Andre Onana called for his Manchester United team-mates to stick together in the bad moments as well as the good after they extended their winning Premier League run to four games against Luton on Sunday.

Two early goals from striker Rasmus Hojlund set United on the way to a 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road, though they were made to sweat on the result after Carlton Morris pulled one back for the Hatters after 14 minutes.

Hojlund became the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games, with the 21-year-old’s barren spell that followed his £72million move from Atalanta seemingly now behind him.

United are within five points of fourth-place Aston Villa in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

They are unbeaten since going down 2-1 to Nottingham Forest on December 30 and have progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they face a rematch with Forest at the City Ground next week.

Goalkeeper Onana, who like Hojlund has found form after being criticised for high-profile errors following his arrival at Old Trafford from Inter Milan in the summer, said togetherness will be key if the team are to maintain their good run until the end of the season.

“You know we have to be together in good and bad moments,” said Onana.

“We have to help each other even when things are not going good. But what we are doing now is very nice and it’s the way we have to follow.

“We have to continue like this because we have done nothing. We didn’t do anything spectacular. Yet now we have to continue winning games, and that is the main thing.

“We have to try to win against every opponent and especially the next game is another final for us.”

United were made to work for three points by 17th-place Luton, who refused to lie down after falling two goals behind inside the opening seven minutes and quickly halved the arrears.

Rob Edwards’ side almost pulled off a famous fightback when Ross Barkley’s header hit the crossbar in stoppage time at the end of the game.

But Erik ten Hag’s team hung on to consolidate their place in sixth and keep the pressure on Villa and Tottenham.

“(Luton) are tough when they play at home and we expected a difficult game,” said Onana. “But like I always say, the quality is there. I’m happy for the victories and hopefully we continue this way this season.

“This is giving us more confidence. We are all happy, you know, when we win, especially this kind of game.

“These three points are very important for us to fight to be in the top four. But like I said, it’s always going to keep us together. This is just a strong motivation for us and makes us very happy.”

Crystal Palace have appointed Oliver Glasner as manager having announced earlier on Monday that Roy Hodgson had stepped down from the role.

Glasner, 49, who led Eintracht Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022, has agreed a two-year deal with the Premier Leaguer club.

A Palace statement read: “Crystal Palace F.C. are pleased to confirm the appointment of Oliver Glasner as manager.

“The 49-year-old Austrian has signed a deal to become the Eagles’ boss until the end of the 2025/2026 season.”

Palace announced Hodgson’s departure just hours before their league game against Everton and said that the 76-year-old, who was hospitalised after falling ill during a training session on Thursday, was “out of hospital and doing well”.

Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “I’m delighted to welcome Oliver to the club. He has an outstanding record, and we believe he is the right manager to take the club forward at this pivotal stage.

“Wherever Oliver has gone so far in his managerial journey, success has been quick to follow, and we believe his ambition, as well as his exciting and attacking approach, is the perfect fit for getting the most from our talented young squad in the remainder of this Premier League season and beyond.”

Oliver Glasner has been appointed manager of Crystal Palace.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt head coach succeeds Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the 49-year-old.

Who is Oliver Glasner?

Glasner was born in 1974 in Austria. He spent his entire playing career, between 1992 and 2011, in his homeland. Aside from a loan spell with Linz-based LASK, the defender was a one-club man, playing 571 times for SV Ried. Glasner twice won the Austrian Cup with Ried and in 1995 helped the club reach the Austrian Bundesliga for the first time. His playing career ended just days short of his 37th birthday after he suffered a subdural haematoma following a clash of heads with Rapid Vienna’s Mario Sonnleitner.

Where has he previously worked?

Following retirement, Glasner became a sporting co-ordinator at Red Bull Salzburg. He was later named assistant to Salzburg boss Roger Schmidt before returning to Ried as head coach for the 2014-15 season. A year later, he was appointed coach and sporting director at his other former club, LASK, and led them to promotion in 2017 followed by a fourth-placed finish. LASK missed out on a place in the Europa League on away goals against Besiktas but finished second the following season. Glasner then elevated his global reputation in Germany during impressive two-season stays with Wolfsburg (2019-2021) and Frankfurt (2021-2023).

What successes has he had?

Glasner has already achieved plenty, with the pinnacle undoubtedly leading Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022. The Bundesliga side defeated Rangers on penalties in the final, having knocked out Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham en route. Frankfurt lost the 2022 UEFA Super Cup 2-0 to Real Madrid but progressed to the last 16 of last season’s Champions League. Glasner left Frankfurt last summer – a year before the end of his contract – after finishing seventh and reaching the German Cup final. Before moving to Deutsche Bank Park, he guided Wolfsburg to finishes of seventh and fourth, securing Europa League and then Champions League qualification.

What can Palace expect?

A passionate and demanding individual and fine tactician, Glasner favours an intense tempo without the ball and likes his teams to entertain in possession. Players can expect honesty and a high level of trust. “The most important thing is to be authentic,” he said, according to the Bundesliga website. “What I say to the players, I mean”. Away from the pitch, Glasner can be quite spiky. Following his final match with Frankfurt – a 3-1 defeat to Hoffenheim – he went viral after angrily telling a journalist to “stop with the garbage” after the commitment of his team was questioned.

Harry Smith is free to feature in Wigan’s World Club Challenge clash with Penrith after escaping a ban for his tip-tackle on Castleford’s Luke Hooley in Friday night’s Betfred Super League opener.

The 24-year-old was sent to the sin bin following the incident but received a Grade B charge because the RFL’s match review panel found that “the unnatural actions of the tackled player significantly contributed to the outcome of the tackle”.

Grade B charges generally incur a one-match ban, but previous conduct can provide a mitigating circumstance and the half-back, a pivotal figure in Wigan’s hopes of emulating St Helens and claiming the title next Saturday, got away with a £250 fine.

Four red and nine yellow cards were issued in the opening round of Super League fixtures, with three players given Grade E charges and referred to tribunals which could rule them out for between four to six games.

Hull’s Franklin Pele, Castleford’s Liam Watts and Catalans’ Michael McIlorum were all sent off for head contact in their respective matches.

However, RFL chiefs insist the eye-catching number of sanctions were not unduly affected by new tackle rule protocols which came into play ahead of the new campaign.

Robert Hicks, the RFL’s director of operations and legal, said: “Of the 13 cards shown, 10 of the incidents would have led to a card being shown under the framework that applied in 2023.

“It was a highly successful opening round of Betfred Super League fixtures, and it is right that the focus is already turning to the second round of matches, and also the Betfred World Club Challenge.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed Phil Foden as the England player most likely to be crowned Ballon d’Or winner.

The 23-year-old scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Brentford earlier this month and the Bees manager was wary of a repeat showing ahead of Tuesday’s meeting between the sides at the Etihad Stadium.

Brentford were the last team to beat the defending Premier League champions at their Etihad home, Ivan Toney scoring the late winner in a 2-1 triumph in November 2022.

And they briefly led Pep Guardiola’s side again at the Gtech Stadium 14 days ago before Foden took over to steal the show with three well-taken strikes.

With 15 goals in 35 games so far in all competitions Foden is one short of his best scoring season for City and has featured in all but one of their league games this term.

“He’s a very good player,” said Frank, whose team have lost eight of their last 10 in the league and are 14th, six points above the bottom three.

“For me, he’s the closest England get to potentially having a Ballon d’Or winner in the future. I think he’s got that potential, that level.

“I think he influences the game in so many ways. Last game he got on the end of three situations, scored three goals. He’s very good dribbling, he’s very good sliding people in, works very hard.

“He seems to have a good mentality. I don’t know him personally, but he looks form the outside to have a very good mentality in terms of working hard.

“He is very good, but there are so many good players; (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Erling) Haaland, Rodri, (Jeremy) Doku, (Julian) Alvarez. The whole team.”

Frank predicted his team would need to play “almost the perfect game” if they are to match the heroics of last season – when they also defeated City at home on the final day – but fretted they have been defensively more porous than he would have liked this campaign.

“In general we’re good defensively, don’t give much away,” he said. “But this season we’ve been giving more away than usual. That’s something we’re trying to adjust.”

The meeting on February 5 was marred by a spat between Neal Maupay and City’s Kyle Walker, with the Brentford striker allegedly making personal remarks about the defender’s family.

In an interview with The Times on Sunday, Maupay said he did not believe that his actions had crossed a line.

Frank came to the defence of his player, who has scored five times in his last seven appearances in all competitions.

“All players are different, what gets them to tick, what they think is important for them to perform,” he said. “That I always respect.

“In terms of winding players up, it’s part of the game. It’s a fine line not to cross. If he does that or not, I don’t know. As far as I know Neal is a good guy, a good teammate and he’s very good for us.”

Mark Clattenburg says he is “disappointed” in comments from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville criticising his appointment as a consultant at Nottingham Forest.

Neville said on Sky that Forest’s appointment of Clattenburg to advise them on refereeing matters was a “step too far”.

Clattenburg, who is the referee on the BBC’s Saturday evening show Gladiators, told The Times: “I am disappointed that Gary Neville has come out with what he said.

“His employer, Sky Sports, employs ex-referees to help fans and viewers understand the laws of the game, and Nottingham Forest are just doing the same.”

Neville said: “You’re being employed to go and tell a football club how referees are making mistakes or what mistakes they’re making. A fan in the crowd could go and tell you what a referee is thinking.

“I’m disappointed with Nottingham Forest. It’s as if, look at all of this, woe is me. I get it, some teams feel as though they’ve been hard done to, some teams feel they’ve had bad decisions against them. That happens sometimes during a season and I would have hated it.

“But to employ an ex-referee to tell you why you’re having decisions against you. For me, I think it’s a step too far.

“This is not an attack on Nottingham Forest fans because some of them will probably think it’s embarrassing.

“They won’t like the decisions against them, but I’m sure they won’t sit there and think that’s a really good move by the club.”

It is understood Forest see Clattenburg as being their expert conduit between the club and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), who can give his perspective on how rules are being implemented and on the occasions when the club ought to provide feedback to PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb.

It is expected he would lead the contact between the club and PGMOL and provide advice on the refereeing teams involved in Forest’s upcoming matches.

It is understood the Premier League has raised no objections to Clattenburg’s appointment.

Brian Ellison is set to make a late decision on the participation of ante-post favourite Anglers Crag in the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Eider Handicap Chase at Newcastle on Saturday.

The nine-year-old is unbeaten in three starts for the Malton handler since transferring from David Pipe in the autumn and brought up a hat-trick for his new training team with a decisive success at Musselburgh earlier this month.

Despite given an 11lb rise for that victory, he as short as 11-4 to extend his winning run in the Gosforth Park marathon at the weekend, with the final call on whether he takes his chance resting with owner Derrick Mossop.

“I’ve seen he’s favourite, but I don’t think a decision (on whether he runs) will be made until Thursday, I need to speak with the owner,” said Ellison.

“The horse is in great form and if he runs he will be in tip-top condition, I’m very happy with him.

“The handicapper didn’t miss him last time and put him up 11lb and I think he’s gone up around 20lb since I’ve had him.

“Ground will come into it (the decision to run) and he’s never been over four miles yet. He won over three-mile-two at Carlisle and he’s also won over three miles at Musselburgh so he’s showed he has a bit of speed and he can stay. If he was to stay four miles he would take all the beating, I would think.”

Ellison won the Eider with Sam’s Adventure in 2021 and the Tyneside native admitted he would love to get his hands on the prize for a second time, with his in-form stayer reported to be in rude health.

“We won it a couple of years ago which was good and it would be nice to win it again,” said Ellison.

“He’s in great form and if the owner wants to run him he will run, but if he doesn’t then I won’t run him.

“He’s been trained like he’s going to run and has never missed a beat since he won at Musselburgh. He worked on Saturday and Andrew Robinson who rides him all the time thinks he’s improved again, so everything is OK.”

Anglers Crag is one of 16 remaining in the hunt for the £80,000 contest after Monday’s confirmation stage, with Jamie Snowden’s Git Maker the one the bookmakers feel will give Ellison’s charge most to think about.

Last year’s runner-up The Galloping Bear is another notable name to stand his ground, alongside Sam England’s hat-trick-seeking Fenland Tiger and Seamus Mullins’ Tommie Beau who scored twice before having to settle for second in the Sussex National.

The Brooklyn Nets fired head coach Jacque Vaugn on Monday, five days after the team suffered a 50-point loss to the Boston Celtics in its final game before the All-Star break.

Brooklyn is 21-33 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, but the club is only 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for a spot in the Play-In Tournament.

The Nets said “an interim head coach will be named in the near future.”

“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.

Vaughn was promoted to head coach early last season following the dismissal of Steve Nash after Brooklyn opened with five losses in seven games.

The Nets immediately started playing better, which led to a contract extension for Vaughn last February.

The Nets posted a 43-32 record under Vaughn last season as they claimed the No. 6 seed in the East before getting swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.

Brooklyn got off to a 13-10 start this season but went on to drop 23 of 31 games heading into break, punctuated by the second-worst loss in franchise history on Wednesday.

Vaughn owns a 129-226 coaching record with the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn.

Magnus Bradbury, Alex Craig, Blair Kinghorn, WP Nel and Hamish Watson have joined the Scotland squad ahead of the weekend’s Six Nations match against England.

They replace Josh Bayliss, Javan Sebastian and Ross McCann, while Darcy Graham remains out after sustaining a groin injury last week and is subject to further assessment.

Toulouse’s Kinghorn has recovered from the injury that ruled him out of the first two games and he met up with the group at the start of the week.

The back-row options have been bolstered by the return of Bristol flanker Bradbury and – after making his 150th appearance for Edinburgh at the weekend – Watson is called up.

Following the injury to Richie Gray in Cardiff, Scarlets second row Craig has joined the squad. The 26-year-old has two caps, playing twice in 2021, including the win over France away from home.

Nel has recovered from his injury and replaces Sebastian, but Bayliss has been ruled out of the squad due to concussion.

Roy Hodgson has stepped down as Crystal Palace manager hours before their Premier League meeting with Everton.

A Palace statement also confirmed the 76-year-old, who was hospitalised after falling ill during a training session on Thursday, was “out of hospital and doing well”.

Hodgson’s right-hand man Ray Lewington and assistant manager Paddy McCarthy will lead the team on Monday at Goodison Park, with the Eagles just five points clear of their opponents who are in the relegation zone.

Hodgson, in a statement released by the club, said:  “This club is very special and means so much to me and has played a big part in my footballing life. I have fully enjoyed my time here across six seasons, as it has given me the chance to work with top class players and staff doing what I love every day.”

Newcastle have confirmed sporting director Dan Ashworth has been placed on leave as Manchester United prepare to formalise their efforts to take him to Old Trafford.

The 52-year-old has stepped away from his duties at St James’ Park having told the ownership group that he wants to accept the Red Devils’ overtures.

Chief executive Darren Eales said: “We are naturally disappointed that Dan has chosen to leave, however our exciting journey doesn’t stop and the process to recruit a new sporting director will begin immediately.

“We thank Dan for his efforts at Newcastle United and we wish him and his family well for the future.”

New Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has identified the former Football Association technical director as the man he wants to lead an overhaul and now faces the prospect of striking a deal to prise him from the Magpies.

The PA news agency understands there has been no formal contact between the clubs as yet but there is little doubt that both will want the matter resolved swiftly to their satisfaction after a week of speculation.

Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has already expressed his concern over the potential for Ashworth to take his inside knowledge with him and that fear is likely to have a major say in Newcastle’s willingness to cut short a stipulated period of inactivity before he can take up a role with a competitor.

In the circumstances, Manchester United may have to bite the bullet on a significant compensation package if they want to get their man in time for an important summer transfer window.

Ashworth was drafted in by Newcastle’s Saudi-backed owners in June 2022 after they paid Brighton substantial compensation to secure his services.

They had identified him as the man they wanted to knit together the various arms of the club’s football operations and not just to oversee its transfer dealings.

He was at the helm as the Magpies surged to a top-four Premier League finish and earned a return to Champions League football after an absence of two decades.

Along the way, they also reached the Carabao Cup final, where they were beaten 2-0 by Erik ten Hag’s men at Wembley.

Howe has enjoyed a close relationship with Ashworth, who was in the stands at St James’ Park for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, but admitted after the game he had not spoken to his sporting director since voicing his fears about the confidential information he has about the club’s future planning.

Asked on Friday if Ashworth knew the details of Newcastle’s summer recruitment mission, he said: “Yes, and that’s why I say he’s in a position of power, with a lot of intelligence and information.”

Newcastle have not commented on the situation, but are sure to drive a hard bargain as they attempt to protect themselves while at the same time looking for the right administrator to replace a key member of the hierarchy.

Josh Taylor wants to silence his doubters when he takes on bitter rival Jack Catterall for a second time.

Catterall was distraught when he controversially lost a split decision against Taylor for the undisputed super-lightweight championship two years ago and there were many inside and outside the sport who thought he had every right to feel aggrieved.

The Scot vacated three of his titles before losing his WBO championship to Teofimo Lopez last June in his only bout since fighting Catterall, whom he will meet again in a non-title bout on April 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

Both boxers had to be separated when they went head-to-head at a sometimes rancorous Edinburgh city hotel media conference, packed with Taylor fans, and afterwards the man from Prestonpans spoke about silencing any critics.

“A lot of people to shut up and put up the middle finger to,” said Taylor.

“There is a lot of bragging rights and pride and to put the doubters to bed. I learned not to underestimate your opponent (against Catterall). I lived by that my whole career.

“But when you have the level of success I have had in such a short period of time then they say you are fighting Jack Catterall who hadn’t really proven himself.

“I thought he had lost against Ohara Davies and it was ‘just be fit and I will beat this guy’ and that was the biggest mistake I made. I never learned the lesson but I won’t be making the same mistake twice.”

Taylor spoke about the online trolls who have made life difficult for him and his family since the Catterall fight.

He said: “It has been OK. At the start was pretty heavy but it was all online.

“In person I haven’t had anything really. I have had people come up to me and say I thought he won the fight which is great, that is their opinion and I have absolutely no problem with that at all.

“But when the abuse starts and the family start getting it and you see how it affects them, that’s when it turns to a different dynamic and tone and it turned violent, putting my wife and sister’s places of work online and threats of violence, coming to their work.

“It is unacceptable. Any man would defend their family. I should have kept my mouth shut but then you can only kick a dog so many times before it bites back and that’s what I did bit back a couple of times but I should have kept quiet.”

39Christopher Head has raised the possibility of Ramatuelle running in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, as connections seek to plot a mile campaign this summer.

Co-owned by former NBA star Tony Parker, Ramatuelle sports black and silver silks based on his former championship-winning team the San Antonio Spurs and made a serious impression on course at two.

The high-class daughter of Justify won three of her five appearances as a juvenile, including the Group Two Prix Robert Papin, before finishing her campaign going down by the barest of margins to star colt Vandeek in the Prix Morny.

Plans for Ramatuelle’s early-season target are still to be finalised and as well as a possible raid on Newmarket, she holds an entry for the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Pouliches the trainer won with Blue Rose Cen in 2023.

But Head will begin testing her Classic credentials at Deauville on April 9 and having seen dual Classic-winning filly Blue Rose Cen switched to Maurizio Guarnieri earlier this year, will be hoping Ramatuelle can fill the void and become another household name for his Chantilly operation.

He said: “Ramatuelle has been a tremendous filly for us as a two-year-old and we are now preparing her for pretty much the mile programme in France, but not only in France, in the UK too.

“We’re looking all over Europe to make the best programme for her as a three-year-old. It (Newmarket) is of course a possibility, but at the end of the day her owner will decide where she will run and of course there is a possibility she could go for that race.

“She’s going to go to the Prix Imprudence and then from there we will see where we go. To be a successful miler is the main objective this year.

“I think Ramatuelle is a really nice filly and Justify has proven he can sire very versatile horses. I’m very happy to have her at three and can’t wait to see what she is going to do for us in the mile races this year.”

Owners Yeguada Centurion may have switched Blue Rose Cen, but their Group One-winning colt Big Rock remains in Head’s care and is being geared up for another enterprising programme.

He was last seen recording a brilliant victory from the front in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day and his handler is excited by the possibility of returning to the UK in search of further riches during the 2024 season.

“Big Rock is brilliant and has done very well over the winter,” continued Head.

“He will have a nice programme in Europe and we will be able to come over to the UK again.

“I will speak with the owners before saying anything about where he is going to start, but don’t worry the horse is doing very well and we’re very happy with his training. We can’t wait to see him back on track.”