Theo Bair has agreed to terminate his contract at St Johnstone by mutual consent.

The 23-year-old Canada international forward joined the Perth club from Vancouver Whitecaps in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee.

Bair scored one goal in 31 appearances for the McDiarmid Park club last season.

A statement on Saints’ official website confirmed Bair’s departure and added: “We would like to thank Theo for all his efforts while at McDiarmid Park and wish him all the best in his future.”

Jack Butland aims to follow in the footsteps of two Rangers goalkeeping greats as he settles into life with the Ibrox club.

The 30-year-old joined the Light Blues last month on a four-year contract after his release by Crystal Palace and is in line to take over from 41-year-old Allan McGregor, whose time at the Govan outfit came to an end last season.

Appearing at the Rangers Training Centre on Tuesday, two days after the one-year anniversary of the death of former Rangers keeper Andy ‘The Goalie’ Goram, Butland spoke about emulating two Ibrox heroes.

“That’s the plan,” the England international said. “You are talking about two goalies – ‘The Goalie’ and Greegsy (McGregor) – two guys who have an incredible history with the club.

“They knew what Rangers was about. Watching the memorial video to Andy Goram the other day, painted a picture of what he was like, what he meant to the club and what the club meant to him.

“I think that’s what this club is all about. It has a rich history of top goalkeepers and that is something that I will be looking to continue both on and off the pitch, trying to learn about the club, enjoy it, take it all in and hopefully follow in their footsteps which, of course, is a big ask because of what they have done.”

Butland, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Manchester United without playing, won the last of his nine England caps in a friendly win over Switzerland in 2018 and has not given up hope of a return to the international fold but insists it is not his priority.

“I am a patriotic guy,” he said. “My country has always been important to me. To have represented them in the past is an honour.

“Of course I would love to get back to that.

“It is not my sole focus. My focus is to be successful at club level and that is to do my job here and whatever happens with that (England), I have always said, that will take care of itself. That is for others to decide.

“That will only happen if we are doing what we need to do here and I am playing well enough, which at the moment is my sole focus and if that comes, that is a bonus.”

Butland is one of five new signings boss Michael Beale has made this summer and the Ibrox club are on the brink of completing a deal with Cremonese for 28-year-old Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers.

Rangers on Tuesday announced a friendly against Olympiacos at Ibrox on Wednesday, July 26, to complete their pre-season diary alongside fixtures against Newcastle, Hamburg and Hoffenheim.

A Manchester City fans group has accused the Football Association of “doing the bare minimum” in amending the Community Shield kick-off time and called for a further change.

The 1894 group urged supporters to boycott the treble winners’ season-opener against Arsenal at Wembley on August 6 after it was originally scheduled for 5.30pm on Sunday, August 6.

After this and other complaints, the FA, in conjunction with broadcaster ITV, moved the game to 4pm.

This has not gone far enough for some fans and, while they are no longer expecting a “full boycott”, 1894 still feels the kick-off should be brought forward again by another hour.

A statement from the group, issued via the Football Supporters’ Association, read: “We repeat our request to the FA and to ITV to help more fans attend the game by bringing the kick-off time to 3pm.

“In the eyes of many fans, the very quick decision to move the game from 5.30pm to 4pm and hastily-arranged PR releases from the FA came across as them doing the bare minimum and expecting a round of applause for the decision.

“The subsequent statement from the FA said 4pm was agreed after consultation with the police, the local council and the broadcaster (ITV). However, the most important stakeholder was not consulted… the fans!”

Travel arrangements for Wembley fixtures have been a recurring source of frustration for north west teams in recent seasons.

Late kick-offs leave supporters travelling by rail limited time to get back to stations before the final trains north and there are general concerns about arriving home late at night and the high costs involved. These issues have been exacerbated for some high-profile fixtures by rail strikes and engineering works.

The 1894 statement added: “We feel 3pm is a fair request to the authorities to allow more people to travel back at a sensible time.

“To expect 30,000 fans to travel back north late on a Sunday evening is unfair. Wembley is a great, iconic venue but there are challenges getting to and from there, so we call on ITV and the FA to help our fans in particular by offering an earlier kick-off which allows families to attend.”

The group is still encouraging fans not to attend the game and support local foodbanks instead. It has organised a screening of the match at the Band on the Wall venue in Manchester city centre and proceeds will be donated to such causes.

“Fans can make a difference – even if a full boycott is not expected at this stage,” the statement added.

“It’s hard to sacrifice watching your own team play. However, some fans are seeing it is an opportunity to make a statement.

“It’s not the FA Cup final, it’s not the Champions League final. It is a game in the scheme of things where fans, if they are not valued, can choose to walk away from attending.”

The FA has been approached for comment.

Brentford have completed the signing of Republic of Ireland defender Nathan Collins from Wolves for a club-record fee on a six-year deal.

The 22-year-old arrives in west London after spending just one season at Molineux, having previously played for Stoke and Burnley, and has 45 Premier League appearances to his name.

Bees head coach Thomas Frank likes what he has seen from Collins and feels he will prove to be “a perfect Brentford player”.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve managed to sign Nathan,” Frank told the club’s website.

“He’s a very talented centre-back and still young. He has a lot of very good abilities that we value a lot. He’s a composed and calm defender.

“His heading in both boxes is a big thing, both in open play and from set-pieces, which is massive in the Premier League.

“His character is really good, and we know that character is everything. He will fit into our culture, I have no doubt about that.

“I see leadership potential in Nathan. He’s a perfect Brentford player – hungry and ambitious with a desire to learn.”

Collins, who cost Brentford a reported £23million, is now aiming to help the club build on their highest-ever league finish after they ended the 2022-23 term in ninth place.

“I talked with the manager and a few of the backroom staff about the project here,” he said.

“It’s a club on the rise and I can see where they want to go. It’s exciting to be here.

“I like to play football. I want to dribble, play and create. It starts at the back. I can play long balls and short balls. But, at the end of the day, I’m a defender and I have to head the ball, win it and win my challenges.”

The arrival of Collins comes on the back of Brentford signing goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Freiburg, with Kevin Schade’s loan from the Bundesliga side also made permanent this summer.

Tottenham have entered talks with Wolfsburg over the signing of centre-back Micky van de Ven.

Spurs are in the market for new central defenders and Netherlands Under-21 international Van de Ven has been high on their list of potential targets.

Talks have now started between Tottenham and Wolfsburg over a deal that could eventually be worth in the region of £30million but no agreement is currently in place, the PA news agency understands.

Despite being without a director of football, chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini and chairman Daniel Levy have taken a lead role on transfers, which has seen Spurs be extremely active since Ange Postecoglou was appointed on June 6.

Dejan Kulusevski’s loan was made into a permanent deal while moves for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison have been completed.

Attacker Manor Solomon is set to be Tottenham’s fourth addition of the summer with the ex-Fulham loanee undergoing a medical ahead of a free transfer, having exercised his right to cancel his terms with Shakhtar Donetsk, as per FIFA rules, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

If a deal can be agreed with Wolfsburg, Van de Ven would become the club’s fifth signing of the Postecoglou era.

The 22-year-old started his career with Volendam in his homeland before he moved to Wolfsburg two summers ago.

An encouraging 2022-23 season, where Van de Ven featured 36 times for the Bundesliga club, brought him to the attention of several teams across Europe.

Last month, the Dutch defender told De Telegraaf: “I have always dreamed of the Premier League because the biggest clubs play there and I also see that competition as the best in the world.”

Spurs still hold an interest in Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Edmond Tapsoba and Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, who only has one year left to run on his deal.

Chelsea have signed England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton on a free transfer from Aston Villa.

The 22-year-old, capped twice by her country and named in Sarina Wiegman’s squad for this summer’s World Cup, has signed a three-year deal after her contract with Villa expired.

She brings Women’s Super League experience from stints with both Birmingham and Villa, having made 15 appearances while helping the latter to a fifth-placed finish last term.

Hampton was part of England’s trophy-winning squad at Euro 2022 and also has honours to her name from the Finalissima earlier this year and 2022’s Arnold Clark Cup.

In joining the reigning WSL champions, she now wants to add club silverware to her collection.

“I’m very excited,” Hampton said on the Chelsea website. “It’s a massive club, it’s an honour to be a part of this and to be able to wear the club’s badge. I want to keep improving, to help the team however I can and I’d love to win some trophies with the club at the same time.”

Hampton began her career with Villarreal in Spain after moving to the country as a youngster, but then returned to England with Stoke before joining hometown club Birmingham, making her senior debut in 2017 and making 50 appearances before switching to rivals Villa in 2021.

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes added: “There is no doubt that Hannah is one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. Her performances have been improving year on year, and we have high hopes for her future with us.”

Yaya Toure is one day targeting a top managerial job in the Premier League after taking the next step in his career by becoming assistant coach at Standard Liege.

The 40-year-old, who lit up the top league as a player with Manchester City, has joined Carl Hoefkens’ staff at the Belgian club after a spell coaching Tottenham Under-16s.

Toure enjoyed his time at Hotspur Way, admitting he would one day love to return there, but felt the time was right to go and coach first-team football.

He is happy to learn from his boss Hoefkens but has desires to become a manager in the future.

“One hundred per cent, that is my plan and idea.” he told the PA news agency. “For me I have to go step after step, I am on a learning journey.

“I am very open to everything, just carrying on what I am doing.

“Why not the Premier League? I don’t know how long it is going to take, maybe sooner or later, for me I am always open for it.

“I know it’s going to be a big challenge and coaches’ jobs are becoming tougher and tougher. You see coaches surviving for a maximum four or five months.

“That is what it is now, that is the reality.

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“For me, I am quite patient and I have to take my steps very carefully and in the right manner. That’s why I am going to Belgium because I want to learn from top coaches like Carl, who has huge experience.”

Toure, who previously held positions at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian team Akhmat Grozny, has not ruled out the possibility of one day returning to Spurs.

“Tottenham did not stand in my way and they let me go and I think that was brilliant,” he added.

“I would love to carry on in Tottenham because my belief and development was to try to work with the grown men.

“If the opportunity to go back was there then why not, because what Tottenham did for me was incredible, they allowed me to work there and develop as a coach and for what they did for me I will never be able to thank them enough.

“They opened the door for me and allowed me to express myself in the right manner and do the things I wanted to do.

“That is a real positive for me. Of course at the end of the day I move on but Tottenham is always going to be a great club and one that will always mean something to me.”

Toure will first put his coaching skills to use on the launch of Amazon’s Prime Day, as a Prime customer can buy a private coaching session for them and three friends.

He added: “The experience will be unmissable. For me it is very positive and I think this idea with Amazon is great.

“It is important we share experiences and talk to them about football and show them inside it and an understanding of it.”

::Yaya Toure will give one lucky Prime customer and their three friends a football training session to learn perfect delivery this Prime Day. Prime Members should check out www.amazon.co.uk/primeexperiences throughout July 11 and 12 to purchase.

Brendan Rodgers has described Kyogo Furuhashi’s new four-year deal at Celtic as “brilliant news” for the treble winners.

The Japan striker, 28, has scored 54 goals in 83 games since signing from Vissel Kobe in 2021 and is now tied to the Parkhead club until 2027.

Rodgers, beginning his second stint as Hoops boss, told the club’s official website: “It is brilliant news for the club. Kyogo is an important player for us so I am delighted he has signed a new contract.

“Kyogo has thrived since he arrived in Scottish football and has shown his outstanding qualities.

“In two seasons, he has secured five domestic honours, scored over 50 club goals and become a treble winner. This takes a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice both on and off the pitch.

“He is an exciting player who is hungry to bring more success to our club. He has a great mentality and is an unbelievable talent.

“I am looking forward to working with him and helping him and the wider team develop to help drive the club forward.”

Furuhashi said: “I am very happy to extend my stay for four years at this incredible club. It is an honour to represent Celtic Football Club and our amazing supporters.

“Last season was unbelievable. From the start of the campaign, our aim was to do as well as we could in every competition we played in.

“We worked very hard every day, on and off the pitch, to win silverware and put smiles on our fans’ faces.

“To win my first treble, and help secure a world record-breaking eighth treble for the club was a very proud moment for me and I cherish the memories of celebrating this with our fans.’

“They have been so supportive of me since I joined Celtic so I will work hard to repay them.

“Next season our objective is the same – to bring success to our club.  I am excited to defend our trophies and the opportunity to represent this huge club in the Champions League. My personal motivation is to score more goals and help my team-mates win matches.

“I am looking forward to getting started and working with Brendan. He is a top-level manager, he knows the club and knows what it takes to win silverware here. I and my team-mates are looking forward to working with him.”

Former England midfielder Jill Scott believes the Lionesses can win the Women’s World Cup and says Sarina Wiegman’s side will be the best-prepared team at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

The 36-year-old Euro 2022 winner praised the “humble” squad ahead of their Group D opener against Haiti on July 22 and insists she will have no problem being a pundit this time instead of a player.

She said: “I’ve watched the Lionesses a few times as a player since I’ve retired – they were too fast for me, and too good!”

Scott, who won ITV’s I’m a Celebrity last year after retiring, continued: “We’ve got a great group of girls – grounded, humble, but also incredible players.

“I think it’ll be the best-prepared team going out to the World Cup.

“Yeah, there’s going to be competition from the likes of Spain, Brazil you can never ever write off, (and) USA’s mentality – that winner’s mentality.

“But I do think that we’ll do well. I think we’ll be the best-prepared team and can we win it? Course we can.”

Scott was speaking by the Angel Of The North in Gateshead, as a 4.5-metre statue of herself posing with her arms out was unveiled to publicise the announcement that she will be a captain on Sky’s hit show A League Of Their Own.

“I’m standing here and it’s just such a surreal moment, to think I’ve actually got my own statue,” she said. “And I think she looks pretty decent, to be honest.

“The process was that I had to go into a room, there was about 130 cameras and they just all flashed at once, and off that one picture, they created this statue.

“The attention to detail is brilliant. Although I did joke that I don’t think my legs have been that smooth, ever!

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“It’s just such a proud moment for me and my family to think that I’ve got a statue.”

The Mayor of Gateshead was there, along with players from the Boldon and Gateshead College sides she played for growing up.

Scott said she will be fine coping with the cut and thrust of the fun show, following other ex-footballers like Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards.

She said: “I’ve seen how well they’ve kind of coped with that transition, they seem to have a laugh, but then also that competitive streak comes out as well.

“So I think this show should suit me really in terms of personality. I want to have a laugh, but also being serious at the same time when I want to win for the blue team.”

Asked if the public will see a different side of her on ALOTO, after being voted Queen of the Jungle with her authentic personality, Scott said: “I think I can’t do anything but ‘nice’, to be honest.

“The only time that I was a little bit nasty was when I stepped over that white line but I think I will be a little bit competitive.”

Since winning the Euros and winning the jungle show, Scott admitted: “Yeah, life’s changed a lot. I was used to just going to football every single day.

“Now I have to check my itinerary every single week and try and make sure I’m at places on time.

“I’m enjoying that, I’ve got to do some incredible stuff. I was at Royal Ascot last week, I’m going to Wimbledon this week.

“So there’s some great opportunities that are coming along and I’m just grateful to have work, especially after you retire.”

Beth Mead admits not being included in England’s Women’s World Cup squad was “a tough pill to swallow” but is looking forward to cheering the Lionesses on throughout the tournament.

This year’s competition takes place in Australia and New Zealand, with Sarina Wiegman’s side kicking off their campaign against Haiti in Group D on July 22.

England will be without the injured Mead, who won the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards when they won the Euros last summer.

The Arsenal forward is continuing her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained last November and knew the turnaround to make the squad would be tight.

“When I did my knee I knew time was probably going a little bit against me,” Mead told the PA news agency.

“But it was my motivator through my rehab and I can honestly look myself in the mirror and go ‘I’ve done everything possible to get close to that’.

“Sarina was incredible, in fact she had a lot of conversations with me, kept me in the loop with everything and she said she would’ve loved to have me there, but it was meant to be a bit too soon.

“It was a tough pill to swallow, it’s a big tournament and you want to be there, I was in good form before my injury and you want to continue that into the big tournaments again.

“It wasn’t meant to be this time, I believe everything happens for a reason, but I’m looking forward to watching the girls and being number one cheerleader back home.

“It’s just a little bit of a different role for me this year.”

England’s preparations for the World Cup continued at the weekend as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Portugal, but Mead believes the game has offered more learning opportunities for the team.

“I think that’s why you play these kinds of teams, Portugal are a good team, they have the quality,” she said.

“In these games when it doesn’t go quite right they tampered the systems, tampered with individuals and where they’re playing.

“You learn more from these games than going out there and winning 6-0 or 7-0 so I think it’s good learning and a good pinpoint for them to build on ready to go to the World Cup.”

Mead is an ambassador for the McDonald’s Fun Football programme, the largest grassroots programme in the UK for five to 11-year-olds, where 250,000 children have had access to free football in the last 12 months.

She will be cheering England on from home as she continues to work her way back to fitness in time for the new Women’s Super League season.

The Lionesses star admits there have been “pros and cons” to recovering alongside her partner and Arsenal team-mate Vivianne Miedema, who also sustained an ACL injury just weeks after Mead.

Mead said: “Some days I want to absolutely rip her head off because she’s a pain in the bum and other days we understand what each other’s going through and we can help push each other through.

“I’m a month ahead of Viv, I’ve kind of been there and wore the t-shirt of what she’s doing now.

“I know when there’s days where things become difficult I can help her with or when I know how happy she is.

“She ran for the first time this week and she’s had a few complications so I know how amazing that day felt for her because a month earlier I’d just done it.”

The England forward is now relishing a long-awaited return to football and getting back to work with the Gunners next season.

“It’ll be very exciting to get on a pitch again but I’m excited to play alongside the girls again, getting involved,” she added.

“You find a new appreciation for football when you’ve been kept out of it for nine months.”

::Beth Mead was speaking at the largest ever McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the landmark of over 250,000 children across the UK benefiting from access to free football this season. Sign up to a free session near you at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football

Jude Bellingham has revealed David Beckham sent him a good luck message after joining Real Madrid.

The 20-year-old has become just the seventh British player to join the Bernabeu club following his 103million euros (£88.5m) move from Borussia Dortmund last month, following in the footsteps of the likes of Beckham, Gareth Bale and Michael Owen.

Beckham was perhaps the highest profile to make the switch to the Spanish capital following his 2003 move from Manchester United, which only heightened his global profile, and the former England captain recently got in touch with Bellingham.

And the new Bernabeu star said he might tap into Beckham and other former players’ knowledge of playing at Madrid.

“David Beckham messaged me briefly to wish me all the best,” Bellingham told the PA news agency.

“It is one of those moves where everyone has their input from the outside so you do hear a lot of things and advice, I am quite good at filtering out the good from the bad, so far it has been really positive from ex-players.

“I will try and take that on board and at some point maybe get in touch with them and see how they adapted to life in Spain.”

One of the things Bellingham will be doing to adapt to his new lifestyle in Spain is to learn the language.

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The midfielder has started using a learning app, aiming to build on the vocabulary he got at school.

“I have got it on my phone, I’ve got a good little streak going at the minute,” he added. “It’s nine days since I started taking it properly seriously.

“It is one of those things where you hear it and you start to pick up little things and you see it on TV with interviews of other players, so it comes a bit more naturally than you think.

“It is a lot easier than trying to learn German at least. I did Spanish at school up to year 9, obviously, in hindsight, I would have carried it on.”

Bellingham is now an ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football programme, the largest grassroots programme in the UK for 5-11 year olds, where 250,000 children have had access to free football in the last 12 months.

He used to attend similar events but admits that it was not immediately obvious that he was destined for greater things.

“For the first year or so of going to things like that I was more interested in British Bulldog and some of the fun games,” he said. “So for me it was a process of getting into the game, but it was made easy because there was no pressure on me.

“For my parents that was the main thing, just getting that social aspect of it and something that is healthy and good for me.”

:: Jude Bellingham was speaking at the largest ever McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the landmark of over 250,000 children across the UK benefiting from access to free football this season. Sign up to a free session near you at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football

England forward Alessia Russo is targeting silverware after joining Arsenal on a free transfer.

As her contract with Women’s Super League rivals Manchester United expired, the Gunners swooped to land the 24-year-old striker.

Russo hit 10 goals in the WSL last season as United finished runners-up to champions Chelsea.

She emerged as a January transfer target for Arsenal, but a world-record bid was shunned by the Red Devils as they pushed to claim the title.

Russo did not sign a new deal and was instead free to leave Manchester for north London – where she is keen to add domestic medals to the Women’s Euro success she enjoyed with the Lionesses last summer.

“I’m really excited to be here and I can’t wait to get going,” Russo said after joining Arsenal.

“I want to win trophies – as does everyone in this club. I can’t wait to get stuck in and grow as a player – it’s a new challenge and a new environment.”

“I think the growth of the women’s game has been incredible, but particularly at a club like Arsenal.

“The sell-out against Wolfsburg at Emirates Stadium last season was fantastic and I’m just really excited to be part of this club.”

Russo, who is part of the England squad heading to the World Cup later this summer, has hit 11 goals in 21 senior appearances for her country.

“Alessia is one of the best forwards in the world and has significant potential to continue growing and improving,” said Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall.

“She has a proven track record of scoring goals in the WSL and at international level and we believe she will be a quality addition to our forward line, so we’re all delighted to have brought her to the club.”

Russo becomes Arsenal’s third signing of the summer following the acquisitions of defender Amanda Ilestedt and forward Cloe Lacasse from Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica respectively.

New Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to bring happiness back to Stamford Bridge and is aiming to win in style.

The Argentinian took up his new post at the start of July and heads to west London at a turbulent time for the club.

The Blues finished 12th in the Premier League last season, playing under four different managers who all struggled to integrate almost £600million of new signings into the team.

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Former Tottenham boss Pochettino has now been tasked with bringing about an upturn in form and results and is ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

“I know very well that Chelsea is one of the greatest clubs in the world,” he said in an interview with his new club released on social media.

“Of course, it was easy for us (Pochettino and his backroom staff) to take the decision to move here.

“I think it’s exciting for us and of course what we want is to bring the happiness again to this great football club, working hard, playing in the way that the fans can enjoy football.”

Pochettino has yet to win silverware as a manager in England but did lift the Ligue 1 title as Paris St Germain coach in 2022 before being sacked weeks later.

“The history of Chelsea is to win,” the 51-year-old said.

“But it’s important also in the way that we are going to build up the victories – I think in the last 10, 12, 15 years Chelsea is the greatest team in England.

“I know very well the Premier League, I know very well what Chelsea means, the culture of Chelsea.

“Our fans, they’re so excited also to again be on the road of trying to win and of course, for us we feel really excited about working with a very young team.”

It has already been another summer of change on the pitch for Chelsea, who have signed forwards Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to add to Pochettino’s firepower.

They have also moved on a host of talent with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek departing and Mason Mount on the cusp of joining Manchester United.

Head coach of Trinidad & Tobago’s Soca Warriors, Angus Eve, has described his team as “going through a rebuilding stage” after bowing out of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA on Sunday.

The Trinidadians secured a comfortable 4-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis in their first game of the group stage before suffering a crushing 1-4 defeat to Jamaica then ending their campaign with a 0-6 hammering at the hands of the defending champions and hosts.

Eve, in a post-match press conference, acknowledged a gap in skill between his players and those on the teams they lost to before explaining how that gap can be closed.

“We need to have our players being exposed at the highest level and consistently play football at a high level,” he said.

“Most of the guys don’t get the exposure on the outside and consistently play at a high level, because you have to remember that our league just returned after three years. The CFU used to have competitions. You can see that St. Kitts are in the same boat as us receiving a number of goals,” he added.

Eve also criticized the fitness level of his players, noting that getting the players fit is a job for their clubs rather than the national team.

“A national team coach can’t get the players fit when they come here. They have to come from their clubs with that fitness so your job is now to put them in a formation that will get them to play well.”

“A lot of times, as you can see, we were lacking fitness,” Eve added.

Despite all this, Eve did say he sees progress in some areas, specifically in the standard of the tournament.

“The tournament is improving all the time. We were here in 2021 and we are progressing. When you look at the French-Caribbean teams, they can bring in players who are playing in France and plug those holes,” he said.

Goalkeeper Jon McCracken said “it feels great” after joining Dundee from Norwich on a season-long loan deal.

The 23-year-old began his career at Hamilton before joining the Canaries in 2016.

McCracken, who has had loan spells at League of Ireland side Bohemians and more recently Stevenage, was recruited by Dundee boss Tony Docherty and the former Scotland under-17 keeper told the club’s official website: “It feels great, there has been a bit of interest for a while now, so I’m glad to get it done and to be here.

“I spoke to the gaffer quite a few times over the last couple of weeks and once I spoke to him my mind was pretty much made up on where I wanted to go and it was just a matter of getting the green light from Norwich to come up.

“The gaffer said ‘you’ll come in and fight for your jersey’ and that was my mind made up. I am hoping for a successful season for me personally and the club.

“I am aiming to get as many games as I can and hopefully help Dundee to get as many clean sheets as possible.”

McCracken trained with his new team-mates on Monday morning and will travel with the Dundee squad to their training camp in Ireland.

Docherty said: “We are delighted to have him in the building, he is an extremely talented young goalkeeper from Norwich who they rate very highly.

“He now just needs to get to that next stage in his career in terms of his development, so we are delighted to have him on board.

“He’s a big character, a great personality and from what we’ve heard and seen of him we are very impressed.

“He’ll be coming to Ireland with us to integrate with the boys. I’ve said to Jon he’s in a fight for the jersey and that number one spot and that’s what I want all over the squad that competition, because that healthy level of competition keeps everyone on their toes and improves the standard.”