Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will not underestimate Luton but insists going to Kenilworth Road is the same as any other ground.

The Hatters have beaten Newcastle and Brighton at home, drawn with Liverpool and pushed Manchester City and Arsenal close before losing by the odd goal.

They surprisingly lost to fellow strugglers Sheffield United when they visited last weekend but Ten Hag will not read much into that result.

“It doesn’t matter who you face, if you play the best or the worst or in between, it doesn’t matter,” said the Dutchman, whose side have won five and drawn one of their last six matches.

“We respect every opponent and definitely we are not in a position to underestimate any opponent, so we will not do.

“We have to play our best because we have seen their performances across the season are very good, and especially the last weeks, they are really improving. I have a lot of respect for this team, and we have to play our best football.”

United are unbeaten in the last 12 meetings against Luton in all competitions, winning 10 and drawing two.

Their record against newly-promoted clubs – winning the last 11 games and conceding just five – is the best since the latter years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign when he won 12 in succession between 2011 and 2013.

And while Kenilworth Road has its own individual idiosyncrasies which most Premier League clubs will not be accustomed to, Ten Hag dismissed what effect that may have on his side.

“The pitch, is it smaller or longer? (Is it) 11 v 11? No referees are coming?” he added.

“Every ambience is different, we have to deal with the circumstances, it’s about playing football 11 v 11, we have to make it our game.

“Every ambience is different, of course, that is what I want to say and we have to deal with the circumstances. We have to make it our game.”

Scott Brown struck a sensational late winner as second-placed Raith Rovers beat Dundee United 2-1 to cut the gap on the cinch Championship leaders to one point.

Raith came in to the game on the back of five straight defeats, three of them in the league.

But their strong start was rewarded after nine minutes when on-loan Dundee striker Zak Rudden turned home Liam Dick’s cross at the near post for his first Rovers goal.

The visitors grew in confidence as the half wore on and equalised after 39 minutes when Ross Graham met David Wotherspoon corner’s and Louis Moult helped it in from close range.

Raith claimed the points in spectacular fashion when Brown chested a ball down in the 89th minute and volleyed home his first goal of the season from 25 yards.

Manchester City blew the Women’s Super League title race wide open after Khadija Shaw netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea that took them level on points with the four-time defending champions at the summit.

The Jamaica international extended her Golden Boot-leading tally to 14 goals in 13 appearances, two more than Chelsea’s Lauren James, who was largely quiet in front of a sold-out Kingsmeadow.

Chelsea had what might have been an all-important penalty shout dismissed before the break and it took an outstanding effort by City keeper Khiara Keating to keep out the Blues in a thrilling second-half stoppage-time surge.

The top two sides head into their last eight matches level on 34 points and even on goal difference, with Chelsea’s 41 goals five more than City’s total, allowing them to remain leaders for another week.

It was Keating, who extended her WSL-leading clean sheet tally to seven, who was first called into action when Nathalie Bjorn nodded Erin Cuthbert’s corner in her direction.

Chelsea fell behind after 14 minutes when Jess Park dispossessed Cuthbert inside the hosts’ half and cut across to Shaw, who blasted the opener past Hannah Hampton, moments later coming close to another but dragging her shot wide before another effort was saved by the Blues keeper.

It was the beginning of a dominant spell for the visitors, who tested Hampton again through Laia Aleixandri’s header before Chelsea finally broke back and Guro Reiten was denied at the near post.

Chelsea wanted a penalty when Alex Greenwood broke up January signing Mayra Ramirez’s run at the edge of City’s six-yard box and in replays appeared not to touch the ball, but with no VAR in play referee Abigail Byrne dismissed the shout.

The Blues continued to apply pressure as an outstretched Keating was just able to get her fingertips on the edge of Fran Kirby’s effort across the face of goal following some excellent work by James in the build-up for the Blues’ best chance of the half.

It was a more aggressive Chelsea side who returned after the break, though it was Shaw who had the best early chance, Leila Ouahabi’s cross coming a bit too early as the striker stooped forward to meet it.

Chloe Kelly stung Hampton’s hands with just under 20 minutes remaining, the hosts then coming painfully close when Cuthbert aimed for the top corner, sending Keating into a dive and fans into a premature celebration as the skipper’s effort ultimately sailed wide.

City needed another goal to lift themselves into the top spot, but if anyone was going to change the scoreline it looked to be Chelsea, who dominated from the final 10 minutes through nine minutes of added time, when Keating made a huge stop to deny substitute Jelena Cankovic snatching a late leveller.

It was all Chelsea in the final, thrilling moments – but it was somehow still the visitors who walked away with all the spoils.

Striker Fabian Reid recently crowned himself in glory when he became the Arnett Gardens player to score 80 goals in the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League. Reid notched his 80th goal with a superb strike that helped lift Arnett Gardens to a 1-0 lead over fierce rivals Tivoli Gardens in the West Kingston derby.

However, Tivoli would respond by scoring three goals to win the match and dull the lustre of Reid’s milestone. Despite the final result, Reid was happy to have experienced that historic moment.

“It’s a feeling I can’t even find words to explain,” he remarked. “But one thing I can say is, I give God thanks. It’s not an easy task to do but I do everything in my power at all times to be that forward I was called to be. It’s a great joy for me!”

Reid began playing in the league for Arnett Gardens as a 20-year-old after he transferred from his junior club Boys Town and has spent the last 12 years playing in a number of positions in midfield before settling in the striker position where he has flourished.

 “I never dreamt of scoring so many goals but I’m just a natural goal scorer,” he said. “Every time I go out on the pitch, I want to go out there and deliver for my team to win. I felt very excited when I scored to go to 80 goals.”

Nicknamed “Muller” after the great German striker Thomas Muller, Reid says that his next target in the league is to get to 100 goals with Arnett Gardens, the only team that he has played for in the premiership despite many attempts by a number of other local clubs to lure him away.

“My heart is at Arnett Gardens from I was little was a boy until now. A lot of teams have made offers for me, but I don’t take it,” he revealed.

Reid has played for three clubs overseas, including, San Juan Tablet in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014/2015, FC Dlia Gori in Europe 2018/2019 and Neroca in India in 2023 from where he recently returned to Arnett Gardens.

His form in the premier league which has seen him score six goals in as many games since he returned in January and has earned a recall to the Reggae Boyz training camp by Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

In seven previous appearances for the Reggae Boyz, Reid has netted on three occasions.

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham are still a “long way” from playing the football he wants after he fended off talk he could leave at the end of the season to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Klopp announced last month he would depart Anfield at the conclusion of the campaign following nine years at the club.

Liverpool have reportedly placed Postecoglou on a shortlist of candidates to replace Klopp, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso seemingly at the top of the pile, but the Spurs boss insists his focus is on finishing this season strongly.

“I may be on a shortlist? I don’t think I want to say anything about that because I don’t think that’s ever going to enter my brain space for what is my priorities in life and my profession right now,” Postecoglou said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Wolves.

“Well, I am (just getting started at Tottenham). Not just feel — I am. I’ve only been here seven months, so that’s self-explanatory.

“I’ve been at pains to say we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of the football we want to play, the team we want to be, the squad we want to have.

“We’ve had two positive windows, I think we’ve had a decent campaign so far, but we’ve got a long way to go.

“That’s the funny space when we talk about managers. When we’re not going well, then there’s questioning about whether we’re going to be here.

“When you’re potentially going OK, there’s still question about whether you’re going to be here. The reality of it is – most of it is out of our hands.

“I’m never worried or thought about that. I’ve got a history of 26 years of management where you can see pretty clearly what I do.

“I rely on that as my explanation as to where my thought processes are with all those kind of things.

“Right now it’s about finishing the season strong with Tottenham and making sure we’re trying to establish a really strong foundation for who we want to be in the years to come.

“That can only happen if I’m totally focused on what these last 14 games can bring for us.”

Asked if links to Liverpool were a compliment, Postecoglou added: “It depends. If it’s just people throwing up names, then who cares?

“It doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day, if I’m doing a good job then hopefully people will acknowledge that in one form or another — whatever that form is. But so-called ‘chat’, really? That’s of no interest to me.”

What Postecoglou has to deal with in the immediate future is being without both recognised full-backs for the visit of Wolves.

Pedro Porro suffered a muscle strain in training this week, while Destiny Udogie was forced off at the end of last weekend’s dramatic 2-1 win over Brighton with a minor issue.

Postecoglou is hopeful both will be back for Tottenham’s home fixture with Crystal Palace on March 2, with the club not in action next weekend due to Chelsea’s involvement in the Carabao Cup final.

Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) has also returned to training, but Spurs’ back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster has fractured his foot and is set for a “couple of months” on the sidelines.

Roy Hodgson’s future as Crystal Palace manager remained unclear on Friday afternoon amid reports the 76-year-old was considering taking a break from the game after being in hospital for tests.

Hodgson fell ill during training on Thursday and was later described as “stable” by the Premier League club after undergoing further medical examinations.

As a consequence, Palace called off Hodgson’s scheduled pre-match press conference ahead of the upcoming match at Everton on Monday night.

The news of Hodgson’s latest health scare came alongside reports Palace were set to sack him, with former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner a strong favourite to take over.

It had been suggested Hodgson was going to announce at Thursday’s press conference that he was stepping down, with further speculation emerging on Friday over the former England manager considering an indefinite break from the game.

When contacted by the PA news agency on Friday morning, Palace said there was no further update on the situation, with any news expected to come via the club’s own channels.

Friday was understood to be a scheduled rest day for the Palace squad ahead of the trip to Merseyside.

Veteran boss Hodgson received plenty of support from his Premier League colleagues, who wished him a speedy recovery.

West Ham boss David Moyes said at the club’s press conference on Friday afternoon: “I am hearing he is fine by what I have heard, so I am hoping that is the case.

“I have always said I don’t know if I want to be working at Roy’s age, that’s for sure, but he is someone who loves the game and his longevity has been incredible in football.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta – whose side are chasing the title and beat Palace 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium in January – understands what the pressures of the job can bring at both ends of the table.

“Hopefully he’s feeling much better and if that’s the case, knowing Roy, I think he will be in tomorrow because he loves it so much,” the Arsenal manager said.

“But yeah, we all got really worried with the situation and hopefully he is fine.”

On the stresses managers work under, Arteta added: “There is that part, but there is the part of joy and how beautiful our jobs are as well.

“A lot of times (pressure) is in relation to where you are (in the table), but it is part of the job.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou also hopes Hodgson will soon be on the mend, and feels whatever might be going on in the background would not diminish the 76-year-old’s standing in the game.

“It is a weird sort of occupation we have,” said the Australian, who took over at Spurs in the summer after a successful spell at Celtic.

“There are not many where people pretty much dictate or try to create a narrative where you are pretty much finished and also putting up your replacement.

“Roy is still in the position, but that is the way of the world nowadays. I guess we sign up for it, so everyone kind of expects it.

“But I don’t think it diminishes Roy’s standing in the game in any way and above all hopefully he bounces back quickly.”

Should Hodgson – in his second spell in charge of the south London club – need any extra time off following his spell in hospital, then Ray Lewington and fellow assistant Paddy McCarthy are expected to take charge for the Everton game.

Palace sit 15th in the table, five points above the relegation zone, heading into the weekend’s Premier League fixtures games.

Disgruntled Eagles fans have displayed banners in recent weeks calling for Hodgson to be sacked and venting frustration with how the club is being run.

Austrian Glasner guided Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022 following a penalty shoot-out victory over Rangers in Seville.

The 49-year-old, who has also managed Wolfsburg, has been out of work since leaving the Bundesliga side last summer.

Four Caribbean teams will be hoping to break into the much-anticipated inaugural staging of the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup when they contest the preliminary round of competition at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on Saturday.

With only three spots up for grabs, only two teams from the Caribbean, and one from Central America, will progress to join United States, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, Canada, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica in the main event.

Guyana vs. Dominican Republic

Guyana and the Dominican Republic take the pitch in a first-ever encounter. Both teams are no strangers to the hustle, as they won their respective groups in League B of the qualifiers.

Having tallied 20 goals in their five wins and a draw, Guyana arrived in California ready to impress and they certainly possess enough quality to do so. Otesha Charles, who scored seven goals during the qualifiers, and Jalade Trim, who scored a brace in the last win, are key players to watch.

The Dominican Republic also know plenty about success, as they booked their spot in the preliminary stage as Group B winners in League B. Like Guyana, Dominican Republic registered five wins and a draw in six games, with a tally of 24 goals.

Jazmin Jackson, who had four goals in that total, will be the Spanish-speaking Caribbean team’s biggest threat in front of goal, with goalkeeper Odaliana Gomez and the defensive line, hoping to add to the four clean sheets they had in the qualifiers.

With not much separating the two teams, it is left to be seen, who will execute more efficiently, both in offensively and in the defence to come out on top.

Haiti vs. Puerto Rico

By all indications, Haiti will start firm favourites in their contest against Puerto Rico, not only because they have won four of the last six meetings between the two, but also due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup experience under their belts.

Haiti have scored 12 times against Puerto Rico, while conceding five. That coupled, with the fact that last year’s appearance at the global showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, has added impetus to their charge, all but signals their readiness for their next challenge.

Haitian legend Nerilia Mondesir, who scored six goals and provided eight assists, along with Batcheba Louis, who had five goals in their second-place finish in Group C of League A, will again be critical to their chances of clinching a spot in the group stage.

Puerto Rico’s one win, one draw and a loss, is nowhere close to Haiti’s three wins and a loss, but they are no fluke when it comes to important assignments, and this is an important as any. So, while on paper Haiti are favourites, the game has to be played and Puerto Rico could very well capitalise if the opponents slip up.

Goalkeepers Sydney Martinez and JLo Varada, whichever is given starting duties, will be charged with shutting out Haiti’s attackers.

El Salvador vs. Guatemala

El Salvador and Guatemala have faced each other nine times, with the latter holding a seven-win advantage. Now, they will add a new chapter to their history, with Guatemala are looking to keep the positive record going.

They placed second in Group B of League A, after they secured 2-2 and 1-1 stalemates with the Caribbean’s number one team Jamaica, albeit without their best players.

Knowing what it means to leave everything on the pitch, star players like Ana Lucia Martinez, who was the team’s top scorer (three goals), and Leslie Ramirez (one goal), will be key to their chances.

El Salvador will be looking to continue their winning momentum from the qualifiers where they won all six games to top Group B of League B, with their 24 goals coming from different players.

Brenda Ceren led the way in scoring five goals, closely followed by Danya Gutierrez, Samaria Gomez and Danielle Fuentes with four goals each.

Mauricio Pochettino promised his Chelsea side would attack Manchester City when the two clubs meet at the Etihad Stadium for Saturday’s Premier League clash.

The defending champions drew a memorable game 4-4 at Stamford Bridge in November with former City player Cole Palmer scoring a penalty in stoppage time for the hosts to snatch a point.

Chelsea have endured mixed fortunes since, losing half of their 12 league fixtures, though following Monday’s 3-1 win away at Crystal Palace, they could climb to a season-high seventh place with victory against Pep Guardiola’s side.

With 14 games to go, the team have already score three more league goals than they managed in the entirety of the last campaign, when only four sides netted fewer.

Pochettino said there was no chance they would sit and wait for City – who have lost just once at home in the English top flight in almost two years – to come on to them.

“The lesson (from the first game) is that we’re going to face one of the best teams in the world, but at the same time you need to be brave enough to try to force them to defend, to run back and to face their goal,” he said.

“If we go there and wait to see what’s going on, it’s a team that can dominate you and will make you suffer.

“The most important thing we realised is that we need to attack, be able to run and to make the effort all together.

“The most important thing is to go there and be brave, to challenge them.”

Saturday’s game will be the first time Palmer has returned to the Etihad since his £40million summer move to west London.

Before making the switch, the 21-year-old scored for City in this season’s Community Shield, which was lost on penalties to Arsenal and in the UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla.

He is currently top scorer for his new club with 12 in all competitions and has been arguably the standout success of co-owner Todd Boehly’s mammoth £1billion transfer spend.

Palmer had previously hinted that he moved as he did not believe he would get sufficient game time at City.

“He’s not the type of player that needs to prove anything,” said Pochettino.

“I think he really is very grateful for his period at Manchester City, (but) he left the club because he wanted to find another challenge and to have the possibility to play more.

“Man City have an amazing squad. (Clubs) make decisions that we think are the best for the team. It doesn’t mean someone is not a good player.

“Sometimes the circumstance doesn’t match. Players want to leave and you can’t stop them because you can’t provide the game time.

“It’s unfair to say they’re going to regret it. Man City are one of the best teams in the world and it’s not easy to find the space to play for a young guy.

“Someone here on the staff said to me ‘he’s from Manchester, but he looks like a Brazilian or an Argentinian’.

“He has the capacity to adapt so quick, because our strengths as South Americans, its that we come to Europe and we adapt very quick.”

Pochettino confirmed defender Thiago Silva would miss the game with a minor injury, though Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto were available.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was fit for contention – having not played since December – but the manager would not say whether he would be selected ahead of Djordje Petrovic.

“You will see,” he said. “You never know in football what can happen.”

Philippe Clement wants regular meetings with referees to foster a better understanding between officials and managers.

The Rangers boss was speaking the day after 13 decisions were deemed wrong by the Scottish Football Association’s VAR independent review panel during the second round of cinch Premiership fixtures – a steep rise from the three errors reported from the opening round of games.

The Belgian was not too concerned about the apparent mistakes made by officials so far this season ahead of the trip to St Johnstone on Sunday but outlined his hopes for the future.

Clement, who has picked up three yellow cards since taking over the Ibrox hot seat in October, the most recent in the 3-1 win over Ross County at Ibrox on Wednesday night which took his side level on points with leaders Celtic, believes that more dialogue away from the “tension” of matches would help the game in general.

“Transparency is good and if faults are made there is communication and we can learn lessons from that,” said the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss, who revealed Rabbi Matondo will miss this weekend’s game with a small muscle injury. “It is the same for me if I make mistakes.

“I think it very important for the game of football that there is transparency and communication and I think it is important that there can be more communication between referees and managers a few times a season, say two or three times a season, outside of the games.

“We did it in Belgium once or twice and it was really interesting because it is a different relationship within the games. There is always a lot of tension and everybody is really focused on their job.

“But I think it is important to have good communications and see each other in a different way sometimes and I think it can be interesting for Scottish football.

“It can be interesting to have good discussions about the game of football, the rules and the things that happen in the months before, discussions in a good way, that there is no misunderstanding or less misunderstanding and that everybody can have their view on things and with this we can have a better product.

“And I mean both sides; managers can talk about things that happened in games that we didn’t understand because we need to explain to our players why decisions are made and also the referees can talk about the actions in the games and also maybe about the behaviour of managers.

“I was also a bit too temperamental in the last game and I kicked away a bottle of water and I got a yellow card which I understood afterwards.

“If we can have open discussions, we as managers can learn, me in the first instance.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits Israel international Liel Abada may leave on loan if he cannot get his mind refocused on playing for the club.

Abada will again sit out Celtic’s cinch Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock on Saturday after not being in the right frame of mind to face St Mirren last weekend.

The 22-year-old has faced pressure in his home country because of support for Palestine among Celtic fans.

The situation flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead read: “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.

Palestine flags have continued to be flown among Celtic supporters amid Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The Green Brigade ultras group have asked their fellow fans to join them in song ahead of the Kilmarnock match to pay tribute to the people of Palestine and Abada will not be present.

“It’s still the same situation,” Rodgers said. “I have had lots of conversations with Liel and I am really empathetic towards the issue he has. It’s more than football. It’s at a human level, so I have to respect that.

“He is training, he is working away, but this period is all about the mind and if you’re not quite right or ready, firstly I can’t take any risk with him, because we will always support the player, and obviously I also have to protect the squad as well.”

Rodgers took the then injured Abada out for dinner to discuss his situation in the wake of the October 7 attacks, and he is continuing to offer his support to the player, who did not rediscover his previous form after returning in December.

“I take a great responsibility, that’s why we are here,” the former Liverpool manager said. “My job isn’t just a football manager.

“This is a young guy, 22 years of age, far, far away from home. People can talk about what’s going on there and then they can forget about it. This is the reality for him, this is his life. Every single day, every night, families in a war.

“So it’s a really, really tough situation for him. On a human level, I have real, real empathy for him.

“There’s many situations I have had to deal with as a manager over time, and lots of them you don’t get on the coaching courses. You have to understand and sit in his shoes.

“It’s the sadness of it where he re-signed for us because he had great belief he could go on and develop, then he had a period out with injury and now coming back he has found it a real, real challenge. But I am here for him, to support him, and everything else is secondary to that.

“It’s my job and I will take the human aspect, like I have done with numbers of players before, and look after him.

“And when he’s ready, if he ever is ready, then he will be able to give us everything.”

That caveat opened up the prospect of Abada potentially negotiating a swift exit from Glasgow, perhaps on loan to a league with its transfer window open, before a more permanent parting of the ways in the summer.

When asked if a loan was now an option, Rodgers said: “It’s a possibility. But we’ll see. We will work together on it.”

Bayern Munich full-back Sacha Boey is facing several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Tests have revealed the 23-year-old Frenchman, who joined the club from Galatasaray last month, suffered “a large tear” in his left hamstring during training.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “FC Bayern will be without Sacha Boey for the coming weeks after the 23-year-old January arrival suffered a large tear in his left hamstring in training.

“This is the result of examination by the FC Bayern medical department.”

Boey started last Saturday’s 3-0 Bundesliga defeat at Bayer Leverkusen – his second appearance for the club – but was an unused substitute as the German champions went down 1-0 at Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The news represents a fresh blow for Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, who headed for Rome under intense pressure after the defeat by Leverkusen left his side five points adrift of the leaders.

Tuchel’s men head for Bochum on Sunday, host fifth-placed RB Leipzig and travel to Freiburg in the league before the second leg of their last 16 clash with Lazio on March 5.

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham are still a “long way” from playing the football he wants after he fended off talk he could leave at the end of the season to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Klopp announced last month he would depart Anfield at the conclusion of the campaign following nine years at the club.

Liverpool have reportedly placed Postecoglou on a shortlist of candidates to replace Klopp, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso seemingly at the top of the pile, but the Spurs boss insists his focus is on finishing this season strongly.

“I may be on a shortlist? I don’t think I want to say anything about that because I don’t think that’s ever going to enter my brain space for what is my priorities in life and my profession right now,” Postecoglou said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Wolves.

“Well, I am (just getting started at Tottenham). Not just feel — I am. I’ve only been here seven months, so that’s self-explanatory.

“I’ve been at pains to say we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of the football we want to play, the team we want to be, the squad we want to have.

“We’ve had two positive windows, I think we’ve had a decent campaign so far, but we’ve got a long way to go.

“That’s the funny space when we talk about managers. When we’re not going well, then there’s questioning about whether we’re going to be here.

“When you’re potentially going OK, there’s still question about whether you’re going to be here. The reality of it is – most of it is out of our hands.

“I’m never worried or thought about that. I’ve got a history of 26 years of management where you can see pretty clearly what I do.

“I rely on that as my explanation as to where my thought processes are with all those kind of things.

“Right now it’s about finishing the season strong with Tottenham and making sure we’re trying to establish a really strong foundation for who we want to be in the years to come.

“That can only happen if I’m totally focused on what these last 14 games can bring for us.”

Asked if links to Liverpool were a compliment, Postecoglou added: “It depends. If it’s just people throwing up names, then who cares?

“It doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day, if I’m doing a good job then hopefully people will acknowledge that in one form or another — whatever that form is. But so-called ‘chat’, really? That’s of no interest to me.”

What Postecoglou has to deal with in the immediate future is being without both recognised full-backs for the visit of Wolves.

Pedro Porro suffered a muscle strain in training this week, while Destiny Udogie was forced off at the end of last weekend’s dramatic 2-1 win over Brighton with a minor issue.

Postecoglou is hopeful both will be back for Tottenham’s home fixture with Crystal Palace on March 2, with the club not in action next weekend due to Chelsea’s involvement in the Carabao Cup final.

Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) has also returned to training, but Spurs’ back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster has fractured his foot and is set for a “couple of months” on the sidelines.

Jack Grealish has been ruled out of Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea on Saturday.

The England international was forced off with a groin injury in the first half of City’s Champions League win at FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Manager Pep Guardiola is still to learn the full extent of the 28-year-old’s problem but this weekend’s Premier League visit of the Londoners comes too soon for him to feature.

Guardiola said: “Jack will not be ready. I don’t know (how long he will be out). I didn’t speak with the doctors. I only know he’s not available for tomorrow.”

The game will see the return of Cole Palmer to the Etihad Stadium.

The 21-year-old City academy graduate, who moved to Stamford Bridge last August, has been one of Chelsea’s standout players this season.

Guardiola insists he pleased to see Palmer, a member of last season’s treble-winning squad, making such an impact and can understand why he chose to move on.

“Of course (we’re pleased for him),” said Guardiola. “He is a lovely lad and he helped us to achieve what we achieved.

“We didn’t have any doubts about his quality. The way he is playing, he’s a star player. He’s already an exceptional player.

“He moved on to get the minutes he has. It was just a matter of time and he has shown his quality.”

City drew 4-4 with Chelsea, with Palmer scoring a late equaliser from the penalty spot, when the sides met in November.

Chelsea’s form has been inconsistent this term and they remain in mid-table but Guardiola knows it is not a game his title-chasing side can afford to take lightly.

He said: “It’s an exceptional team in all departments, (it’s) one of the toughest games we have until the end of the season.

“They’ve been playing really good in the last games. They have everything – intensity and quality.

“Most teams are defined by if they don’t lose the ball and it’s difficult to find a player who loses the ball. They are a really good team, it’s a tough one tomorrow.”

City, chasing a fourth successive league crown, are the firm title favourites but they are currently in a tight battle with Liverpool and Arsenal.

Guardiola said: “When you arrive at the last eight to 10 games we will see how many teams will be involved.

“I think these three will be there but the distance between fourth and fifth is also so minor.

“It doesn’t matter if there are two, three or four as long as we win our games. Win our games and do our job – the rest doesn’t matter.”

City will also assess Bernardo Silva after the Portuguese suffered an ankle knock in Denmark but Mateo Kovacic is back in contention.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has rejected suggestions he has rushed back players in recent weeks after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai all aggravated injuries early in their returns.

Alexander-Arnold will miss the Carabao Cup final later this month because a knee problem recurred in last week’s win over Burnley, Thiago’s comeback after nine months lasted just 10 minutes, while Szoboszlai played just over an hour over two matches before succumbing to the hamstring problem which forced him to miss most of January.

Mohamed Salah returned to training this week after a month out with a hamstring problem sustained on African Nations Cup duty with Egypt but Klopp is confident he is ready to play again.

“Mo is back in full training, that brings him automatically in contention of course,” said Klopp, who has just won his 10th manager of the month award, ahead of the lunchtime kick-off at Brentford.

“I have to clarify a bit: I was not really aware of it but I got the news that there was a discussion we might have forced Trent back. He had two setbacks and it is really unfortunate, no one wants that.

“I am here we never forced anyone back and never will do. But we work in a high-performance area and if you have the same injury you are fit after three days and another guy after four weeks.

“We always try to catch the earliest moment but when we catch that moment no one speaks about it, like with Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) recently and with Diogo (Jota). That’s a job we have to do.

“The last decision is always by the player but if you only listen to the player the player would play after two weeks and then it is a real problem.

“The boys were, in the moment when they played, fit but the (match) situation told us then differently because it happened again.

“We can never know if it would have happened anyway or whether it was something before. Very unlucky and unfortunate.

“It is not great but it says nothing about the quality of anyone. The world we are living in it is always immediately ‘Medical department? I’m not sure about that’ but it is nothing to do with that.

“We have to bring the boys as back as soon as possible but never sooner than they are ready from our point of view.”

Klopp said the injuries to Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai were “serious”, with only the latter having a chance of making the cup final a week on Sunday.

“It is a super-intense period. People think now about the final but before the final we have Brentford and Luton and I didn’t think a second about the final yet,” he said.

“It’s not ‘Oh, he can’t play the final’. That’s one game but before that we have two games which is as bad as they cannot play.

“I think with Dominik it will be around that time and Trent maybe a week or two longer. I am not sure Dom has a chance for the final but maybe, and Trent will probably be after.”

In addition to Salah’s return, Klopp has Ibrahima Konate back from suspension, Joe Gomez and goalkeeper Alisson Becker are fit again and Conor Bradley has returned from compassionate leave following the death of his father.

Massimiliano Allegri challenged his Juventus side to pay “attention to detail” when they travel to Verona for Saturday’s Serie A clash.

Juve sit seven points behind league leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand, and are in search of their first win in four attempts following losses to Udinese and the table-toppers, which came after a 1-1 draw with Empoli that saw Arkadiusz Milik sent off in the 18th minute.

Verona sit third-from-bottom with four wins in 24 matches but, with just six points separating 19th-placed Cagliari from Lecce in 13th, will be desperate to gain any advantage on fellow relegation-threatened clubs.

Allegri told a press conference: “We’ve earned a point in two games at home and that’s not good, tomorrow will be a complicated away match, Verona are in a difficult situation but are doing well. We need to work on our attitude not only in terms of performance, but above all in terms of attention to detail.

“Our performances have not been worse, even on a numerical level, but we must analyse everything, beyond the result. Against Udinese, we made a mistake on an inactive ball and we were punished, this is football. Details are important.

“We have to learn what didn’t go well over the last few games. The performances were good and we have to start from there. The management will then work to strengthen the team for next year, because we hope to play many more matches.”

Allegri revealed he will have “everyone available” for the trip to Verona and, while forward Federico Chiesa has been linked to a summer transfer to the Premier League, emphasised that the 26-year-old will be “very important to us for the rest of the season.”

Juventus have not won a trophy since lifting the Coppa Italia in 2021, but the boss was confident his  side are on the right trajectory, remaining one point clear of third-placed AC Milan and with an 11-point advantage over Atalanta in the fourth Champions League place.

They also remain alive in the Coppa Italia and will host Lazio in the first leg of their semi-final on April 2.

Allegri added: “It’s true that we haven’t won a trophy for some time, but we have an Italian Cup that we can try to win and we have a path that we have started. Furthermore, never having been out of the Champions League for 11 years in a row is important when rebuilding.

“The most important thing for us now is to get a result tomorrow and then we have to achieve our main objective, which is Champions League qualification. We have three beautiful months ahead to look forward to, with passion and the desire to achieve results.”