Following Jamaica’s historic performances in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals in Dallas with a third-place finish recently, the Reggae Boyz have moved in the latest editions of the FIFA Rankings and the CONCACAF Rankings Index. In the CONCACAF Rankings Index, the Reggae Boyz moved up from sixth to fifth as Jamaica gained 92 quality points, the most by any team in CONCACAF in the latest index.

In the April 2024 edition of the FIFA World Rankings, Jamaica moved up from 57th to 55th. Jamaica also remains number one in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

President of the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts is delighted with these movements, stating, “We are certainly pleased to see our national team move up in the CONCACAF and FIFA Rankings respectively. For the first time in our history we landed on the podium in the CONCACAF Nations League and now we eagerly anticipate the busy summer that lies ahead.
Again we are proud of the Boyz and we look forward to them continuing to move up in the rankings.”

The Reggae Boyz will open their account in World Cup Qualifying on June 6 at home against the Dominican Republic before facing Dominica away on June 9. The 2024 edition of the Copa America is slated to run from June 20 to July 14.

While Jamaica’s football teams will be absent from Paris Olympic Games, the country will be represented otherwise, as referees Daneon Parchment and Odette Hamilton have been selected by FIFA to officiate at the global multi-sport spectacle this summer.

The two Jamaicans are among 89 match officials –21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials and six support referees – from 45 countries appointed by the FIFA Referees Committee for the football tournaments at the Games.

Parchment will work as a Video Match official (VAR), while Hamilton has been selected as support staff. 

The women’s tournament will commence on July 25, and conclude with the gold medal match at the Parc des Princes August 10. The men’s competition will begin July 24, with the gold medal match scheduled for August 9, at the same venue.

The match officials’ preparation will be regularly and closely monitored before and during the Olympic Games by a team of FIFA technical trainers, including referees and video assistant referee (VAR) instructors, as well as match analysts, fitness coaches, physiotherapists and sports scientists, all of whom will provide the officials with the best possible guidance and support.

While the Olympic football tournaments are this year’s flagship football competitions, for Parchment and Hamilton, among others, they represent the next important step on the road to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled for 2027.

Arsenal have confirmed that “no obvious cardiac causes” have been found following Frida Maanum’s collapse during the League Cup final victory against Chelsea on Sunday.

The Norwegian midfielder was treated by medical staff after collapsing off the ball during second-half stoppage time at Molineux and was carried off on a stretcher after about seven minutes.

Arsenal went on to win 1-0 and the Gunners confirmed on Tuesday that she did not lose consciousness and travelled back home with the team.

The club have since confirmed that Maanum has undergone “extensive testing”, which has been reviewed by “two leading cardiologists” and there have been “no obvious cardiac causes” found so far.

She has also had a monitoring device fitted to record her heart function and will undergo a “progressive return” to training.

Maanum will not be involved in Norway’s upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Finland and the Netherlands.

A statement on the club website read: “Following the incident during the League Cup final on Sunday, which resulted in Maanum being substituted at the end of normal time, she has undergone extensive testing and support from our medical team at Arsenal.

“The test results have been reviewed by two leading cardiologists and there are no obvious cardiac causes found from these thorough investigations so far.

“Frida has subsequently had a monitoring device fitted to record her heart function and will now undergo a progressive return to training protocol.

“Once Frida has been monitored for a full one-week period, her normal training will be closely reviewed and monitored, before a decision will be made on her returning to play.”

Phil Foden’s stunning hat-trick against Aston Villa stirred up memories of a young Wayne Rooney as the Manchester City midfielder continues to impress this season.

The 23-year-old starred on Wednesday night, restoring City’s lead just before half-time with a free-kick and adding a second in the 62nd minute before completing his treble shortly after.

His performance drew comparisons with Rooney post-match, with TNT Sports host Laura Woods saying: “The third goal, especially. We were chatting about this a second ago, Rio (Ferdinand) was saying it was almost like your Wayne Rooney moment, that something doesn’t go right, you get angry, and you bang in a goal.”

Foden replied: “You know it’s funny you said that because as I was celebrating I was walking with Jackie (Grealish), he also said about the Wayne Rooney goal, said ‘that’s what it reminded me of’.”

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the two players compare.

Goals

Wednesday night’s discussion about the two players came following the similarity in the type of goal scored.

Foden’s third goal sparked the conversation as he secured his hat-trick in sensational style with a thumping top-corner finish just moments after losing the ball outside the box.

The comparison to Rooney’s goal against Newcastle in 2005 followed, where the forward smashed an incredible volley from outside the area into the top corner just moments are complaining to the referee about a foul that was not given.

Introduction to senior football

Both players had slightly different introductions to senior football, with Rooney quickly making a name for himself in the top flight.

The striker made his senior debut for Everton in 2002 aged 16 against Tottenham and scored his first Premier League goal for the Toffees in October that year with a long-range curling shot past England goalkeeper David Seaman which bounced in off the underside of the bar.

Rooney netted 17 goals in 77 appearances before moving to Manchester United in 2004, but compared to Rooney’s breakthrough, Foden has gradually eased into the senior team at Manchester City.

After impressing in City’s youth set-up and for England in the Under-17 World Cup, Foden was included in several matchday squads before making his senior bow as a substitute for City in their Champions League clash against Feyenoord in November 2017.

He earned his full debut in the competition the following month before making his Premier League bow against Tottenham 10 days later and Foden made five league appearances in total for the club in the 2017-18 season, gradually cementing his spot in the City line-up over the following seasons.

Style of play

Although Rooney was deployed as a striker for the most part, he was able to play across the forward line and used his pace well to score and create goals.

As well as being involved in wider positions, towards the end of his time with United Rooney dropped into midfield, especially under manager Louis van Gaal.

Foden displays a similar versatility and the left-footed midfielder can play out wide or in attacking midfield.

His best performances seem to come from a more central position, which is where he played against Villa and admitted post-match that he prefers playing in the middle.

Manager Pep Guardiola also believes playing centrally benefits Foden and said: “When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.”

Stats

After bagging his second hat-trick of the season, Foden now moves onto 21 goals in all competitions, a career best for him.

His first senior treble came in the Manchester derby last campaign where Foden and Erling Haaland both scored three times in City’s 6-3 hammering of their neighbours.

Foden now has three Premier League hat-tricks to his name at the age of 23 and only needs another four to draw level with Rooney, who scored seven in the league.

His total Premier League tally adds up to 49 goals, with 81 in his Manchester City career overall, but he still has plenty of catching up to do with Rooney, who scored 208 times in the top flight and bagged a club-record 253 for Manchester United.

Oleksandr Zinchenko believes Arsenal have proved they can compete with the world’s best teams as the club’s pursuit of domestic and European glory intensifies.

Mikel Arteta’s men kept up the pace with Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City thanks to Wednesday evening’s comfortable 2-0 victory over lowly Luton.

The Gunners are also chasing Champions League success and next week begin a two-legged quarter-final against Bayern Munich.

With the season at a pivotal stage, left-back Zinchenko feels taking four top-flight points from both Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions this term gives his side confidence.

“Yeah, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent because it shows that we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world,” he said.

“It’s not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well – I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others. It shows that Arsenal are ready to fight for it.

“We know that we are fighting for something big this season.”

Martin Odegaard’s 10th strike of the season and an own goal from Daiki Hashioka were enough to dispatch the relegation-threatened Hatters and build on an Easter Sunday stalemate at City.

Arsenal led the title race for much of last season before fading away in the final weeks.

Ukraine international Zinchenko, a four-time Premier League champion during his City days, feels the Gunners must harness that disappointment but concedes only time will tell if they can avoid a similar fate.

“I can’t tell you this right now because there is still a lot of games to play,” the 27-year-old replied when asked if Arsenal have the squad to fight for both the Champions League and Premier League titles.

“We already have this experience from last season, where we were quite far from the others and then in the end we didn’t do what we wanted.

“This experience we need to take with us and then let’s see what is going to happen. This year all of us we’ve got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.”

Arsenal’s final eight top-flight fixtures begin at Brighton on Saturday evening, while they still have to face Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, and Manchester United.

Luton’s quest for survival continues at home to Bournemouth this weekend.

The 18th-placed Hatters have gone 10 league games without victory following defeat at Emirates Stadium but remain just three points from safety.

Manager Rob Edwards said: “We’ve got to recover well and we’ve got to go and attack the game on Saturday.

“Bournemouth’s not going to be easy and I think everyone needs to know that – the last 20 games I think they’re fifth in the form table.

“We’re going to have to be right at it. We’ve got seven games left now so it’s game on. We know it’s time to be delivering points and we’re going to be going for it.”

England coach Sarina Wiegman believes Leah Williamson is ready to make her long-awaited return in Friday’s Euro 2025 qualifier against Sweden.

Williamson trained on her own on Tuesday after coming off at half-time of Arsenal’s Conti Cup final win over Chelsea on Sunday.

But she trained with the group on Wednesday and if she makes it through Thursday’s session unscathed she will be in contention to make her first international appearance in 12 months as the Lionesses begin their qualification campaign.

She has not featured for her country since suffering an ACL injury last April, having pulled out of a training squad in March with a hamstring strain.

“We need to manage it a little bit. She had a full training session on Wednesday, she will be on the pitch today (Thursday), so that looks really good,” Wiegman said.

“We know where she has come from, she is still building but she is in a good place and she is ready, if she comes through today OK.

“It’s just really good that she is back, first of all for herself because she is so excited to come back, that means she is fit, it is good to have a quality player in the squad.

“We are in a good place already and now we are in an even better place.”

Williamson, who returned to club duty in January, captained the Lionesses to glory in Euro 2022 and Wiegman said she would resume her leadership duties if she was selected at Wembley.

“We have another training session. Leah is our team captain – that will not change, but we want to get through this training session first and then see what final decision we make tomorrow,” the Dutchwoman added.

“If she plays, she would be captain, we just want to get through the training session and see how she is and how the team is. She needs that team environment from where she has come.”

Wiegman was asked for her opinion on Emma Hayes’ confrontation with Gunners counterpart Jonas Eidevall after that final at Molineux.

The Chelsea boss said after the game that male aggression was a problem in the women’s game, but Wiegman did not bite.

“It was a great final, very competitive, so the emotion builds up,” she said.

“I haven’t been there in that situation so I really don’t want to comment about that one day before the most important game in a couple of months for us.”

Rio Ferdinand believes Marcus Rashford may have to leave Manchester United to reignite his career.

Rashford’s form has dipped this season in an inconsistent United side, scoring just eight goals in 36 appearances.

The 26-year-old’s off-field lifestyle has also come under the spotlight after he went to a party following October’s derby defeat by Manchester City and reportedly spent an evening at a Belfast nightclub in January before missing the following day’s training due to illness.

Former United defender Ferdinand feels Rashford, whose place in the England squad for Euro 2024 this summer could be in jeopardy, needs to look at the people he surrounds himself with and possibly make a fresh start elsewhere.

“I think it’s a pivotal moment in his career now, he’s not a kid anymore,” Ferdinand told Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast.

“I think there’s a big decision to make, from him. He’s got to look at who’s around him, who are the external people? Are they the right people?

“Are they enabling him to make excuses for himself behind closed doors? Or are they saying ‘look at yourself and be accountable for what you are doing’?

“He needs to look at that and own that and make big decisions.

“When I left West Ham (for Leeds) I could have gone to Chelsea, that’s probably a club I would have preferred to go to at the time. But the reason I went to Leeds was it was out of London and the external people around me, I needed to get away from.

“He might need to go ‘you know what, I’ll get rid of them and stay in Manchester, or I’ve got leave Manchester and get rid of those people’.”

Former United captain Roy Keane suggested a more old-school approach to get Rashford firing again.

He said: “We make excuses for him. There’s a structure, a team around him. There’s no question mark about his ability but there’s something amiss with him.

“A player can have an off spell, or a dip, but he’s certainly not enjoying his football.

“The people around him, family, the manager, who’s on his case every day? There’s nothing wrong with the old fashioned kick up the a*** and going ‘come on, we need more from you’.

“I don’t think there’s anybody on his case. But that doesn’t mean he can’t produce and start running a bit more.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is braced for another Premier League title race that could go down to the final day of the season.

The defending champions are playing catch up in a tight three-way battle with Liverpool and Arsenal.

They kept the pressure on with an impressive 4-1 rout of a depleted Aston Villa side on Wednesday as Phil Foden’s hat-trick highlighted a display closer to their devastating best.

City have been in similar positions before under Guardiola and been able to put together a long winning run to come out on top.

The Catalan remains adamant his side are only third favourites to lift the trophy, but he expects his players to keep up the fight as they seek a fourth straight title.

“If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front,” he said.

“It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.

“But we have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We cannot do anything, we do not play against them any more so we don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”

Even with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland only among the substitutes as next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looms, City turned in a dominant performance.

Although Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener on Wednesday, Guardiola’s side had 25 efforts at goal compared to eight for Villa, with Julian Alvarez a regular threat and substitute Sergio Gomez hitting the post in stoppage time.

But when asked if it was a sign that City were hitting their stride just in time, Guardiola pointedly referenced some of the criticism directed at his side following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

He said: “We were out of the title race three or four days ago and not playing good, the team was not playing like we did the last six seasons. Now we are in the best form in the league? Come on, guys…

“We’ve won a lot of the last games. I cannot say in the game against Arsenal I didn’t recognise my team. We were there all the time, we didn’t create chances because of the quality of defence and because we missed some presence in the box, but the rest, I recognise completely my team.

“That’s why we are calm. As I said, it’s tight, it’s not seven or eight points. It’s close. We have to wait. They have to lose points, otherwise it will not be possible, but again the team has been exceptional this season, exceptional.”

Wednesday’s result was a setback for Villa’s pursuit of a top-four finish, but one that came with a number of key players missing.

Ollie Watkins sat out injured while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled out with a stomach problem after being initially named in the team. In total, there were six changes to the side that started Saturday’s win over Wolves.

However, Emery indicated that both Martinez and Watkins could come into contention to face Brentford at the weekend, while John McGinn will return from suspension.

“We are without some players in some positions and it’s very important again to recover,” Emery said. “We will need these players, and this was also why we try to give some others minutes.”

What the papers say

Bruno Guimaraes could be on the way out at Newcastle in an effort to satisfy Premier League financial rules. According to The Sun, club bosses believe they will face an uphill battle to keep the midfielder, with French giants Paris St Germain leading the chase for his signature.

The Evening Standard says Manchester United have commenced discussions about signing Nice defender Melvin Bard. The 23-year-old is said to be on the verge of a call up for France, and has emerged as an ideal candidate for the Red Devils as they look to bolster their squad with a new left-back.

Leeds are eyeing a return for Kalvin Phillips the Daily Star reports. The midfielder has made just six starts for Manchester City since making a £50million move to the Etihad from Leeds back in 2022. He is currently on loan at West Ham, but it is believed City would be willing to sell him for around £25m, with Leeds among his potential suitors – pending their promotion.

And The Times says Wolves defender Max Kilman is on Manchester United’s summer transfer shortlist.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Dani Ceballos: Newcastle are interested in the Real Madrid midfielder, Mundo Deportivo reports.

Viktor Gyokeres: Caught Offside says the Sporting Lisbon forward is high on Arsenal’s list of striker options.

Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer was fined six weeks’ wages on this day in 2005 for fighting with team-mate Kieron Dyer during a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa.

Bowyer appeared to be the aggressor in the extraordinary scenes at St James’ Park, resulting in the England midfielder being severely censured by his club and warned as to his future conduct.

Both players were sent off and Bowyer was banned for six games by the Football Association as well as being fined by the governing body, lifting the total amount of fines he paid for the incident to £280,000.

Northumbria Police pressed charges and in 2006 Newcastle magistrates issued a £600 fine and ordered Bowyer to pay £1,000 in costs for the offence of “causing harassment, alarm or distress”.

“A moment of madness. Do I regret it? Of course I do. Nobody wants to do that, especially on the big stage, but it’s passion,” said Bowyer when reflecting on the incident in 2022.

“Obviously people have opinions and it goes from one extreme to another, everyone puts two pence in – all of a sudden it was me and Kieron hated each other, but that wasn’t the case.”

Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden can “do whatever he wants” in football after watching him fire Manchester City to a 4-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa with a brilliant hat-trick.

With Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to the bench, Foden moved into a central position and orchestrated the demolition of Villa with an outstanding display, playing a hand in Rodri’s opener and then taking the game away from the visitors after Jhon Duran had levelled.

Foden restored City’s lead with a free-kick in first-half stoppage time when he found the gap that Nicolo Zaniolo left in Villa’s wall, then won it with two excellent goals just after the hour, the last of them a shot into the top corner after he had lost the ball but quickly regained it.

His second hat-trick of the campaign moved Foden on to 21 goals for the season and kept the pressure on in the title race, with the champions one point behind new leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool who host Sheffield United on Thursday.

“What can I say? Three goals,” Guardiola said. “He didn’t start well but I think the goal helped him a lot for the mood. When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.

“He can do whatever he wants. He’s a real top-class player. We know it. But he is still open-minded, he has to understand the game, he has to focus on things, sometimes he’s a bit distracted in exactly what you have to do offensively, defensively, but he has a natural talent – a gift – which is special.

“The work ethic is unbelievable and he has an incredible sense of goal. When he has the ball and he’s attacking the back line he is going to score, you had that feeling. It is not easy to find it and that’s why he’s so special when he’s playing these central positions.”

De Bruyne and Haaland got a breather with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but without them City turned in one of their better performances of the season and a vast improvement on Sunday’s goalless draw against title rivals Arsenal.

“We were better,” Guardiola said. “It’s true we conceded a few transitions and we lost a few balls and when that happens it’s a lesson we have to learn for the next game but we had incredible energy, four-five players up front and it was really good. We created a lot of chances.”

Villa remain fourth but the defeat leaves them only two points above Tottenham, who have a game in hand.

Unai Emery was without the injured Ollie Watkins and then also lost goalkeeper Emi Martinez to a stomach problem after he had been named in the starting line-up. But the Spaniard chose to make several more changes to his side – six in total from Saturday’s win over Wolves.

“It’s clear we were motivated and excited to try to be competitive, trying to keep it consistent like we are in the Premier League, but of course we were playing against Manchester City,” Emery said.

“We were competing until the 60th minute and as well we were trying to build our team with some players who are not playing a lot, we are trying to give them chances to play.

“Even when we were losing 2-1 we had some chances to score with Douglas Luiz, but they were pushing us a lot, they showed us their potential and they deserved to win.

“We will play a lot of matches in the next weeks, starting on Saturday against Brentford, and it was important to try to be intelligent playing against Manchester City. Of course we wanted to win but with some players injured and some players suspended we wanted to get some practice with some players.”

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s fringe players for taking their chances in the 2-0 Premier League victory over Luton.

Captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring before Daiki Hashioka turned the ball into his own net as Arsenal returned to the top of the table, holding a one-point advantage over Liverpool and Manchester City.

Arsenal had just three days to prepare for Wednesday night’s game after Sunday’s goalless draw at title rivals City.

Arteta made five changes for the visit of the Hatters, including the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson while resting Declan Rice among others, and was pleased with what he saw in their first of eight scheduled fixtures in April.

“They responded really well and I’m so happy with that. It was a wonderful game,” Arteta said.

“When they get their moment, they have to take it and they certainly did today. They give me every reason (to pick them) every day.

“If we had lost the game it would’ve been because we made the changes and it’s not as simple as that. You have to do what is right, what they deserve and it’s good confidence.”

With Bukayo Saka injured, Smith Rowe impressed after he was recalled to the XI.

Arteta said: “I love him as a player (Smith Rowe). It’s a joy to watch him with the way he moves and how physical he is as well. He helped us a lot to win the game also today.”

Odegaard was the difference between the sides on the night. The Norwegian combined with Kai Havertz after 24 minutes before rifling an effort into Thomas Kaminski’s bottom left corner.

Arteta talked up the skipper’s influence in helping his side try and claim their first league title since the 2003-04 season.

The Spaniard added: “He’s a really important player and we needed that balance and the chemistry certain players have and how they train, build relationships, Martin is vital to connect. The standard which he sets is outstanding.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards still believes his side can get out of trouble, with the Hatters 18th and three points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest.

Edwards said: “I believe we can do this, with every fibre of my being I believe in this group. We are competing in this league, we have had a lot of injuries and it has knocked our rhythm. We’re in the games we’re playing. We weren’t out of it.”

Roberto De Zerbi admitted Brighton dropped two points in the race for Europe after they were held to a goalless draw at Brentford.

The Seagulls failed to take advantage of their nearest rivals West Ham, Newcastle and Wolves all dropping points a day earlier after a drab encounter in west London.

“We have to make a difference between the performance and the result. I’m really pleased for the performance but we are disappointed for the result,” said Seagulls boss De Zerbi.

“We shot 24 times, we had six shots on target but we didn’t score and we are disappointed because in our head we lost two points.”

The main talking point came in first-half stoppage time when referee Andrew Madley was sent to take a look at the pitchside monitor by the VAR for a potential penalty for a foul by Yoane Wissa on Lewis Dunk.

That turn of events almost always ends with a spot-kick being awarded but, in something of a collector’s item, the on-field official stuck to his guns and ruled in favour of the Bees forward, much to Brighton skipper Dunk’s frustration.

“Fantastic decision,” smiled Bees boss Thomas Frank.

De Zerbi added: “I think the referee was correct, maybe the decision was correct. My assistant told me that at the beginning it was Dunk who made the foul.

“I’ve never seen the referee watch the screen and change the decision of the VAR. I learnt something new today.”

Ivan Toney saw his goal drought stretch to seven matches for Brentford.

The England striker turned inside Jan Paul van Hecke 12 yards out in the first half but lost his footing slightly and Bart Verbruggen saved his scuffed shot.

After the break Toney took aim from 25 yards with a free-kick but it sailed over the crossbar.

Substitute Danny Welbeck had two chances to win it for Brighton in stoppage time but he headed a corner wide and then fizzed a low drive the wrong side of the far post.

It was the first time since November that the Bees had picked up points in back-to-back games, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

“An unbeaten run, finally!” said Frank.

“Yeah, I think it was a good point, a well deserved point, a point that we have missed a lot of times this season.

“If you can’t win, don’t lose, and we got a clean sheet on top of it. That’s going in the right direction so I’m really pleased with that.”

Erik ten Hag has pledged to keep fighting for Champions League qualification but is “realistic” about the difficult task facing injury-hit Manchester United.

After winning the Carabao Cup during a promising first campaign in charge, things have gone downhill this term and the Red Devils’ hopes of returning to the continent’s top competition are fading.

Thursday’s trip to Chelsea is one of nine matches remaining for sixth-placed United, who are 11 points behind Aston Villa in fourth and nine behind Tottenham in what could prove a fifth and final qualification spot.

Saturday’s alarming 1-1 draw at Brentford provided the latest blow to their Champions League hopes in a poor season that has seen Ten Hag’s men ravaged by injuries.

“I have high standards and I would be disappointed if we didn’t qualify,” the United manager said. “I know it will be very difficult because we are not in a good position.

“But we want to win every game, that is the standard we have here among each other. We will keep going and keep believing in those standards. That will be the approach in every game.

“We will keep fighting until the end. I know we are not in a good position. We have to catch up.

“Also I know we have had a lot of problems so I am a realistic man also.

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“In a competition that is so competitive and the teams are so close in terms of levels with each other then also you need the players to be available.”

United have dealt with more than 50 separate injury issues during the campaign, with Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof returning to that list of absentees this week.

Ten Hag says the club “have an idea” why there have been so many issues and that “internally we will deal with it”, but refused to say exactly what that entailed.

The Dutchman did, though, reject suggestions that training intensity was an issue and that he should have brought in a fitness coach, pointing to the need for “very robust players” and the impact of a fixture-packed 18 months.

Ten Hag also suggested some national teams do not look after United’s players as well as others.

“We have national teams, so five times a year you give the players away and you don’t have any impact,” he said.

“It’s not completely true but some national teams we have very good connections and we manage the programmes but there are also others that they do what they want.

“You don’t have anything in hand on what they are doing there.”

The Dutchman’s future is under the spotlight after Ineos took control of football operations at United, who need to learn from the mistakes made at free-spending Chelsea since their Todd Boehly-led takeover.

“I think you need to follow the process,” Ten Hag said. “As I say, we are in a good trend line. There are good young players coming through, they are developing very well in their progress.

“We are in a good way, we are in a good direction and now we have to make the next steps and don’t interrupt this process.”

Mason Mount is in line for his first return to Chelsea since making the summer switch to Old Trafford, fresh from scoring his maiden goal for the club after an injury-hit season.

“I don’t think they wanted to sell him,” Ten Hag said. “They wanted to keep him, they offered him even a new contract many times. But he wants to make this step.

“We were and we are very pleased he is a Man United player because he has great abilities and I’m sure he will contribute and become a big player for Man United.”

Mauricio Pochettino warned his players hard work is still required at Chelsea despite the increase to their status and bank balance that comes with joining the club.

A chaotic campaign that has seen the first-team squad decimated by injuries threatens to peter out, with the club marooned in 12th place ahead of the visit of Manchester United to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

It comes five days after the league’s second-bottom side Burnley left west London with a 2-2 draw despite playing the whole of the second half with 10 men, as relations between the club and its supporters seemed to sink further into discord.

The club has an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley to come later in the month, likely to be their only chance of salvaging a dismal season.

Chelsea are on course for their second bottom-half league finish in a row and Pochettino called on his players to use the final weeks of the campaign to follow his own hard-working example and show supporters why they were signed as part of a £1billion overhaul of the squad.

“When I was in Espanyol, my first job as a coach, I was on the training ground at seven o’clock every morning,” said the Argentinian.

“Then I moved to Southampton, six-thirty. Then Tottenham, seven. Then Paris (St Germain), six in the morning. Now six forty-five. You can ask the guy on security.

“It’s not going to change after 15 years. My passion is here. My motivation is football. You increase your bank account but that cannot put me in a comfortable zone to say ‘now I will arrive at nine o’clock and leave at two o’clock’. I need to keep pushing myself.

“If (a player) arrives from another club where there was less money, less expectation but now I arrive here because people believe I am so good, what do I need to do? It’s to arrive early, it’s to work more, it’s to run more, be focused more.

“It’s more responsibility now. We feel that responsibility.”

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust wrote to the owners and senior management last month to communicate their dismay at the direction the club is taking under the leadership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium.

The letter warned of potentially irreparable damage that is being done to the relationship between the club and its supporters, as the team has gone from being Champions League regulars to a mid-table side in less than two years.

Pochettino rejected the suggestion players have already adopted the view that the season is doomed and there is little left to salvage.

“If you are in a comfort zone, you drop in your level, you drop in your standard,” he said. “I don’t say that that has happened here. Too many other things have happened.”