Related items

• VAR Darren England discusses avoiding mistakes in interview for children’s book

  The official responsible for Saturday’s VAR blunder broke his own golden rule when he wrongly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool at Tottenham, a new book has revealed.

  Darren England submitted to a Q&A for ‘The Football School Encyclopedia’ in which, asked ‘What is the hardest part of the job?’ he responds: “Making sure you do not make a mistake that impacts the outcome of the match.

  “This is the worst thing for us.”

  By a remarkable quirk of timing, the book, which is written by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton and aimed at younger readers, will be published on Thursday and offers insight into one of those responsible for what veteran former referee Keith Hackett described in the Telegraph as an episode of “staggering incompetence”.

  England and his VAR assistant Dan Cook have been stood down from future appointments while Professional Game Match Officials Limited chiefs undertake a full review of the “significant human error” that it concedes was made during the game.

  In the Q&A, which was conducted prior to the incident, England continues: “I try to prepare the same way for every match, which is to stay calm and relaxed.

  “During the match I remain very focused and just take each decision I need to make, one at a time.

  “I do not worry about past decisions in the game as it is all about the next decision.”

  The Football School Encyclopedia is aimed at younger readers and boasts its appeal to “anyone with a thirst for knowledge, amazing true stories, terrific trivia, brain-busting quizzes, eye-popping colour, laugh-out-loud cartoons on every page – and everything you want to know about football!”

• Steven Davis vows to ‘give his all’ after being put in interim charge of Rangers

  Steven Davis is determined to  make the most of his chance in the Rangers hotseat as he admitted it came sooner than expected.

  The 38-year-old Northern Ireland international, who had two successful spells as a player at Ibrox, was asked by the Gers board on Sunday evening to take the reins until they appoint a new permanent boss following the departure of Michael Beale.

  The former Gers midfielder, who had been returning to fitness at the Ibrox club after a serious knee injury despite his contract expiring in the summer, will be assisted by fellow former Rangers players Alex Rae and Steven Smith, as well as coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.

  Speaking in Cyprus ahead of the Europa League clash with Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night, Davis spoke about a “whirlwind” few days while addressing his future.

  “Obviously it came out of the blue,” said Davis, who revealed Nicolas Raskin and Kemar Roofe have returned from injury.

  “Sunday evening, I was just at home. It wasn’t a call that I was expecting.

  “Things moved very fast and I came in on Monday morning and I started to work.

  “It was James Bisgrove (chief executive) and Craig Robertson (board member) that I received the phonecall from.

  “Obviously it was a bit of a whirlwind after that. I went off the phone and I had a few conversations but my decision was made very quickly.

  “I was honoured by the fact the board had that conversation and my name came up and they put their trust in me to try and do this job.

  “I’m going to give it my all to try and be successful.

  “Listen, there’s not been any conversation in terms of a time frame. I all happened very quickly.

  “I was asked to come in and take the game tonight. How things play out after that I’m not too sure.

  “Regarding my feelings around it, I’ve obviously got ambitions. I did not quite expect it to happen quite as soon.

  “I’m just determined really to make the most of the opportunity I’ve been given and we will see what develops from there.

  “I’ve got the experience of Alex Rae in beside me and Colin Stewart and Steven Smith and Brian.

  “I’ve had a lot of messages from managers I’ve worked under. Unfortunately I’ve not had a chance to respond because it’s been quite intense preparing for this game.

  “I appreciate the support I’ve been given but I haven’t had the chance to reach out to anyone or felt the need to just yet.”

  Beale departed the club following the 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Light Blues seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic, albeit they beat Real Betis 1-0 in their first Europa League fixture.

  Davis insists it is time for everyone at the club to “step up”.

  He said: “‘Listen, there’s a lot of character within the dressing room. There’s a lot of leaders in there as well.

  “Everyone knows it’s time to step up. The great thing about football is you get another opportunity to turn things around.

  “It’s not a position we want to be in. Everybody is hurting from it.

  “The main focus is first and foremost getting a result on Thursday and building on it from there.

  “We won our opening group game. We are in a strong position and we want to build on that

  “I think for us we just want to give the boys the freedom to go out and play to their strengths really.”

• How does Manchester United’s current struggle compare to previous poor starts?

  Manchester United have endured their worst start to a season since 1986, following Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat at home to Galatasaray.

  United have lost six of their opening 10 games in all competitions, a tally not seen since the latter stages of Ron Atkinson’s managerial reign.

  Here, the PA news agency compares their current struggles with previous poor starts.

  37-year low

  Erik ten Hag’s side were booed off the pitch on Tuesday after another disappointing performance at Old Trafford.

  The 3-2 loss to Galatasaray was United’s second in successive Champions League matches – following a 4-3 reverse against Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich – to go with four Premier League defeats.

  The Red Devils succumbed 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, compounding previous losses against Brighton, Arsenal and Tottenham.

  A 3-0 win over Palace in the Carabao Cup last week was by far their most convincing of the season, with narrow Premier League victories against Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Wolves doing little to silence the doubters.

  United’s total of six defeats in 10 games is their highest since the 1986-87 season – the year that Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of the club.

  Under Ferguson’s predecessor Atkinson, United lost six of their first eight Premier League games, with a 5-1 win over Southampton in mid-September providing only temporary respite.

  Atkinson was sacked in early November with United in the bottom four of the First Division.

  No defence

  United’s main issues under Ten Hag appear to be in defence, with the Dutchman having watched his side concede 18 goals already this term.

  They have shipped at least three goals on four separate occasions – at home to Galatasaray and Brighton and away to Bayern and Arsenal.

  Goalkeeper Andre Onana is yet to prove himself to be a significant upgrade on David de Gea, while a back four shorn of key injury absentees such as Lisandro Martinez, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw looked all at sea against Wilfried Zaha and co on Tuesday.

  Their total number of goals conceded is higher than the 13 shipped in the first 10 games in 1986-87, and surpasses anything seen in the Ferguson era or subsequently.

  United also struggled defensively at the start of 2022-23, conceding 17 goals in the first 10 games – a tally matched only by Louis van Gaal’s first season (2014-15) and one of Ferguson’s early campaigns at the club (1989-90).

  However, Ten Hag oversaw a significant improvement in the remainder of last season, with United going on to keep a Premier League-leading 17 clean sheets across the whole campaign.