain’s most successful female Olympic athlete, has announced her cycling retirement.

The 31-year-old has won five Olympic gold medals in her decorated career and had been expected to compete at the Paris Games this summer, but she told the BBC it was time to stop.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Kenny said: “I always knew deep down I would know when was the right time. I have had an absolute blast but now is the time for me to hang that bike up.”

Kenny and her husband, Sir Jason Kenny – Britain’s most decorated Olympian – last year welcomed a second son to their family and she said spending time at home was proving more and more alluring to her.

“It’s been in my head a little while, the sacrifices of leaving the children and your family at home is really quite big and it really is a big decision to make,” she added.

“More and more, I was struggling to do that. More people asking me what races was I doing, what training camps was I going on – I didn’t want to go ultimately and that’s what it came down to.

“I knew the minute I was getting those feelings. Once I said to Jase, ‘I don’t think I want to ride a bike anymore’, I started to feel relief.”

Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to ride a Gold Cup winner with her victory on A Plus Tard on this day in 2022.

A year after her trailblazing success in the Grand National, the Irish rider grabbed another slice of history at Cheltenham on the 3-1 favourite.

Blackmore had finished second on the same horse a year earlier, unable to get past stablemate Henry de Bromhead-trained Minella Indo.

This time she turned the result on its head, biding her time to come from four lengths behind into the penultimate fence to chase down Indo and sprint clear.

“I just can’t believe it. I’m so lucky to be getting to ride all these kind of horses,” she said in the aftermath.

“You can’t do this without the horses and being attached to Henry’s yard is just absolutely phenomenal. To give me this horse is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say.

“I’ve had so many special days. I wouldn’t swap the Grand National for anything, but this is the Gold Cup!

“You have all these plans about how things are going to work out. Racing doesn’t let that happen all the time and for some reason it’s happened to me today. I just can’t explain how lucky I feel.”

De Bromhead put it down to more than luck, adding: “Rachael was so brave, the way she went about
it, it was brilliant.”

Kyrie Irving hit a dramatic floating shot with 0.4 seconds left to play that gave the Dallas Mavericks a thrilling 107-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, a result that halted the reigning NBA champions' five-game winning streak.

Irving took an in-bounds pass from Maxi Kleber and dribbled to just behind the free-throw line before sinking a left-handed runner that lifted the Mavericks to their fifth win in six games. Dallas scored the contest's final five points after the Nuggets fought back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a late 105-102 lead.

Denver trailed 98-85 with 6:50 remaining before briefly moving ahead with a 20-4 run. After Nikola Jokić's jumper with 1:05 to go tied the game at 102-102, Jamal Murray capped the spurt with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 27.7 seconds left.

Luka Dončić answered with a 3-pointer on Dallas' ensuing possession, however, and Murray misfired on the Nuggets' next trip down the court to set up Irving's heroics.

Doncic finished with 37 points and nine rebounds, while Irving had 24 points and nine assists as the star guard duo accounted for over half of the Mavericks' scoring total.

Muray had 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help bring the Nuggets back, while Michael Porter Jr. recorded 20 points and Jokic compiled 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Hot-shooting Bucks outscore Suns despite Antetokounmpo's absence

On a day in which they were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks got big performances from Damian Lillard and Bobby Porits and a season-high 24 3-pointers to come through with a 140-129 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Portis went 5 of 5 from beyond the arc while amassing 31 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Lillard also had 31 points while matching a career high with 16 assists as Milwaukee prevailed despite Antetokounmpo sitting out with a sore hamstring.

The Bucks got plenty of other contributors while connecting on 58.5 per cent of their 3-point attempts for the game. Khris Middleton poured in 22 points in 25 minutes in his return from a 16-game absence, while Malik Beasley finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range in a 17-point effort.

Phoenix closed out a 2-2 road trip on a down note despite shooting 58.6 per cent from the field, including an 11-of-15 outing from Bradley Beal in which he tallied 28 points.

Former Buck Grayson Allen added 25 points while making 6 of 11 of his 3-point tries, but Milwaukee held Suns star Kevin Durant to a season-low 11 points.

The Bucks seized control with a big second quarter in which they outscored Phoenix by a 43-24 margin to extend a 39-36 first-quarter lead into a commanding 82-60 advantage at half-time. Portis led the way with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting over the first two periods.

Phoenix cut its deficit down to 100-94 late in the third quarter, but the Bucks ended the period on a 9-0 run capped by a Lillard 3 that gave them a 109-94 lead into the fourth.

Milwaukee maintained a lead of at least seven points the rest of the way.

Hawks halt three-game skid with key win over Clippers

Dejounte Murray totalled 21 points and 10 assists as the Atlanta Hawks got back on track with a 110-93 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers.

De'Andre Hunter added 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting off the bench to help the Hawks snap a three-game losing streak and hand the Pacific Division-leading Clippers a fourth defeat in five games.

Murray hit 5 of 10 attempts from 3-point range as Atlanta shot 50 per cent (17 of 34) from beyond the arc compared to 30.6 per cent for Los Angeles, which struggled to get any complementary scoring beyond stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Leonard finished with 28 points and George had 26, but no other Los Angeles player reached double figures despite James Harden's return from a two-game absence caused by a strained left shoulder.

Harden dished out nine assists but had just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting in 36 minutes.

The Clippers particularly struggled during a second quarter in which they were outscored by a 30-15 margin by Atlanta, which opened up the period on an 8-0 run to build a 39-29 lead just over two minutes in.

Atlanta later scored 12 consecutive points to extend its advantage to 61-40 with two minutes remaining before half-time, and the Hawks' margin grew to as many as 29 points early in the fourth quarter.

The New York Rangers registered three second-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday that extended their cross-town rival's recent struggles.

Mika Zibanejad, Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski all scored during the Rangers' big second period, with Brodzinski's tally snapping a 2-2 tie with 4:59 left in the frame.

The Rangers withstood two goals from the Islanders' Bo Horvat, including a short-handed marker in the first period, to record their fifth win in six games and maintain a four-point edge over Carolina for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes posted a 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

On the other side, the Islanders have now lost four straight (0-3-1) and remain one point behind in the race for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.

Zibanejad scored 27 seconds into the second to tie the game at 1-1 before Cuylle put the Rangers ahead midway through the period. Horvat tied the contest just 3:41 afterward, but Brodzinski answered just over a minute later to give the Rangers a 3-2 edge.

The Rangers then put the game out of reach with goals by Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere in the third period.

Igor Shesterkin finished with 25 saves for the Rangers, while counterpart Ilya Sorokin had 26 for the Islanders.

Crosby helps Penguins garner needed win over Red Wings

Sidney Crosby had one of three first-period goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who gained some ground in the East's play-off race with a key 6-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Crosby added an assist in addition to ending an 11-game goal drought to help the Penguins close within five points of Detroit for the conference's final wild-card spot.

Reilly Smith, Valtteri Puustinen and Lars Eller also had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh to aid a 25-save effort from Alex Nedeljkovic.

Smith opened the scoring midway through the first period, though the Red Wings quickly got back even on Lucas Raymond's first of two goals of the game.

Crosby then swatted a rebound past Detroit goaltender Alex Lyon to put Pittsburgh back ahead with 1:07 to go in the first, and Puustinen followed a mere 23 seconds later for a 3–1 Penguins' lead.

Crosby's goal was the 583rd of his career, tying fellow great Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) for the seventh-most by any player with one franchise in NHL history.

Pittsburgh further extended the margin on Michael Bunting's goal midway through the second period. The Red Wings would close within 4-2 when Christian Fischer one-timed a feed from Michael Rasmussen past Nedeljkovic with 2:25 left in the frame, but Eller restored the Penguins' three-goal advantage with a power-play tally shortly before the second intermission.

Raymond scored on a power play with 2:23 remaining to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 5-3, but the Red Wings could not get closer and the Penguins' Drew O'Connor sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left.

Detroit, which halted a seven-game losing streak with Saturday's 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, received 32 saves from Lyon on 37 chances. 

Eichel nets game-winner as Golden Knights top Devils

Jack Eichel scored the go-ahead goal with 8:54 remaining as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied in the third period to earn a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

The defending Stanley Cup champions scored three times in the final 18 minutes to erase a 1-0 deficit and solidify their hold on a play-off spot with their third win in four games. Vegas is tied with the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division and stayed four points in front of St. Louis for the Western Conference's final wild card.

The Blues kept pace with Sunday's 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Despite Vegas owning a 24-14 shot advantage over the Devils through the first two periods, the teams remained deadlocked in a scoreless tie until New Jersey's Nico Hischier ended the stalemate 38 seconds into the third.

The Golden Knights finally got on the board when William Carrier scored 2:57 into the final period, then went ahead when Eichel ripped a shot past New Jersey goaltender Jake Allen just past the 11-minute mark.

Allen was pulled for an extra attacker with under two minutes left, but Logan Thompson came up with three key late saves before William Karlsson scored into the Devils' empty net in the final seconds to seal the outcome.

Thompson finished with 20 saves while Allen stopped 34 of 36 shots for New Jersey, which fell to 2-7-0 in March.

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (5) 6-1 on Sunday to win his second-straight BNP Paribas Open title at Indian Wells.

The world number two took only one hour and 42 minutes to claim victory, marking Alcaraz’s first title since his triumph at Wimbledon last year.

The 20-year-old Spaniard began the Indian Wells tournament with a 6-3 record on the season and an injured ankle, which he sustained during his latest outing in Rio de Janeiro.

Medvedev started strong in the match’s opening rounds, establishing a 3-0 lead as Alcaraz’s errors began to pile up.

It did not take long for Alcaraz to find his feet though, breaking back before matching the world number four to force a tie-break.

He almost let an early lead in the tie-break slip by, but recovered again to take the first set in just over an hour.

Once he had broken out in front, the world number two was barely troubled in the second set en route to retaining his Indian Wells title.

He told reporters on-court after the match that the win had bolstered his confidence following his Rio injury scare.

“Winning this tournament means a lot to me because the week before it began, I had a lot of doubts about my ankle,” Alcaraz said.

“I remember my first practice here was just 30 minutes with no movement, and probably the first practice with really good tennis players was really tough for me because I thought I was not going to play my best.”

He added: “I was not feeling well with my ankle, so a lot of doubts for me. But once I stepped on the court, the first round, I started to feel better.”

Andy Farrell is relishing a shot at the world’s best as Ireland pursue perfection after continuing their northern hemisphere domination with another Guinness Six Nations title.

Ireland turn their attention to a two-match summer tour of South Africa having retained the championship crown following last year’s Grand Slam by beating Scotland 17-13 in Dublin.

Many pundits feel Farrell’s in-form side are already Test rugby’s leading nation, an opinion understandably disputed in the Springbok camp following their back-to-back Rugby World Cup successes.

While Ireland have won their last three clashes with the Webb Ellis Cup holders, they have only once achieved that feat on South African soil – a 26-20 Cape Town triumph under Joe Schmidt in 2016.

“It doesn’t get any more difficult, does it, or any more exciting than that,” Farrell said of the July fixtures in Pretoria and Durban.

“All you want is an opportunity to put yourself out there against the best and South Africa are 100 per cent the best.

“Being able to go out there and test ourselves over there – we’ve managed to win one game over there before – will be great for our development going forward.”

Ireland have won 33 of their last 37 Tests stretching back to 2021 following a memorable St Patrick’s weekend.

Defeat by France in 2022, a pair of losses against New Zealand, including in the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup, and last weekend’s last-gasp 23-22 reverse against England are the only blemishes on the remarkable record.

Ireland’s latest Six Nations success came following the retirements of long-serving stars Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls, while outstanding wing Mack Hansen was among those unavailable due to injury.

Head coach Farrell, whose side also have autumn appointments with the All Blacks, Argentina, Fiji and Australia on the horizon, wants to keep raising the bar.

“To be consistently at your best is probably impossible but that is what we’re going after,” said the Englishman.

“But when class players drop out of the squad, it’s always going to take time to build back up and if you can do that winning, or learning from the experiences like at Twickenham or whatever, then that’s all well and good.

“But the reality is that there’s plenty more in us and there has to be for what’s coming for the rest of the year.”

Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony feels a responsibility to keep building on the foundations laid by former team-mates such as Sexton.

“You always represent the past players,” said the Munster flanker, who is contemplating his own retirement.

“They’re a huge part, and even Johnny popping into the hotel last week, it’s something that we should probably make a bit more regular.

“They’ve been there for a long, long time and Johnny has been a huge part of where we are now and Earlsy is, like everyone who has put a huge amount of effort into the group.

“Every time you pull it on (Ireland’s shirt) it’s for lots of those people as well and you’d like to think that they’re proud sitting at home, the people who can’t take the field any more.”

Munster fly-half Jack Crowley, who has filled the void left by Sexton, and Leinster lock Joe McCarthy are part of the new generation tasked with maintaining high standards.

Farrell has urged the rookie pair to ignore the hype surrounding their standout Six Nations performances.

“Jack’s a realist,” said Farrell. “And do you know what? I’ve been hard on him.

“Jack will tell you that because it’s easy to read the press and get carried away that, ‘I’m doing it and I am doing really well’.

“But we’ve kept his feet on the ground and Joe McCarthy as well because there has to be a realisation that’s not what we’re chasing.

“We’re chasing something better than that and as long as we can continue to do that we’ll continue to grow as a group.”

Eric Cantona has hinted he would be interested in a role at Manchester United under the club’s new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Former United forward Cantona, who won four Premier League titles and two FA Cups with United before retiring as a player in 1997, said the club “remains full in my heart”.

In an interview with the Big Issue before the release of his live album later this month, Cantona Sings Eric, the Frenchman said he did not have the time to be a coach when asked if there was a role for him at Old Trafford.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eric Cantona (@ericcantona)

“I am involved in too many things I really love to be a manager,” he said. “In everything I do I work hard to give 100 per cent so that I am able to have the confidence and to enjoy.

“So I don’t have the time to be manager. But maybe something else…”

Ratcliffe completed a £1.25billion deal to buy a 27.7 per cent stake in United last month and Cantona is confident the club will be challenging for major honours again.

“For sure with Jim Ratcliffe I think we come back as the best,” the 57-year-old said.

“The way you drive the club is important. Ratcliffe, who is a fan of United since forever, is a great businessman of course, but is also very passionate about sport.”

Cantona, who walked away from football aged 30 because he “lost the passion”, said he could have played for “five or seven more years”.

“I never played football for money. I would have paid a lot of money to play for Manchester United,” he said.

Cantona, who embarked on an acting career following retirement, added: “I always knew that I will do something in art, any kind of arts, painting, photography, acting. Music is the last one.

“Music, it’s the closest thing to the excitement we can have when we play football. Music touches you. Every one of us. I don’t think it’s a human being that creates music. Music is a part of a human being.

“See a kid two years old and they start walking, they hear music and they start to dance. They never learned music. The music is something special.”

::Cantona’s live album of self-written songs, Cantona Sings Eric, will be released on March 29 and will be followed by a live UK and Ireland tour, starting in Dublin’s Liberty Hall on April 10 and ending at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on April 20.