Tony Mowbray has no intention of playing for a draw at Luton after Sunderland earned a hard-fought lead in the first leg of the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final.

The Black Cats will head for Luton on Tuesday evening with a 2-1 win under their belts, but under orders to follow it up with another victory at Kenilworth Road.

Speaking after Saturday’s game at the Stadium of Light, Mowbray said: “There were no points played for tonight. We have to go to Luton now and go and try to win the next game.

“We’ve just said to them in there, ‘We have to go and play and try to win a football match’. We won’t be protecting anything, we won’t be trying to slow the game down, we won’t be putting loads of men at the back.

“We’ll be playing our game and going to try to win.”

The Hatters forced their way in front after just 11 minutes when Elijah Adebayo stabbed home after Anthony Patterson had blocked Alfie Doughty’s shot.

However, Amad Diallo’s stunning equaliser dragged the Black Cats back into it before the break and Trai Hume headed them to victory in the second half.

Sunderland won 11 times on the road and only seven at home during the regular season, but Mowbray, who has fresh injury doubts over Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts, will not leave anything to chance this time around.

He said: “Nobody is taking anything for granted. We know we’ve got another huge fight on our hands on Tuesday that we need to bring our best performance to.

“But we know their threat and that they are a very good team.”

Opposite number Rob Edwards insisted the tie is still very much alive, but is well aware of the task ahead.

Edwards said: “You don’t want to be going home completely out of it – and they’re capable at this place with all these fans here as well as the players they’ve got on the pitch to go bang, bang, bang and score a few goals.

“It’s in the balance and we look forward to Tuesday. We’re well aware they’re a very good team, they’re really good individuals.

“We shouldn’t come away from how many millions people have spent on some of their players at times over the last few years, so it’s no surprise to me that they’re where they are and they’re good.

“I know they’re young, some of them, but they should be good and they are.”

Trai Hume headed Sunderland to a comeback victory over Luton to ensure they have a priceless lead to defend in the second leg of their Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final.

Hume’s 63rd-minute effort secured a 2-1 first leg victory at a packed Stadium of Light after on-loan Manchester United midfielder Amad Diallo had cancelled out Elijah Adebayo’s early opener with a stunning strike.

It was no more than Tony Mowbray’s men deserved from a game for which they once again lined up without a recognised central defender, yet kept alive their hopes of a second successive promotion via the play-offs.

Luton, who finished 11 points better off than the Black Cats at the end of the regular season, will nevertheless feel confident they can overturn the narrowest of deficits at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night – although they will have to do so against opponents who won 11 of their 23 fixtures on the road.

Early blows were traded as Hatters frontman Carlton Morris headed tamely into Anthony Patterson’s arms before Jack Clarke rifled a shot into the side-netting at the other end in an open start.

The visitors, who lost in the semi-finals 12 months ago, were fortunate to escape unscathed when keeper Ethan Horvath palmed Patrick Roberts’ curling attempt into the path of Joe Gelhardt, who was unable to adjust his feet quickly enough to convert the rebound.

The Hatters took advantage of the escape almost immediately.

Sunderland failed to deal with an 11th-minute corner and, after Patterson had bravely blocked Alfie Doughty’s shot at the back post, Adebayo pounced on the loose ball to score.

Momentum shifted with the goal and Adebayo might have doubled his tally with 24 minutes gone had Hume not thrown himself into the path of his goal-bound effort, and Patterson had to be alert to field Doughty’s near-post free-kick.

But Sunderland were back in it six minutes before the break when, after Pelly Mpanzu had been booked for a crude challenge on Roberts, Alex Pritchard rolled the resulting free-kick to Amad, who curled an unstoppable shot past Horvath.

Gelhardt steered Pritchard’s cross wide under pressure from Gabe Osho as the Black Cats resumed in determined fashion, although the game became increasingly scrappy with both teams guilty of turning over possession cheaply.

It was the home side who finally summoned up the quality to make a difference when Hume met Clarke’s 63-minute cross with a firm header and steered the ball into the bottom corner to spark delirious celebrations among a crowd of 46,060.

Coventry boss Mark Robins believes the Sky Blues’ unity has been crucial to their Premier League ambitions.

They host Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final on Sunday aiming to end a 22-year exile from the top flight.

It is the first time Coventry have made the Championship play-offs since relegation in 2001, having tumbled to League Two six years ago.

Robins has guided them back to within touching distance of the top flight – despite having to play two seasons in Birmingham due to a rent dispute between 2019 and 2021.

Coventry also played seven of their opening nine league games away from the CBS Arena this season after the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the pitch, while they were given an eviction notice in December after Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group bought the ground.

But Robins feels the solidarity at the club means the problems have been overcome.

“Every club’s got its different challenges and this one is no different,” he said.

“We’ve managed to get through them together and there’s a mantra over the last five years, certainly three years, about rising together and it can’t be truer.

“Everyone is together and the fact I’ve had Dave Boddy (chief executive) working alongside me and above me and has been fundamental to what’s happened.

“The board have given me as much as they possibly could. They’ve given me space to work and I’ve got incredibly talented people working with me too. The players have been phenomenal and they’ve bought right into things.

“It’s just a whole team effort and that’s really the biggest takeaway for me, once everything settles down and the reflection can start.”

The former Manchester United and Leicester striker also moved to take the pressure off his players.

They resume hostilities with Boro having drawn 1-1 at the Riverside Stadium on the final day of the season and finished fifth.

“It’s a learning experience, we’ve got absolutely zero to lose and everything to gain and the experience that we can gain from that is invaluable anyway,” added Robins.

“We are looking at win-win. We’ve got a big opportunity to learn and we’ve got a big opportunity to prepare for a brilliant game on Sunday.”

Michael Carrick will have no regrets that his illustrious playing career is over as he attempts to guide Middlesbrough through the biggest game of his managerial reign to date.

The 41-year-old played in Champions League and FA Cup finals and won five Premier League titles during a trophy-laden spell at Manchester United, but on Sunday will stand on the touchline at Coventry as his Boro side looks to take a significant step towards the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

Carrick chose to launch the latest phase of his football journey in earnest when he took up the role of head coach at the Teesside club in October last year and – while the highs of his playing career remain at the forefront of his memory – he is finding the task hugely rewarding.

Asked if he would rather be pulling on his boots on Sunday, he replied with a smile: “Those days are gone.

“There are pluses and minuses comparing both. It’s incredible when you’re playing and you’re achieving and you have that sense of directly influencing a game like that and sensing the occasion.

“But certainly being in the position I am and having that influence and being able to guide and steer things in a direction I’m comfortable with can be very rewarding.”

In less than seven months under Carrick, Boro dragged themselves from 21st place to fourth and could now be just three games away from the Premier League, something which was far beyond the former England midfielder’s thinking the day he arrived at the Riverside Stadium.

However, the excitement that rise has prompted is not lost on him.

Carrick said: “I didn’t really have a target or a goal when first came in, it was more a case of trying to improve, trying to develop the team and seeing where it took us.

“To see the children coming up to me in the street and chasing me on bikes down the street when I’m trying to go for a run and that energy and excitement that they’ve got is fantastic to see, and it’s how it should be.”

Carrick started his path to a career in professional football at Boro as a schoolboy and rose to prominence at West Ham and then Tottenham.

But it was under the tutelage of then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson that he honed his skills at the elite level and the Scot, who won 38 trophies during his time at the Old Trafford helm, remains a source of help and advice.

Asked if he would speak to Ferguson in the run-up to the game, Carrick said: “Probably at some point. I speak to him quite a bit – not all the time, but quite a bit on and off.

“He’s always there if I need to speak to him and giving me little bits of help along the way.

“But it’s more of a friendship thing. It’s nice to have that ability to have somebody like that to speak to, of course it is.”

Middlesbrough defender Darragh Lenihan is refusing to get ahead of himself as he attempts to move a step closer to his childhood dream.

The 29-year-old Republic of Ireland international and his team-mates head into the first leg of their Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final with Coventry on Sunday knowing they could be just three games away from the Premier League.

Head coach Michael Carrick has told his players that they cannot afford to look any further ahead than the 90 minutes at the Coventry Building Society Arena, but Lenihan is well aware of what is at stake.

Asked what it would mean to have the chance to play in the Premier League, he said: “It’s every kid’s dream. I haven’t played, personally, in the Premier League myself. A few of the lads in the team have.

“Personally for me, it would be exceptional, it would be great not only for the players, but for the town, for the fans.

“That’s what we do it for at the end of the day, but we’ll only be focusing on Coventry on Sunday.”

Boro, who finished fourth in the final table, one place and five points better off than Coventry, are looking to end a six-year exile from the top flight with either derby rivals Sunderland or Luton awaiting the winners at Wembley.

Former Manchester United midfielder Carrick played in Champions League, Europa League, FA and League Cup finals as well as title deciders during his trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford and, as a result, has huge experience of big games and how to prepare for them.

On the message the 41-year-old had been drilling into his players this week, Lenihan said: “It’s just another game, it’s just another game, just go and show what you can do, do what he’s asked in terms of tactics and what not, and go and enjoy it.

“That’s one thing he’s always said since day one. The first meeting, he just said, ‘enjoy the game, enjoy playing football, enjoy taking the ball and passing the ball’. That’s what we’ll try to do and see where it takes us.”

Carrick, who guided an injury-hit side to a 1-1 draw with the Sky Blues in their final regular-season fixture on Monday, was coy when asked if the likes of Dael Fry, Jonny Howson, Marcus Forss and Aaron Ramsey might return.

He said: “We’re just waiting. We’ll train tomorrow, so we’ll see what’s available. It’s one of those things: some boys aren’t fit, some boys are fit.

“It’s changing by the day in some ways, so we’ll just have to see what we’ve got tomorrow and go with it, and hopefully more come through than don’t.”

John O’Shea is leaving his role as Stoke first-team coach to focus on his commitments with the Republic of Ireland.

The 42-year-old former Manchester United defender, who is Ireland’s assistant coach, joined the Potters last July.

O’Shea told Stoke’s official website: “I would like to thank everyone at Stoke City for their help and guidance last season and wish the club good luck for the future.”

Coventry have been preparing for their Premier League assault as popular Sky Blues kitman Chris Marsh fights sepsis.

The former Walsall defender was admitted to University Hospital Coventry this week with the infection which stemmed from a problem in his neck.

He missed Monday’s final day 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough but will be in the dressing room for Sunday’s Championship play-off semi-final first leg against the same opponents at the CBS Arena on Sunday, although cannot work as he recovers.

The effervescent Marsh credits club doctor Ganeshan Ramsamy for acting quickly and knows there could have been a very different outcome.

He told the PA news agency: “I thought it was a wasp sting but I had a really bad night’s sleep so when I came into the training ground the next day (Sunday), I saw the club doctor and he said ‘we need to rush you to A&E’.

“He was worried it was Mastoiditis (a serious infection that affects the mastoid bone behind the ear).

“I was in overnight and they released me so I watched the Boro game on TV before the doc asked me to send him a picture of my neck.

“He told me I was still in trouble – my neck was blistering – and I needed to go back to hospital. I went back and they’d given me the wrong medication so kept me in and it was sepsis.

“They got to it quickly. If I had left it which I probably would have done, it would have been serious. The club doctor was outstanding. He is top-drawer. He cares and I’ve got a lot of time for him, he’s brilliant.

“I’m back home and feeling better. My appetite returned on Wednesday so that tells you you’re on the mend. I can’t work for the next week but they want me in the dressing room on Sunday which is great.”

It is not the first time Marsh has survived a traumatic experience having suffered a slow bleed on the brain on Christmas Day in 2016.

Three days later wife Sabina took him to a walk-in centre where – after she demanded treatment – his blood pressure was found to be dangerously high and he was rushed to hospital. It was a decision which saved his life.

“I was in hospital for a week and on the fifth or sixth day when I was better the consultant sat on my bed,” said Marsh.

“He said ‘I’ve heard all the stories, heard off your wife that she kicked up a fuss at the walk-in clinic and you wanted to go home. Categorically, had you gone home that night and slept like you wanted to do, you weren’t waking up’.

“The bleed was that bad, I would have been gone.

“I’ve always said my wife saved me then. They always know, right? She sensed there was something wrong and she acted upon it right away.”

Soon after his recovery, and unable to do his day job as a driver, the ex-Northampton man joined the Sky Blues as kit man having played with manager Mark Robins and assistant Adi Viveash at Walsall.

There, he was a key part of promotion squads, including the Saddlers’ famous 1998-99 season when they finished runners-up behind Fulham and ahead of Manchester City in the old Second Division.

Coventry are now seeking to end their 22-year exile from the Premier League.

They have never been closer since their 2001 relegation, despite playing seven of their opening nine games away because the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the CBS Arena pitch.

“One thing with this management team, not just Robbo, it’s Adi, Dennis Lawrence, everyone, they don’t take anyone for granted,” said Marsh, who has been a restaurateur and sandwich shop owner since retiring from playing.

“The players are not allowed to take the foot off the gas. Especially with the start we had, we were bottom, the pitch, we had to play so many away games at the start.

“To climb the table and be consistent, every single member of that team has played a part, every single one.

“Talk about David v Goliath or whatever analogy you want. We haven’t just swum The Channel, we’ve swum the Atlantic already – there and back.”

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray is keen not to underestimate Luton as the two teams prepare to meet in the Championship play-off semi-final.

Helped by Blackburn’s victory against Millwall, the Black Cats sneaked into sixth place in the table while the Hatters finished third.

Both sides have recent play-off experience, with Sunderland promoted into the second tier with a win against Wycombe in last year’s League One play-offs.

However, Luton missed out on the chance to earn Premier League promotion after being beaten in last season’s semi-finals by Huddersfield, but Mowbray insisted the Hatters will be aiming to “put that right”.

He said: “(Luton) had (a play-off run) last year as well, it’s sometimes easy to have a narrative of ‘little Luton’ but they were in the play-offs last year as well so they’ll have the experience of the play-offs.

“They’ll be disappointed they didn’t get through the play-offs last year but they’ll be trying to put that right this year.

“These games are all big games and the mentality of our group has been – because of the injuries, because of the adversity – to express ourselves, play as we play, do what we’re good at and see where it takes us.

“I don’t see a reason to change that, this weekend, the game itself is a big game. The coverage, it’s the post-season, go and express yourself, go and show everybody who’s watching your individual talent, your collective talent and see if we can get a result against a team who’ve done exceptionally well.”

The first leg takes place in front of a sell-out crowd at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, but both clubs face a difficult test as their two meetings in the Championship this season have both ended in 1-1 draws.

The most recent clash came in March when Amad Diallo’s late penalty cancelled out Alfie Doughty’s second-half strike, and Mowbray knows how tough a team the Hatters are.

“As I said seven or eight weeks ago when we played them, you could feel they’re difficult to break down,” he said.

“They were a very strong, very robust, a very athletic team and at times leaving man-for-man at the back, pushing in and leading a high press.

“It takes you out of your rhythm really, so it’s going to be a difficult game and I think all of these games we shouldn’t look at 90 minutes on Saturday; even if we’re winning, losing or drawing there’s another 90 minutes.”

Coventry have been preparing for their Premier League assault as popular Sky Blues kitman Chris Marsh fights sepsis.

The former Walsall defender was admitted to University Hospital Coventry this week with the infection which stemmed from a problem in his neck.

He missed Monday’s final day 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough but will be in the dressing room for Sunday’s Championship play-off semi-final first leg against the same opponents at the CBS Arena on Sunday, although cannot work as he recovers.

The effervescent Marsh credits club doctor Ganeshan Ramsamy for acting quickly and knows there could have been a very different outcome.

He told the PA news agency: “I thought it was a wasp sting but I had a really bad night’s sleep so when I came into the training ground the next day (Sunday), I saw the club doctor and he said ‘we need to rush you to A&E’.

“He was worried it was Mastoiditis (a serious infection that affects the mastoid bone behind the ear).

“I was in overnight and they released me so I watched the Boro game on TV before the doc asked me to send him a picture of my neck.

“He told me I was still in trouble – my neck was blistering – and I needed to go back to hospital. I went back and they’d given me the wrong medication so kept me in and it was sepsis.

“They got to it quickly. If I had left it which I probably would have done, it would have been serious. The club doctor was outstanding. He is top-drawer. He cares and I’ve got a lot of time for him, he’s brilliant.

“I’m back home and feeling better. My appetite returned on Wednesday so that tells you you’re on the mend. I can’t work for the next week but they want me in the dressing room on Sunday which is great.”

It is not the first time Marsh has survived a traumatic experience having suffered a slow bleed on the brain on Christmas Day in 2016.

Three days later wife Sabina took him to a walk-in centre where – after she demanded treatment – his blood pressure was found to be dangerously high and he was rushed to hospital. It was a decision which saved his life.

“I was in hospital for a week and on the fifth or sixth day when I was better the consultant sat on my bed,” said Marsh.

“He said ‘I’ve heard all the stories, heard off your wife that she kicked up a fuss at the walk-in clinic and you wanted to go home. Categorically, had you gone home that night and slept like you wanted to do, you weren’t waking up’.

“The bleed was that bad, I would have been gone.

“I’ve always said my wife saved me then. They always know, right? She sensed there was something wrong and she acted upon it right away.”

Soon after his recovery, and unable to do his day job as a driver, the ex-Northampton man joined the Sky Blues as kit man having played with manager Mark Robins and assistant Adi Viveash at Walsall.

There, he was a key part of promotion squads, including the Saddlers’ famous 1998-99 season when they finished runners-up behind Fulham and ahead of Manchester City in the old Second Division.

Coventry are now seeking to end their 22-year exile from the Premier League.

They have never been closer since their 2001 relegation, despite playing seven of their opening nine games away because the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the CBS Arena pitch.

“One thing with this management team, not just Robbo, it’s Adi, Dennis Lawrence, everyone, they don’t take anyone for granted,” said Marsh, who has been a restaurateur and sandwich shop owner since retiring from playing.

“The players are not allowed to take the foot off the gas. Especially with the start we had, we were bottom, the pitch, we had to play so many away games at the start.

“To climb the table and be consistent, every single member of that team has played a part, every single one.

“Talk about David v Goliath or whatever analogy you want. We haven’t just swum The Channel, we’ve swum the Atlantic already – there and back.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards believes the experience of losing a Championship play-off semi-final can be turned into a positive as they prepare to make their return.

Several players in the squad went through the heartbreak of a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Huddersfield a year ago.

But Edwards, who took over from Nathan Jones in November, thinks that can help with motivation ahead of the trip to Sunderland on Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how the lads handle it. A number of them had the disappointment of last season and they don’t want that again,” he told a press conference.

“We can learn from that experience, we can talk about it.

“The one thing that I’m looking for is the performance, doing our basics and those things really well because that’s what has served us well throughout the season so far.

“If we do those things right you give yourself a good chance of getting a result but I can’t say ‘yeah, we’re going to go one step further’.”

Luton secured their play-off place a couple of weeks ago and finished the season third, 11 points behind Sheffield United but also 11 ahead of Sunderland.

They have not lost since February, and then to champions Burnley, and have been defeated only twice since Boxing Day as they ended the campaign on a 14-match unbeaten run of eight wins and six draws.

But Edwards does not believe that will make much difference when it comes to knockout football.

“I’m not sure how important form and momentum is,” he added.

“We’ve been able to do that (maintain momentum) but the play-offs are something else, they are a different beast.

“The time where I was part of a successful team (at Blackpool in 2010) we finished sixth and beat Nottingham Forest in the semi-final, who finished a number of points ahead of us.

“That was a long time ago, but I’ve experienced it. I think where we finished probably hasn’t got a part to play now.

“The players do deserve a lot of credit to finish third in this league but we’re not done and we don’t want it to end now.”

Striker Cauley Woodrow is expected to miss both legs against Sunderland with a knee problem but could possibly return if Luton reach the final.

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is hopeful adversity has helped gel his team together as they prepare for their Championship play-off semi-final showdown with Luton.

A dramatic final day of the regular season saw the Black Cats sneak into the final play-off spot after goals from Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke secured a 3-0 win against Preston.

Their place was then cemented after Blackburn mounted a stunning comeback against Millwall to end the Lions’ hopes of a top-six finish.

Sunderland’s path to the play-offs has been made all the more remarkable given the injuries they have faced throughout the season and Mowbray admitted it has been a “frustrating spell”.

He told a pre-match press conference: “I think because of the nature of the way the injuries have piled up, they’ve all been long-term injuries and all been one on top of one another in pretty crucial areas of the pitch.

“It’s been a frustrating spell for us, we’ve talked about losing Ross (Stewart) early in the season and losing goals, but goals haven’t really been a problem for us with the players that we’ve got.

“We’re sitting here now about to play against a pretty physical, strong, direct team who are very connected and work extremely hard for each other without really any central defenders.

“I hope it’s gelling us together, the adversity of it to bring in a team tighter together.”

Sunderland have been without Ross Stewart since February, with the striker having been absent for an early part of the season, while Elliot Embleton and captain Corry Evans also remain out.

Injuries have also affected the squad defensively with Danny Batth and Dan Ballard sidelined, but there are concerns about whether Dennis Cirkin and Lynden Gooch will be involved.

The pair were substituted off against Preston on Monday and a late call may be made as to their involvement.

Mowbray said: “Neither of them have trained, they might train tomorrow, we’ll have to see and if they train tomorrow and put their hand up after five minutes and come off, they won’t be playing.

“If they get through the session there’s a chance they’ll play, so we’ll have to see.

“We’ll have a light training session tomorrow and if they come through it, and after a one-on-one chat we decide if we’ll go with it, if that’s the case.

“In all honesty, I don’t know sitting here if they’re going to be available or not.”

Former NFL star JJ Watt has put his old Chelsea allegiances to one side because he believes he can make a big difference at Championship-winning Burnley.

The 34-year-old, who retired from playing last year, has been in Lancashire this week to enjoy Burnley’s final game of the season and take part in Tuesday’s trophy parade after he and his wife Kealia, a former United States international, became investors in the club.

Watt has previously said he was a Chelsea fan but that is in the past for the three-time NFL defensive player of the year.

“I’m a massive football fan and I’ve been looking for the right opportunity for a long time,” Watt told the PA news agency.

“Burnley is a club that has been around since 1882, it’s got incredible support in a great town and I’m very much looking forward to helping create the vision that Alan (Pace, chairman) and Vincent (Kompany, manager) have for the club.

“With a club like Chelsea if I got involved, I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t have any impact in what is a $6billion club. But if you come to a club like Burnley you have the chance to make a difference, the chance to make an impact.

“I don’t hide the fact I used to be a Chelsea supporter but I’m all Burnley now.”

While the Premier League is now awash with investment from around the world, most of that is channelled into the big six clubs or those in London. Turf Moor is a long way from the more glamorous image of the top flight, but Watt, who grew up in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, said that appealed to him.

“I’m from a small town in Wisconsin and I grew up watching the Green Bay Packers,” said Watt, who spent 10 seasons with the Houston Texans and two with the Arizona Cardinals.

“Every bit of evidence says Green Bay is not a big town and there’s no reason for them to be great but I think that something special can happen in a small town, especially when you have a manager like Vincent Kompany and a chairman like Alan Pace, and supporters like we have here.”

Watt admitted he felt a bit of out of place at Tuesday’s parade – “I don’t feel like I deserve to be here because I just joined” – but he has quickly got involved in several aspects of the club, even sitting in on a meeting looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

Having taken some inspiration from the impact Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have had at Wrexham, just promoted to League Two, Watt said he wanted to take Burnley global.

There will also be a particular focus on improving the women’s team at Burnley, who play in the National League North, the third tier of the pyramid.

“I’m going to be helping to increase the global brand,” Watt said. “We want to help create interest and excitement around Burnley Football Club and tell the story of the town and get people to understand how great of a place it is.

“(The women’s team) is a big part of what we want to do. Women’s football is on the rise globally and we want to make sure Burnley is a part of that rise.”

Watford have appointed Valerien Ismael as their new head coach.

Ex-Barnsley and West Brom boss Ismael replaces Chris Wilder, who has left Vicarage Road at the end of his short-term deal.

Ismael’s contract length has not been disclosed by Watford but he is the 19th full-time appointment made by the Pozzo family during the past 11 years.

Watford technical director Ben Manga told the club’s official website: “Being able to appoint a new coach so soon in May means we can prepare very well together for next season.

“To be able to welcome someone of Valerien’s experience to Watford is good news for our club. We are all looking forward to working with him.”

It continues the extraordinary churn of managers at Watford under the ownership of the Pozzo family with Wilder only appointed in March after Slaven Bilic had been sacked.

Speculation had been rife over the future of former Sheffield United manager Wilder in recent weeks and his departure was confirmed on Wednesday night.

“The Hornets would like to place on record their thanks to Chris Wilder and his staff, whose short-term contracts have come to an end,” a club statement read.

“His 11-game spell began in March and finished after the season’s final-day win at home to Stoke City. We wish Chris, Alan Knill, Matt Prestridge and Mike Allen all the very best for their next opportunity in football.”

Ismael arrives at Vicarage Road after a spell in Turkey in charge of Besiktas.

After numerous managerial stints in Germany, most notably with Wolfsburg, the Frenchman enjoyed success at Barnsley in 2021 after he guided them into the Sky Bet Championship play-offs against the odds.

It earned the 47-year-old a move to West Brom, but he was sacked after only seven months and will now aim to help Watford pursue a return to the Premier League.

Cardiff say they have prepared “separate legal action” against Nantes over the Emiliano Sala transfer, with the matter now set to be resolved in the French courts.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal has ruled the Court of Arbitration for Sport does not have the power to deal with Cardiff’s claim for damages against Nantes.

Sala died when the light aircraft he was travelling in from France crashed into the English Channel in January 2019, two days after Cardiff had announced the signing of the 28-year-old Argentinian forward.

Nantes’ claim for the first six million euros (just over £5m) of the £15m transfer fee was upheld by CAS last August.

A statement from the Welsh club read: “The Swiss Federal Tribunal has decided the Court of Arbitration for Sport does not have jurisdiction to deal with Cardiff City’s claim for damages against FC Nantes.

“This is not a surprise and the club has already prepared separate legal action against them which will be started straight away.”

Cardiff maintain that “FC Nantes must be held responsible for the accident” which they allege was “organised by their agent”.

“This will be to recover what the club paid for Emiliano and additional damages for further consequential losses,” Cardiff added.

FIFA originally imposed a three-window transfer embargo on Cardiff after their failure to pay the initial instalment of the Sala fee.

The embargo was lifted after Cardiff paid the first instalment in January.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal said in its published judgement: “It appears that the procedural rules applicable to the FIFA CSJ (Player Status Commission, or Commission de Statut de Joueur) were designed to assure a rapid and inexpensive resolution of disputes.

“Article 25 of the RSTJ (Reglement du Statut et du Transfert du Joueustates) that the CSJ must give its decision in no more than 60 days and costs cannot exceed 25,000 francs.

“That objective would be compromised if it was determined that the CSJ was required to rule on any claim brought before it, including when this has no connection with football regulations.

“The CSJ, in its capacity as a judicial body specialising in certain aspects of football regulations, has neither the expertise nor the means to rule, as in this case, on legally complex issues with international elements unconnected to football.

“The capping of costs at a relatively low amount of 25,000 francs is a further indication that it is not the CSJ’s role to examine claims requiring wide-ranging aeronautical expertise to determine the causes of a plane crash.

“The (CAS) panel underlines that its own jurisdiction presupposes that the CSJ itself had jurisdiction over the claim invoked.

“In other words, when an appeal is made to CAS, it can only examine the claim for compensation if the judicial body called upon in the first instance, in this case the CSJ, was itself able to do so.”

A dramatic final weekend of the Football League campaign set up a series of intriguing play-off ties as the remaining promotion contenders gear up for one last push.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the combatants in the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two as the semi-finals loom.

The Championship

Sunderland v Luton

Sunderland went into their final-day trip to Preston knowing even victory might not be enough to edge them into the play-offs, but a 3-0 victory, coupled with Millwall’s remarkable capitulation at home to Blackburn, saw them snatch sixth place to keep alive their unlikely hopes of back-to-back promotions.

Under Tony Mowbray, who replaced Alex Neil at the helm in August, they are unbeaten in nine and finished the regular season – during which star striker Ross Stewart was largely absent and they were without a recognised central defender – strongly to give themselves a chance to exorcise the ghost of successive relegations from the Premier League to League One.

Luton, who have not played in the top flight since 1992, were already assured of third place and their play-off berth before Monday’s 0-0 home draw with Hull, which extended their unbeaten run to 14 games.

Indeed, Rob Edwards’ men, who boast dyed-in-the-wool Wearsider Mick Harford among their backroom staff, have lost only once in the league since January 14 and climbed from 10th place into the top three after the former Watford manager’s appointment as Nathan Jones’ replacement in November.

Coventry v Middlesbrough

When Mark Robins accepted the hotseat at Coventry in March 2017, the club was hurtling into League Two and faced an uncertain future amid deepening financial problems.

He has since guided them back up the pyramid to within touching distance of the Premier League, where they last played during the 200-01 season, after a run of 17 games which included just a single defeat and ended with Monday’s 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough.

Former Manchester United and England star Michael Carrick, who was on the books at Boro as a youngster, inherited a team which had won just four of its first 16 league games and was languishing inside the relegation zone when he replaced Chris Wilder in October.

Carrick has overseen a concerted drive up the table, fuelled in large part by revitalised 28-goal striker Chuba Akpom, which at one point saw the club flirt with automatic promotion.

League One

Peterborough v Sheffield Wednesday

Peterborough’s last-gasp surge into the play-offs represents a triumph for persistence. Manager Darren Ferguson, who resigned in February last year with the club slipping inexorably towards the Championship exit, returned for a fourth spell in charge in January following successor Grant McCann’s departure.

Sunday’s 2-0 win at Barnsley enabled Posh to leapfrog Derby into sixth place with a helping hand from Wednesday, who beat the Rams 1-0.

Owls boss Darren Moore, however, will hope that is as far as his side’s charity extends having seen them finish 19 points clear of their semi-final opponents and just two adrift of second-placed Ipswich.

They lost out to Sunderland at the same stage last season and will head into their latest two-legged appointment on the back of a four-game winning run.

Bolton v Barnsley

Bolton’s quest for a return to the second tier for the first time since 2019 caps a season of real positivity after a difficult spell in the club’s history.

Promoted from the fourth tier two seasons ago, Ian Evatt’s men have lost only one of their last 10 games in all competitions, a sequence of results which includes a 4-0 Papa Johns Trophy final victory over League One champions Plymouth.

Relegated from the Championship at the end of last season – having won just six of their 46 games a year after reaching the play-offs – Barnsley are looking to make an immediate return under Michael Duff.

They rather limped over the line, taking just a point from their final three fixtures with runners-up Ipswich and fast-finishing Peterborough both winning at Oakwell.

League Two

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Salford v Stockport

Salford, famously backed by Manchester United’s Class of ’92, survived a final-day scare as they clung on to the final play-off spot despite a 1-0 home defeat by Gillingham.

Led by former United Academy coach Neil Wood, the Ammies have made it to the end-of-season festivities for the first time since their emergence from the National League in 2019.

Stockport boss Dave Challinor is targeted a third-successive promotion have steered County back into the Football League last season having done the same with Hartlepool 12 months earlier.

They missed out on automatic promotion to Northampton on Monday after a 1-1 home draw with already-relegated Pool, but are unbeaten in 13.

Bradford v Carlisle

There are few bigger managerial names in the lower leagues than that of Bradford boss Mark Hughes, but the Bantams are going to have to do it the hard way if they are to make it back to the third tier.

They won only one of their last five regular season fixtures – although drew 1-1 with champions Orient to seal their play-off place – and failed to score in either game against the Cumbrians.

Carlisle’s 1-1 draw with Sutton ensured their continued participation, although their form too is patchy with only two wins in their last 11 games.

Paul Simpson, the man who took the club from the Conference to League One in successive seasons during his first spell as boss, is back in charge having successfully fought his own battle with kidney cancer and hopes are high for a significant upturn.