George Saville will never complain about a lack of recognition for his work in the Millwall and Northern Ireland engine rooms, but when praise came his way at the end of the season he was delighted to get it.
Saville has made his career out of doing the dirty work in midfield, the sort of unglamorous role which can go unnoticed.
But the 30-year-old was third in the running for Millwall’s player of the season award after being singled out by manager Gary Rowett for praise during a play-off push which fell short on the final day of the Championship season as Blackburn came from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at The Den.
“With the manager having that trust in me, how he spoke to me at the back end of the season was fantastic and to get recognition at that level was great,” Saville told the PA news agency.
“I’ve had a good season personally, my confidence is good, my fitness is good. It’s just a shame we missed out on the play-offs on the final day when it was in our hands. But that’s football.
“You learn lessons and hopefully that makes the team stronger. For me as an individual I do what I can every time I step on the pitch and long may it continue.”
Saville is playing some of the best football of his career, and was a strong performer again as Northern Ireland suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Group H top seeds Denmark, working tirelessly to support young, relatively inexperienced colleagues in his side’s injury-ravaged midfield.
“I enjoy the hard work and that side of the game,” Saville added. “In club football I do the same thing, I play a deeper role for Millwall. A lot of work goes unnoticed but I don’t need a pat on the back or for anyone to say well done for doing this or that.
“I don’t need a high profile, I’m happy to do what I need to do for the team and if that goes unnoticed so be it. As long as it helps the team that’s the main thing.”
Friday was Saville’s 45th cap but he is yet to score in international football, a fact he is not always happy to be reminded of. Saville gets his share of goals at club level, and remains convinced he can one day get on the scoresheet for Northern Ireland.
“I wouldn’t say it plays on my mind,” he said. “I’ve had opportunities to score. For club level I’ve scored goals, it’s just something that I feel like will still come. I don’t think about it much, I’m more focused on the team.
“I’m in the right areas. I’m an optimistic person. I think it will come but the main objective for me now is qualifying for a major championships.”
Saville is enjoying once again working under Michael O’Neill, the man who gave him his international debut in 2017, and who returned to the Northern Ireland job in December after a spell at Stoke.
“Michael first brought me in so for me it’s great,” he said. “We’ve got a great relationship and understanding and he’s someone I really enjoy working with, I really enjoy having Michael as a manager.
“As a person he’s the same old Michael. He’s had different experiences and he’s come back to a different squad. We’ve lost a few experienced lads.
“In the last couple of camps it’s been a young squad and now they are coming through and it’s become more that way. It’s a different situation for us and for him and one we’re all adapting to and trying to give ourselves the best opportunity.”
Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.
Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.
However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.
Orlando City 1-0 Atlanta United: Enrique strike sets up Red Bulls clash
Atlanta United beat Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS playoffs, yet their postseason came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Orlando City.
The Five Stripes went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal at Inter&Co Stadium full of confidence after ditching Lionel Messi and the rest of Miami's stars out of the playoffs last time out.
Yet it was Orlando who, for the first time in club history, booked their place in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to Ramiro Enrique's 39th-minute winner.
Enrique tucked in from close range after Atlanta failed to clear their lines from a corner.
That goal came after Orlando had started brightly, with Dagur Thorhallsson hitting the woodwork early on before Facundo Torres saw an effort cleared off the line.
Buoyed by a fine record against Orlando, who they had lost to just four times in 22 meetings ahead of this contest, Atlanta pressed for an equaliser after the break, but they could not find a way through a robust Lions defence.
Orlando will now host the New York Red Bulls in next week's Eastern Conference final, with a place in the MLS Cup final on the line.
Data Debrief: Stay away from the Lions' den
Fresh from the Orlando Pride's victory in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday, Orlando had plenty to live up to if they wanted to cap a great sporting weekend for the city.
And they did just that, with the backing of a vociferous crowd that helped them get over the line. Those fans will be called on again next week when the Red Bulls roll into town, but Orlando need not fear. They have lost only one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions (W9 D4 including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss).
And while Atlanta huffed and puffed, they never really threatened to blow the door down, as Orlando limited them to just eight shots, with none of those hitting the target.
Indeed, Orlando had openings on the counter and could have put the match to bed with a bit more composure, as they finished with 1.3 expected goals to Atlanta's 0.4 xG.
Conte: Napoli need to focus on improvement, not Serie A lead
Napoli should pay little attention to their place at the top of Serie A, so says Antonio Conte, who has demanded improvement from his team.
Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal handed Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday.
That victory sent Napoli back to the summit of Serie A, with Conte's side one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, while Juventus are only four points back in a six-team title race.
Napoli needed to get back to winning ways after a draw against Inter and a 3-0 loss to Atalanta before the international break, and Conte insists his team must sharpen up.
"Before the match, I told the lads not to look at the table, but to focus on ourselves and improving what we are working on," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
"I maintain that now too because we need to take a series of steps to raise the level.
"I was satisfied with the performance for a good 65 minutes today, we could’ve taken more of our chances and were up against a strong Roma who have great players.
"Roma were also making their debut under a new coach and therefore were very eager to prove themselves, but we still should've dealt with the final 15-20 minutes better, as we sat too deep and made it complicated for ourselves."
Roma, playing under new boss Claudio Ranieri, came close to equalising when Artem Dovbyk hit the woodwork with a header.
Ranieri came out of retirement to take charge of Roma following Ivan Juric's dismissal earlier in November, though the visitors had just six shots and accumulated only 0.6 expected goals (xG) at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"If we look back, we have some problems and that is why I was called. We were up against a team that is fighting to win the Scudetto," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.
"Having said all of that, I am happy with the performance from my players. We made some mistakes that we will talk about during the week, but the hunger, the determination to get back on track was there.
"We have a lot of work to do, but I feel positive.
"We know there is work to be done, we have to focus on reacting rather than sitting there feeling sorry for ourselves.
"The [players] need the right character to help themselves and then others. Naturally, when I arrived, the team was a little closed up, but I think we started to open up a bit by the second half."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
