Ange Postecoglou has insisted Champions League qualification is not the equivalent of a Willy Wonka golden ticket and will be meaningless unless Tottenham can build on it this summer.

Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday with both clubs vying for fourth spot, which will guarantee a place in Europe’s elite competition.

Fifth could also secure Champions League football, but Postecoglou – without naming them – cited Manchester United and Newcastle as examples of teams who have failed to kick on after finishing in the top four last season.

“There are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last year, had a good season. Does that guarantee anything the following season? No,” Postecoglou stated.

“What’s more important is that come the end of this year, we’ve got a team that’s going to challenge the following year and keep growing. Right now, the most important thing is us, our identity and our football.

“It’s not a Willy Wonka golden ticket, you know? It just gets you a year in the Champions League, but if you don’t build on that or grow from that, it is meaningless, I think anyway, because we’re not in it for participation, we’re in it to win things.

“Yes, if we make Champions League this year it means we’ve progressed from last year, but has our football progressed?

“Are we a better team? Are we a stronger team? Are we going to improve in the summer to make sure that next year we are going to be even better?

“That’s much more important to me. My target this year has always been to create a team that I hope will lay strong foundations for moving forward being a team that can win things. That’s where it begins and ends.

“Logically as you say, if we’ve improved and make Champions League, it means we’ve had a decent year. But that isn’t going to give me any comfort if we’re not playing the football that I want to play and we haven’t improved in the off-season to make sure we’re ready for the next step.”

Tottenham, who will have Pedro Porro back for the Villa Park trip but remain without Richarlison (knee), are also an example of a club who failed to progress after Champions League qualification in 2022.

Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte left 10 months after he secured fourth spot with Spurs, then going on to finish outside of the European spots last season.

It resulted in fan unrest before Postecoglou’s arrival united the fanbase, but supporters have expressed their frustration this week following changes to season ticket prices.

Spurs will increase season tickets prices by six per cent next season and, from the 2025-26 season, there will be no new senior concession season tickets available.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust were “dismayed” by the six per cent increase and labelled the changes to senior concessions as “unacceptable”, while a new fans group called Save Our Seniors has been created in an effort to co-ordinate a campaign to make the club reverse its decision.

Postecoglou said: “Supporters are the lifeblood of any football club and I am not going to try to dictate how they feel.

“They have a voice, they have a strong voice and avenues to express their opinions. I will always abide by that and accept that.”

Jane Chapple-Hyam could saddle her first Cheltenham Festival runner on a rare foray to the National Hunt scene if Stavvy sneaks into the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.

Although most commonly associated with big-race success on the Flat, Staavy earnt his shot at Prestbury Park glory when cruising to a nine-length success at Southwell last month.

That was his handler’s first ever victory under National Hunt rules and the intention is for the four-year-old to be declared for the Grade One event, even though his spot in the final line-up is not guaranteed, with a safety factor of 24 meaning seven of the 31 confirmed entrants could miss out.

Chapple-Hyam is hoping for some good fortune at declaration time on Monday to enable herself and her staff the chance to experience the Festival for the first time, having enjoyed plying their trade amongst the jumps fraternity with Stavvy this winter.

She said: “I haven’t got a runner just yet as he needs two not to declare, so I’m going to have to wait and see!

“The plan is to run but we have a ballot number and we need two not to run, so it’s not certain just yet.

“The staff have enjoyed it and it has been good fun. It’s been a wet winter and it has given the yard a bit of flavour and something to enjoy which has been good.

“He won well at Southwell considering there was an odds-on shot in the field. It was heavy ground and that shows that if Cheltenham was to go slow or dead, then he is able to handle that.”

“The owners have enjoyed watching him progress and he was bought to be a Flat runner, but he is showing us enough to have a go at this. If he gets in, he won’t let us down.”

Stavvy was ridden to victory at Southwell by Bryony Frost, who has also encroached on Flat territory recently to put the big-race outsider through his paces at home in Newmarket.

Chapple-Hyam is hoping the 28-year-old will be available to do the steering if making the cut for Wednesday’s Grade One event – with the gelding available at odds of 100-1, the same price Mudawin was when landing the Ebor for the Australian native in 2006.

She added: “Bryony is jocked up at the moment but it all depends what Mr Nicholls does with his three entries and he obviously has first call – so that’s another thing I will have to sit and wait on and I just have to wait for her agent to let me know if she is available or not.

“As long as the horse stays fit and well until Wednesday, we hope to be competing and I hope Bryony is available to ride him because she has sat on him twice (on course) and has come and ridden him here at home in Newmarket.

“Mudawin won the Ebor at 100-1, so it’s never say never.”

Erik ten Hag believes he may have won up to 75 of his first 100 matches as Manchester United boss was it not for an injury list he claims no team would be able to cope with.

This has been a poor second season in the hotseat for the under-pressure Dutchman, who suffered a 3-1 defeat at rivals Manchester City last weekend as he brought up a century of matches in charge.

Ten Hag had to field a patched-up team against the Premier League champions and absentee-hit United will again be without a host of first-team players for Saturday’s clash with embattled Everton.

Marcus Rashford and Jonny Evans have been passed fit after coming off in the Manchester derby, but Omari Forson has joined their lengthy list of injuries ahead of the weekend.

“That’s the good news, (Rashford and Evans) recovered after the derby, so they are available,” boss Ten Hag said.

“For the rest it is the same squad apart from Omari Forson. He dropped out. He has an injury.

“Mason Mount, I think he is in a good spell now and he will return shortly. I think after the international break.

“For next week, some players are planning to return hopefully.

“When the process will continue like it is now Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka I expect them to be available for our game against Liverpool. (Rasmus) Hojlund similar, yeah.”

Defeat in next weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against rivals Liverpool will end United’s last remaining route to silverware this term.

Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup in his first campaign and led the side to third in the Premier League – a far cry from their current place in sixth, 11 points off fourth-placed Aston Villa with 11 games to go.

Injuries have played a key role in this season’s drop-off and without such issues the Dutchman believes he would have won far more than 61 of his first 100 matches at the helm.

“It tells that we are in the right direction,” Ten Hag said of his win ratio.

“So, imagine if we had many more players available, not so many setbacks in injuries, it could have been easily 70 or 75 wins and that tells the bright future of this team when players are available.

“Because if you compare it, you compare it with other managers or other teams who were in a build-up stage, or with previous managers in this big club, then you can see there is a bright future.

“Also, I think it’s a good balance in ages in this squad, where young players, middle-aged players, experienced players together.

“Imagine when they are available. As I said, we could have easily win from 100 games 75 and that’s a big difference I think with the stats you mentioned.”

Long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are others sidelined right now, unbalancing a side clearly lacking strength in depth.

“No team can deal with this, with so many injuries,” Ten Hag added. “I think we are playing to maximum levels if you take in the availability of the players.

“So, when you miss so many key players over many parts of the season, then obviously the results, the performances will not be (the same as) when the players are available.

“We have seen when the players were available like in January and February our performances were very good.

“And I think from that moment when the players were not even fit, they could have done even better when they are 100 per cent fit in that moment but they were not.”

Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel said scoring his first Champions League goal was "wild", as he reflected on an "incredible and unforgettable moment".

The 18-year-old joined the Bundesliga giants from Rennes in July 2022, after making just 10 competitive appearances for the French club's first team, and quickly wrote his name into Bayern's history books.

He became their youngest-ever goalscorer when he netted in a 5-0 win over Viktoria Cologne in the DFB-Pokal at the age of 17 years and 126 days.

Tel followed that up by marking his Bundesliga debut with a goal in a 2-2 draw with Stuttgart less than two weeks later, claiming the record of Bayern's youngest scorer in the competition.

This season, he has continued the theme of getting big goals to commemorate special occasions, and the youngster reflected on his memorable impact in the Champions League by scoring what turned out to be the winner in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester United in Bayern's group-stage opener.

Tel told FedEx's Outside the Box: "The coach called me over, 'Mathys, it's time for you to go on'.

"I'm in my own bubble, I focus on getting out onto the pitch. I get ready to make a difference for my team.

"The game against Manchester United, it was quite a different atmosphere, because it's the biggest competition, the best players in the world, the biggest teams in the world. The mental preparation was really important for me.

"I came on as a left winger and then the game started. Everything went so fast. That's when my head exploded. The stadium went wild. Everybody went wild. It was an incredible and unforgettable moment."

That goal is one of seven that Tel has scored this season, already beating his tally of six from his debut campaign, and his style has drawn comparisons to fellow Frenchman, Kylian Mbappe.

However, Tel's focus is on his own game, and not comparisons to others.

"I've achieved quite a lot but today, I want more, I want to keep going. I still have a lot to learn. So, I come onto the pitch with a great deal of desire and ambition," said Tel.

"What I'm working on in training is my movement through different zones to be able to score goals. I have my own way of playing. I run fast, I try to create chances, I try to score a lot."

After a season and a half in Munich, in which he won the Bundesliga last term, Tel has already cemented himself into the team, and chosen to extend his time there, signing a new long-term contract that will see him stay at the club until 2029.

Tel added: "The FC Bayern transfer was an incredible time for me. My hard work had paid off.

"This is what makes me such an ambitious player today. I was immediately welcomed like a new member of the family. I wasn't sidelined.

"All the players came to me; they helped me and included me straight away. They would tell me: 'If you need anything, you can come find me'".

Mathys Tel featured in episode one of FedEx's 'Outside the Box' content series. To watch the full episode, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXrG24OQEY

Danny Care was presented with his national academy report in anticipation of his 100th cap and the England scrum-half jokes that the assessment made two decades ago is still accurate now.

Care will become the sixth England men’s Test centurion if he steps off the bench in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match against Ireland with his extended family, including his wife Jodie and three children, all present at Twickenham.

When the squad gathered on Thursday to celebrate the occasion, they were read out the 37-year-old’s hand-written Under-18 report that had been obtained by attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

“Wiggy got handed it at our training camp in York last week and was asked to give it to me. He said ‘there’s no way I’m giving it to him yet. I’m going to have some fun first’,” Care said.

“He did a little bit of a montage of good and bad bits from my career. The report said ‘he lacks a bit of physicality, box-kicking is slightly inconsistent’. I’d say 18 years later it’s still the same!

“The cool line at the end of it was ‘future England player’. There was also ‘he tries a bit too much and makes a few mistakes, but he’ll have a crack’.

“Wigglesworth had a bit of fun with that and it’s come a full circle. I’m still quite similar, I’d say.”

Care’s passage to the milestone has been far from plain sailing after being dropped by Eddie Jones in 2018, resulting in four years spent in the international wilderness until his dazzling form for Harlequins forced a recall.

Back in the saddle for the 2022 tour to Australia, he was then hauled off before half-time of the Sydney decider and once again he appeared to have been frozen out.

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But upon Steve Borthwick’s appointment as Jones’ successor in time for the 2023 Six Nations, the Test odyssey of England’s most attacking scrum-half was given a new lease of life.

“As a parent you want to inspire your kids and if they can maybe have a look at my career and go ‘dad didn’t give up, he kept trying’, then maybe there’s a message out there for them to believe in yourself and keep going,” he said.

“Because it would have been quite easy for me to sack it off and not want to do it any more.

“But I’ve always had that drive to wear the shirt again. It might be my last opportunity to wear it at Twickenham, the stadium where I’ve played at a lot of times, so I’m desperate to get out there on the weekend and have some fun.

“I’ve just tried to embrace these moments because it’s not going to last forever. That’s what I’ve been telling the young lads in the team – embrace it and enjoy it.”

“Now I’m still here blagging it! I still think a lot of people can’t believe I’m here – I’m the same.”

It is fitting that Care will reach the century as a replacement having made the role of giving England zip and energy late in games his own. With 56 substitute appearances already made, no Test player has appeared more off the bench.

“Everyone always asks me if I get annoyed being on the bench and I genuinely don’t. It’s not that I prefer it, but I love it,” he said.

“I love that role because you’re on the pitch at the end. You have the ability to help your team win the game and you’re on the pitch for the final whistle. When you’re a starter as a nine, you very rarely play the 80 minutes these days.”

Ben Stokes bagging a wicket with his first ball in 251 days was described as “magical” by England assistant Jeetan Patel on an otherwise difficult day in Dharamsala.

England appeared bereft after a wicketless first session on day two of the fifth Test as hundreds from Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110) carried India into a position of outright dominance.

Stokes had one trump card left and used it in the second over after lunch, bowling competitively for the first time since July 1 last year and producing a beauty which thudded into Rohit’s off stump.

India closed on 473 for eight and a lead of 255 after England fought back in the final session, while Stokes’ instant impact and his five-over spell which yielded one for 17 augurs well for the future.

“He’s a freak,” said Patel. “It was almost written in the stars that he was going to bowl a jaffa first up. It’s magical, isn’t it? It’s so nice to see him back.

“He came on to bowl when the English crowds are waking up; they’re flicking on the TV and the first thing they see is Ben Stokes bowling a really good delivery to Rohit Sharma.”

Stokes has been a specialist batter for the last eight months and had surgery in November to remove a bone spur and reinforce his meniscus with stitches to try to resolve a longstanding left knee issue.

Stokes had made a “pinky promise” with England’s physiotherapist Ben Davies not to bowl on this tour but he has progressed well enough in his recovery and been operating at full tilt in practice recently.

Having teased the possibility of resuming his all-rounder status in recent weeks, the England captain broke his vow to Davies and showed he was worth the wait but barely acknowledged his breakthrough.

“We all know how we can round our attack out, especially in conditions like these where you’ve usually got two spinners, two seamers and then you want your third in Stokesy,” said Patel.

“It was nice to see him back at the crease but we’ve just got to be careful we don’t push him too far, it’s still early days. It’s exciting to see him support the bowlers on a day where it’s a hard slog.”

England’s hopes of a consolation win to end the series with a 3-2 loss steadily slipped away on Friday, with the efforts of Rohit and Gill added to by debutant Devdutt Padikkal (65) and Sarfaraz Khan (56).

All of India’s top five made fifty-plus scores but they lurched from 376 for three to 428 for eight as Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley made inroads, plugging away despite toiling for much of the day.

Off-spinner Bashir was tireless and claimed 44-5-170-4, while slow left-armer Hartley was similarly resolute and snared Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the same over in his 39-3-126-2.

The pair’s prospects of game time for their counties this summer are uncertain, with Bashir behind Jack Leach in the Somerset pecking order, while Hartley’s Lancashire have signed Nathan Lyon.

“My work continues when they are not with England,” said former New Zealand off-spinner Patel. “I am not the sort of bloke who is going to leave them in the lurch.

“It’s probably too far away to talk about it. But it would be nice to see these guys get more opportunities to bowl, get more overs in them, because they obviously have something to offer.”

Owner Rich Ricci insists the Mares’ Hurdle remains “Plan A” for Lossiemouth at next week’s Cheltenham Festival, despite the increasing clamour for her to take on the boys in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

Winner of the Triumph Hurdle 12 months ago, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was so impressive on her reappearance on Cheltenham’s Trials day card in late January that many called for her to take on the mighty Constitution Hill in Tuesday’s feature event.

While the Mares’ Hurdle was immediately put forward as her most likely objective, the subsequent defection of the reigning champion led to Mullins saying he supposed “a conversation will be had” regarding the possibility of switching Lossiemouth to the big one.

However, with Mullins now responsible for the red-hot favourite for the Champion Hurdle in the form of last year’s runner-up State Man, it appears almost certain Lossiemouth will be taking the perceived easier option on the same afternoon.

“We all know that five-year-olds have a challenging record in the Champion Hurdle and we learned a lot last year with Vauban – look how he struggled and he’s a fine horse,” Ricci told Sky Sports Racing.

“This year we said to ourselves ‘let’s just take our time with the mare, she’s very young’ – she had a hard season last year and she didn’t run until Trials day this season.

“The plan was always to run in the Mares’ Hurdle, keep one eye on the Champion in case it cut up, but the intention has always been to run in the Mares’ and hopefully if she’s good enough come back and have a real go at the boys next year.

“I know a lot people would be thinking about running her in the Champion Hurdle, but if you look at her best ratings and times not one of them would have won a Champion Hurdle in the last 10 years, so I think we’re doing the right thing.

“We’ll keep an eye on the Champion Hurdle in case it cuts up further, but I think Plan A is to run in the Mares’ Hurdle.”

Lossiemouth will be tackling two and a half miles for the first time on Tuesday, but Ricci is optimistic her stamina will last out over the extra distance.

He added: “She seems to be maturing and settling a bit, the trip is a slight concern as she’s never won over it, but they all think she’ll get it and on breeding she should get it.

“She’s certainly our best chance of the week, so we’re looking forward to seeing her on Tuesday.”

Another Ricci-owned star set to be in action on the opening day of the Festival is Gaelic Warrior, who is poised to drop back in trip for the Arkle Trophy.

Although the six-year-old has displayed a preference for going right-handed, he has finished second at Cheltenham in each of the past two years and Ricci hopes he can put a disappointing run at the Dublin Racing Festival behind him.

“He’s a nut job and a bit of a knucklehead at the racecourse,” he said.

“He jumps a bit right and prefers going right-handed and probably the easiest thing to do with him is to take him to Fairyhouse and Punchestown, but there’s only one Cheltenham Festival so we’ll take our chance again.

“He’s run there twice and run well twice. We’re leaning at the moment towards running him in the Arkle.

“I don’t know what happened the last day, no one can explain it, he just sort of spat the dummy. He seems to be back in better form and I’m hoping you’ll see a much better performance than you did at the Dublin Racing Festival.”

Monkfish looked a genuine Gold Cup contender after winning the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase three years ago, but subsequently spent two years on the sidelines.

He notched his first win since his return in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park in late January and while the Stayers’ Hurdle remains an option, Mullins has suggested he may belatedly get his tilt at Gold Cup glory next Friday.

Ricci added: “Willie keeps talking about the Gold Cup, (but) we haven’t engaged much on Monkfish.

“It would appear to me that the natural race would be the Stayers’ Hurdle as he hasn’t jumped a fence in public over the last three years and he was very good the last day in the Galmoy. That being said, if it comes up soft he may go for the Gold Cup, that’s what Willie is intending to do at the moment.

“We won’t talk about it until next week, but the fact that Willie is talking about that, given the level of the competition (in the Gold Cup), means the horse is in great nick and in great form.

“We always thought he was a Gold Cup horse and maybe this is the year he’ll take his chance.”

The Ricci squad also includes Allegorie De Vassy, who will look to go one better than last year in the Mares’ Chase, and popular veteran Sharjah, who has been placed twice in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and this year looks set to contest the Turners Novices’ Chase.

The owner believes Bialystok has a “great each-way chance” in the County Hurdle and that Mercurey may “outrun his odds” in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.

After making history by becoming the youngest British driver to step foot in a Formula One machine at a Grand Prix weekend last October, teenager Ollie Bearman is moving up another gear with his F1 debut for Ferrari at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old, who turns 19 in May, has been called up as a last-minute stand-in for Carlos Sainz, who has been diagnosed with appendicitis and requires surgery.

Bearman was barely three months old when Fernando Alonso won his first world championship in 2005 – but on his F1 debut in Mexico City, five months ago – the Essex-born teen finished ahead of the double world champion.

“That was an added bonus,” he said with a broad smile.

Competing for American outfit Haas, Bearman finished 15th in first practice in Mexico, only 1.6 seconds slower than triple world champion Max Verstappen, and three tenths adrift of Nico Hulkenberg – a veteran of 200 grands prix – in the other Haas. He was also speedier than Alonso.

Five rookies were fielded at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and Bearman was quickest of them all.

Raised in Chelmsford and schooled at King Edward VI Grammar, Bearman joined Ferrari’s driver academy, aged only 16.

Bearman had just won both the German and Italian Formula Four championships, and his performances made those at Maranello sit up and take note.

He quit school – despite initial resistance from his mother, Terri – left the family home in Chelmsford and moved to Modena, a dozen miles north of Ferrari’s headquarters in northern Italy. Two years on, and his Italian twang is noticeable.

“Maybe I got a bit lucky not to get the Essex accent,” he joked, in an interview with the PA news agency.

“A lot of people have told me my accent has changed even if I don’t notice it. I spend a lot of time with Italians and to communicate with people where English is not their first language is not easy, so I have changed my word order and ended up with this everywhere accent.

“When I moved to Modena it happened pretty quickly. It was like going to university two years early, but I have loved every moment so far.

“My mum was very pro-school and very pro-education, but we managed to convince her in the end.

“I miss my family, my two dogs – I have an English Bull Terrier and a Boston Terrier and they are very cute – and that is the negative side. But the food in Italy is a big chunk above the English stuff and the weather is better, too.”

Following four victories in his rookie Formula Two season – the feeder series to F1 – Bearman was thrust into the spotlight in Mexico City, eclipsing Lando Norris as the sport’s youngest Brit.

Norris, now in his sixth season, was three months shy of his 19th birthday when he took part in practice for McLaren in Belgium in 2018. Bearman turned 18 last May.

When Lewis Hamilton made his F1 bow, Bearman was only 18 months old. Yet in October, he shared the same asphalt as the seven-time world champion.

“When I heard Hamilton was coming up behind me on a push lap I was like, ‘wow, I will get out of the way’,” he added.

However, it was Hamilton’s former McLaren team-mate, the 2009 world champion Jenson Button, who was Bearman’s childhood hero.

“I heard Jenson was praising me on Sky and that was amazing for me to hear,” he adds.

“I don’t know why, but he was always the guy I loved and really looked up to. It is cool that he recognised my performance in practice and I will try to speak to him here – that is my goal.”

Bearman remains in F2 this season after completing practice for Haas – effectively Ferrari’s B team – four months ago in Abu Dhabi.

But he misses this weekend’s round due to his stand-in responsibilities for Ferrari.

“It is really cool that I have been given this opportunity,” he said. “My whole career has been a pinch-yourself moment, and this is another one.

“Ferrari is such an elusive team. They are an iconic brand, they have an iconic colour and they have the best-looking car on the grid. They are putting a lot of trust in me, and loyalty is an important part of this paddock.

“Of course my goal is to become a Ferrari driver and I need to do that with my performances on track. Today was an amazing moment and one I will savour for years to come.

“It is a shame it was only practice, but it is all part and parcel of the work we have been doing to get to the top.”

This Saturday night, Bearman will become only the 12th British driver to compete for Ferrari and the first Englishman since Nigel Mansell in 1990.

Bearman will get a first taste of his Ferrari in final practice, which gets under way at 1630 local time (1330GMT) on Friday ahead of qualifying at 2000 (1700GMT).

Richard Hannon possesses a strong hand in Saturday’s BetMGM Lady Wulfruna Stakes at Wolverhampton – but stresses Group One performer Shouldvebeenaring will not be in optimum condition for his seasonal reappearance.

Owned by Middleham Park Racing, the four-year-old sets a clear standard on what he achieved last season, finishing the campaign by placing in top tier events both at Haydock and ParisLongchamp.

He drops to Listed level for his return to action, but with many big days and a long summer ahead of him, Hannon has warned the mount of Sean Levey will not be fully tuned up for his Dunstall Park appearance.

Hannon said: “He’s going to need it badly, it is going to be quite a busy year for him and we’re just giving him a run to get him ready for some of the bigger races later in the year.

“He’ll enjoy having a run round there and he might still win, but I imagine he will improve massively on this whatever he does.”

Hannon has won this race twice in the last four years and is also represented by 2021 champion Mums Tipple, who although well held after meeting trouble in running at Lingfield recently, is expected to come on for the run in the hands of Hollie Doyle.

“Mums Tipple has had the advantage of having a run and he won’t be far away, he’s working great,” continued Hannon.

While both Shouldvebeenaring and Mums Tipple are proven performers, Geoff Oldroyd’s Doctor Khan Junior is very much taking a step into the unknown on his first try in Pattern company.

Proven in the West Midlands, the five-year-old is unbeaten in his last four outings – all on the all-weather – and his handler feels there is no better time than the present to test the waters at a higher level.

“He just keeps progressing and we’ve got to the stage now where he is rated 99 and it is probably going to be hard in handicaps,” explained Oldroyd.

“There aren’t that many races around for him at the moment, so we’re just going to pop him up into a Listed race and see how we get on.

“He likes Wolverhampton and comes alive around there, so while he’s healthy and in good nick, it’s probably a good time to find out if he is good enough to go up in that grade.”

Another attempting to make her mark at this level is Nine Tenths, who has always been a consistent performer for trainer William Haggas and owners St Albans Bloodstock and having gained black type when second to Dear My Friend at Lingfield last month, will now bid to go one better.

“She’s quite lightly raced for a four-year-old but she has been very consistent and I think she has only been out of the first four once in her career to date,” said the owners’ racing manager Richard Brown.

“She got her black type last time which is important and she looks to have a fair chance of getting some more. Whether that is winning black type though, I don’t know and we will find out.

“Richard Hannon’s horse will be hard to beat on the ratings, but she’s fit and well and ready to go and we’ve obviously got William (Buick) on board which is always a great help. We’re hoping for a big run and she goes there match fit, which we hope will give us some bit of advantage.”

Course-and-distance winners Misty Grey (David O’Meara) and Intervention (Mick Appleby) complete the sextet heading to post for this seven-furlong feature.

Mikel Arteta said it was a great honour to be awarded the Premier League’s manager of the month award for February.

The Arsenal boss led his side to five straight league wins last month.

He credited the group effort of his players and staff during a successful period in north London.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Brentford on Saturday, Arteta said: “It’s a great honour in this league to get recognised in this way so I want to say thank you to the team and the staff for always being supportive and making this happen.”

Out-of-favour goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will return to the XI because first-choice David Raya is not eligible to face his parent club.

Arteta, who has no regrets about signing Ramsdale for a reported fee of £30million in 2021, highlighted their personal bond.

“The connection on a personal level goes two ways pretty much and I’m really happy that we made the call as a club to sign him,” he added.

“It was very controversial to start with but we wanted to change his career in a powerful way and we’re really happy.”

Arsenal have scored 21 goals across their last four wins against Sheffield United, Newcastle, Burnley and West Ham.

The Spanish boss hailed his side’s attacking form in those games, also highlighting their defensive performances in that time in which they conceded just once.

Arsenal’s form has put them two points off the top the of the table and if they continue their winning form and Manchester City draw with Liverpool on Sunday then they will find themselves in first place.

“It’s great because obviously it shows the quality and the way that the team is showing,” Arteta said.

“It shows the way we’re scoring the goals as well, not only the manner but the personnel as well which is a really positive thing to see.

“Defensively we’re conceding very little too so those two things together are powerful to get results, consistency and we want more.”

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is relishing his forthcoming personal challenge with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

The two title rivals meet at Anfield on Sunday in the biggest game of the season so far when the irresistible force of the Norway striker will come up against the immovable object which is Van Dijk.

Both players are currently in peak form and their duel will be a game within the game but the Dutchman knows it will not just be the result of their individual battle which will determine the outcome.

“It’s obviously going to be a massive game for both sides and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of facing the treble winners,” he told the PA news agency.

“It’s always good to come up against one of the best and most in-form strikers in the world.

“He is a natural goalscorer, he has proven it and his numbers are speaking for themselves so it will be a tough afternoon but it’s a battle I am looking forward to.”

Asked if Haaland, who has scored three times in six appearances for City against Liverpool – well down on his average of almost a goal a game – has caused him problems in the past Van Dijk added: “Of course.

“I’ve caused him problems, he’s caused me problems – that’s how it works. These battles are always tough.

“But like I said I think he is looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to it.”

While the title race is a long way from being decided on Sunday a win for Liverpool would put them four points ahead of City with 10 matches remaining.

Liverpool’s record at Anfield against them is good as they have lost just once – two years ago – since 2003, winning 13 of the last 20 fixtures on home soil.

However, Van Dijk insists nothing should be read into the outcome of this weekend’s game.

“There’s too long to go. Obviously it is a massive game, you can’t deny that,” he added.

“There will be a lot of eyes on it but we have one aim and that’s to try to win the game.

“We are at home and we are looking forward to the big challenge but the big opportunity as well.

“We want to get a good result. That’s the only thing we will try and do, not going out there to make statements.

“But we know we are going to face a team which is very good and it will be tough.”

Liverpool’s 5-1 first-leg win over Sparta Prague in the Czech capital means they already have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

That is a boost ahead of eight days which begin at home to City and finish at Manchester United in the FA Cup, with the return leg against Sparta in between but now less of a complication than it may have been.

Although growing up in touching distance of Prestbury Park, Noel George will be attempting to land a blow for France when Milan Tino becomes the first horse he will saddle at the Cheltenham Festival.

His father Tom George has sent out both Galileo (Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle, 2002) and Summerville Boy (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, 2018) to strike at the showpiece meeting from the Slad training base where George Jr learnt the ropes.

However, the younger George has swapped the Cotswolds for Chantilly, where alongside Amanda Zetterholm he has formed a formidable Anglo-Swedish training partnership that is taking French racing by storm.

It is the exploits of superstar chaser Il Est Francais that first alerted a British audience to George and Zetterholm’s training talents, but the JP McManus-owned juvenile Milan Tino is the source of the duo’s Cheltenham dreams as he prepares for a shot at the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on the opening day of Festival action.

George said: “He did his last piece of work on Tuesday and worked very nicely. He is heading over on Sunday and we’ve got our fingers crossed for a good run.

“It’s our first Cheltenham Festival runner and it’s a real dream. The fact we are coming over from France with one with a live chance is really exciting.”

Milan Tino is no stranger to Cheltenham having visited twice already this season, each time finishing third and only having Triumph Hurdle favourite Sir Gino and the highly-talented Burdett Road ahead of him in his most recent trip to Prestbury Park on Festival Trials day.

He has also finished in the money in competitive juvenile heats at Auteuil and George is hoping the handicapper has given the four-year-old a real chance of what can be classed as a rare Festival success for France.

“To start with he was off 136 because of his French form and the handicapper seems to think off his English runs he is now 126, so I hope we have a few pounds in hand I guess,” continued George, with Milan Tino a best price of 8-1 at Cheltenham.

“Sir Gino I knew before from when he ran in the Prix Wild Monarch and he has always been a bit special and Burdett Road is also obviously a very good ex-Flat horse, so we go there with a live chance and I’m really looking forward to it.”