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• Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

  Former Wales winger Leighton James has died at the age of 71.

  James’ former clubs Burnley and Swansea – where he spent 13 years of a colourful 19-year senior career – were among those to pay tribute to a gifted player who won 54 caps for his country.

  “We are sorry to hear the news of Leighton’s passing,” Burnley chairman Alan Pace said of James, who had three spells at Turf Moor and scored 81 goals in 399 appearances for the Clarets.

  “He left an indelible mark on this football club and stories of his playing skills still echo around Turf Moor.

  “Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

  Swansea-born James made his Burnley debut in 1970 – his pace and trickery quickly making him a Clarets’ favourite – before joining Derby for a then club-record fee of £310,000 and having a one-season stop at QPR.

  James returned to Burnley in 1978 before joining his hometown club two years later and helping their rise in to the old First Division under John Toshack.

  “Swansea City is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Leighton James at the age of 71,” read a club statement.

  “The gifted winger, widely-regarded as one of the Swans’ finest players, was a key figure in the side that secured a first-ever promotion to the top-flight in 1981, scoring a stunning goal in the victory over Preston North End at Deepdale to complete the club’s rise.

  “He went on to star the following campaign as John Toshack’s side took the fight to the elite of English football, eventually finishing sixth in the First Division.

  “The thoughts of everyone at Swansea City are with Leighton’s friends and family at this sad time.”

  After three years at Swansea, James went on to play for Sunderland, Bury and Newport before taking his career full circle with a third spell at Burnley.

  James’ 10 international goals included the match-winning penalty against England in the 1976-77 British Home Championship – Wales’ only ever victory against their neighbours at Wembley.

  The Football Association of Wales posted on X: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that @Cymru international Leighton James has sadly passed away.

  “Amongst his most famous moments with the dragon on his shirt was scoring a penalty in a famous win over England at Wembley in 1977.

  “He was a star of the only Cymru team to top a qualifying group before going on to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 1976.”

  James held various coaching positions in South Wales after his playing career and worked in the media, where he developed a reputation as a forthright columnist and pundit.

  Both Burnley and Swansea have confirmed they will wear black armbands in their respective matches against Sheffield United and Huddersfield on Saturday as a tribute to James.

• Man Utd appoint Jason Wilcox as new technical director after leaving Southampton

  Jason Wilcox has left Southampton to become Manchester United’s new technical director with immediate effect.

  The 53-year-old becomes a key appointment at Old Trafford as part of United’s off-field overhaul following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.

  Wilcox joined Championship side Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City where he developed a reputation for nurturing excellent young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects in the game.

  A United statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect.

  “He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.

  “Jason was previously director of football at Southampton and before that academy director at Manchester City.

  “As a player he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995.”

  A Saints statement read: “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has reluctantly agreed to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached an agreement with the Premier League side on an acceptable compensation fee.

  “Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future.”

  John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week.

  United are looking to add Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth to their staff as Ratcliffe continues his off-field rebuild after taking a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.

  Wilcox will report to the sporting director, who will have overall responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.

  The PA news agency understands Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men’s first team and academy.

• Philippe Clement urges Rangers to embrace intense environment of run-in

  Philippe Clement has told his off-form Rangers players they must embrace an intense environment where results dictate whether they go to “heaven or hell”.

  The Gers were widely lauded after a consistent run of form that saw them wipe out Celtic’s eight-point advantage at the top of the cinch Premiership to briefly take over at the summit in February.

  However, they go into this Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final against on-song Hearts having been ferociously criticised after slip-ups away to Ross County and Dundee over the past week left them with just two wins from their last eight games in all competitions and their title hopes hanging by a thread.

  “If you win 10 games in a row, you have more belief than when you lose two times but this is Rangers, this is a club where you always have to fight,” said Clement.

  “Every point you lose, it’s like you’re going to hell. That’s this world, and that’s good. That’s also the challenge and it’s interesting to see which players can live in that way.

  “But it’s an exciting place to be because on the other side you can go also to heaven when you win games and when you win trophies.

  “In other teams, where it’s not so important to win points or when it’s not something dramatic when you lose points, you cannot go to heaven also because those are not the clubs that win trophies. This is something you need to embrace.”

  Clement insists he is comfortable with the intense scrutiny and criticism he has faced amid Rangers’ recent “bumps in the road”.

  “I know it’s part of the job,” he said. “I’ve been now more than 30 years in this world and I’ve been buried a lot of times as a player and as a manager, so I know what I’m doing in a club. I know what I’m doing in this club. I know we are on the right road together.”

  Clement described the demands of being in charge of Rangers as similar to managing former club Brugge in his homeland.

  “Winning, becoming champion, is the only thing that counts,” he said. “But I’ve been like that all my life. There is nobody who can be more critical than me because I want to win everything.

  “Everybody who knows me from when I was a child, whether it was basketball, tennis or table tennis or whatever sport, I want to win. I made a lot of fights with my wife about that, that I wanted that mentality with my children because I did it with them also.

  “If I played a game with them and they were three years old, I wanted to win. That is the mentality that is necessary in a club like this, but you need to embrace that.

  “It’s also because of that that you can be successful and you can win trophies and have these exciting moments that will stay with you for the rest of your life. That is what Rangers is about and that’s why I love to be here.”

  Clement galvanised Rangers earlier in the season after replacing Michael Beale in October.

  Asked what he would say to supporters who fear the resurgence is fizzling out, the Belgian said: “The same thing I said in October. I think this team since October did improve in results, in attitude and resilience, and in six months they proved it several times.

  “So it’s there, they can do it. They’ve shown it several times with quality. That’s what they need to do again. So, yes, my belief is there 200 per cent.”