The return of Michael O’Neill as manager has convinced Northern Ireland’s players they can qualify for Euro 2024, according to Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

The man who guided Northern Ireland to Euro 2016 came back to the job in December, instantly fuelling belief amongst fans that they could capitalise on a relatively favourable qualifying draw after the frustration of narrowly missing out on the last tournament under Ian Baraclough.

Some of that confidence was dented by a home defeat to Finland in March, but Peacock-Farrell insists belief remains at “100 per cent” going into Friday’s match away to Denmark.

Asked if O’Neill’s experience was key to that, he answered with a clear yes.

“Obviously the Finland result wasn’t ideal, but we are fully confident that if we were to go to Finland we could get a result,” the goalkeeper said.

“Denmark is going to be a tight game and a hard game, but it’s nothing we haven’t done before and there is still a long way to go in this group and a lot can change.”

O’Neill had little time to work with a youthful squad before the games in March but has held a series of post-season training camps coming into this window, getting his ideas across to those players who are not veterans of his last spell in charge.

“It’s the ability of the players and more time under the manager,” Peacock-Farrell said. “And getting the players in and accustomed to a slightly different way of playing under the last manager…

“To be honest it’s back to how it was under him the first time. Obviously there are a lot of fresh faces, but I feel as though Michael is still Michael.

“He brings so much detail and positive energy and a great feel about the place. It’s been nice to have him back and it feels good to be away with Northern Ireland.”

Peacock-Farrell is in line to earn his 38th cap on Copenhagen on Friday. With so many senior players missing through injury, the 26-year-old is now among the most experienced players in the dressing room.

“I’m not going to be anything other than myself when it comes to training and on the pitch,” he said of the extra responsibilities. “I’ll be leading like I was anyway. As a goalie, you have to do that anyway.”

But if Peacock-Farrell is Northern Ireland’s number one, things are less clear at club level.

When he made his international debut in May 2018, he had just broken into the Leeds side, but he lost his place six months later to Kiko Casilla.

Peacock-Farrell soon left to join Burnley, but has never established himself as first choice there, and has played more games for Sheffield Wednesday – 47 – than any other club after a loan spell in 2021/22.

There was perhaps an opportunity at Burnley last summer after Nick Pope left for Newcastle following relegation, but new manager Vincent Kompany opted to bring in Aro Muric.

Peacock-Farrell had to content himself with the back-up role again, but played eight times in the league and 16 in total as the Clarets won promotion back to the top flight.

“I am in a role where you can either get a lot of games or absolutely none,” Peacock-Farrell said. “I’ve been quite happy that I got the amount of games that I have.

“We had really good cup runs and I played the back end of the season as well as a couple of games at the front. Overall I could have done with a few more games and I like to play every game, but it certainly wasn’t a bad season.”

Rickie Fowler has revealed he is one of three top US golfers looking to invest in Leeds as part of the imminent takeover by 49ers Enterprises.

The American investment group are set to take charge of the club after agreeing a deal to buy out chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s controlling stake.

Fowler, along with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, all of whom have been converted to the Elland Road cause by Matt Fitzpatrick’s Leeds-supporting caddie Billy Foster, is confident of being part of the deal.

Fowler told Sky Sports News: “There’s the group that’s moving forward with being involved with Leeds – myself, JT (Justin Thomas) and Jordan (Spieth), so potentially we’ll be a part of it.

“It’s cool to have these opportunities. I know we’re looking into it, and it would be fun if we get to be a part of it, if not we’ll continue to root for Leeds.

“Obviously they got relegated but to get to go to a Premier League game, a Champions League game any of that (would be great). It’s called football over there, we call it soccer here but it’s a massive sport and I feel like it is continuing to get bigger in the states.

“Since I haven’t been to a game, I don’t have the true appreciation until (I get to) be there and feel that energy.”

Leeds confirmed that a deal had been reached with 49ers Enterprises last week, despite being forced back to the negotiating table in the wake of their relegation to the Championship.

The American group, also the owner of San Francisco 49ers, has been a majority shareholder in Leeds since 2018 and increased its stake to 44 per cent in 2021, with the option of buying Radrizzani’s remaining 56 per cent before January 2024.

All 64 matches in this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup will be broadcast live on terrestrial TV in the UK after the BBC and ITV clinched a joint rights deal.

The move, which includes live audio commentary on BBC 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra, comes after FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) agreed to extend their existing media rights partnership.

The BBC and ITV will share the matches, including England’s Group D openers against Haiti, Denmark and China, with the exception of the final, which will be broadcast on both BBC One and ITV1.

The tournament, which is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, kicks off on July 20 when New Zealand face Norway in Auckland, while England’s first match is against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “We have shown every Women’s World Cup on the BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with FIFA for the upcoming tournament.

“The growth of the women’s game is extraordinary.”

ITV will split games between ITV1 and ITV4, with catch-up on ITVX.

ITV director of Sport Niall Sloane said: “”We’re delighted to be able to bring comprehensive coverage of the Women’s World Cup, free to air to our audiences with both live and highlights broadcasts across ITV and ITVX.”

The new deal between FIFA and the EBU expands on a previous commitment to free-to-air broadcast across the continent, adding the five major markets of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as Ukraine.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the deal “a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football, which is a top priority for us in line with FIFA’s commitment to long-term development of the sport.”

Local businessman Mike Danson has bought League One side Wigan and paid off all their outstanding debts.

Danson, who owns a 25 percent stake in rugby league club Wigan Warriors, assumes control from Abdulrahman Al Jasmi and Talal Al Hammad, whose two-year reign was beset with problems and as a result Wigan will begin next season on minus eight points.

Clearance has been obtained from the EFL and, while a new board and chief executive are yet to be announced, manager Shaun Maloney retains his position.

Earlier this week Latics were served a winding-up petition by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax bills but, as a result of the takeover, all players and staff will be paid immediately, along with other creditors.

“I am delighted to become involved in Wigan Athletic Football Club. I was born in Wigan, I grew up locally and the community of the town is close to my heart,” said Danson.

“I want to recognise that the club has a hugely-important part to play in the local community, not just for players, but for fans, employees and all its suppliers, business partners and numerous community groups.

“We have worked hard to provide the EFL with a realistic financial plan to stabilise operations.

“We look forward to a fresh start for the club and planning for the upcoming season.”

Premier League clubs have agreed measures for tackling the rise in tragedy-related chanting at football matches, with criminal prosecution of offenders a principal aim.

It comes in response to a rise in the number of incidents of chants and other behaviour taunting victims and survivors of football-related tragedies, often between rival clubs.

A Manchester United supporter was arrested following the FA Cup final at Wembley earlier this month after he was seen wearing a football shirt which appeared to make an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.

Manchester City and Chelsea have both apologised to Liverpool in recent months for Hillsborough-related chants sung by their fans, and appealed for supporters to stop.

United supporters have themselves been targeted repeatedly with chants that reference the Munich air disaster of 1958 in which 23 people died, eight of them players.

The measures, which were agreed unanimously on Wednesday at the league’s AGM, come after a working group of stakeholders from across the game was established six months ago, and will also look at issues surrounding regulation and enforcement, online abuse and education.

A Premier League statement said the measures would seek to “address the unacceptable rise in anti-social behaviour involving football tragedy-related chanting, gesturing, graffiti, online abuse and other behaviours last season.

“(These) issues have continued to cause significant distress to the victims’ families, survivors and affected-club supporters, in addition to damaging the reputation of the clubs involved and football in England and Wales.

“The action will focus on criminal prosecution, the regulatory environment, enforcement, online abuse, education and communications.

“Following further football partner sign off, full details will be publicly announced ahead of the season as part of the Love Football, Protect the Game campaign which was launched last year.”

The league also confirmed that it had agreed unanimously to amend its owners’ and directors’ test to prohibit fully-leveraged buyouts, in which prospective owners borrow all of the required funds thus loading the club with debt and interest charges.

The Glazer family’s £970million purchase of United in 2005 was largely propped up by loans, with the owners strongly criticised in the years since for taking money out of the club to service the debt.

Attendance figures for the 2022/23 season were also published with the average crowd for Premier League games hitting a record 40,267, up from 39,950 the previous campaign.

Stadiums were on average at 98.7 per cent capacity last season compared with 97.7 per cent the year before.

David Brooks does not want to be picked on sentiment on his return to the Wales stage.

Brooks is back in the Wales squad for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier at home to Armenia – the first time he has featured for the Dragons since October 2021 when he was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma while on international duty.

The 25-year-old winger announced he was cancer-free in May last year and returned to club action for Bournemouth in March, starting the Cherries’ final two Premier League games.

Brooks signed a new four-year Bournemouth deal last August and says he must be chosen for Wales on merit.

“I was out of contract this year before I signed my new one,” Brooks said.

“Even before talks had kicked in I wanted to make it clear I wasn’t there for sympathy.

“I don’t want to be there if I’m not going to play or wasn’t in the plans.

“Once they saw me training and how I was determined to get back to, I did earn what I was given.

“It’s the same with Wales. I don’t just want to be called up to be a spare part. I’m working hard to get back in the Bournemouth XI and be starting for Wales as well.”

Brooks underwent chemotherapy treatment following his cancer diagnosis, the draining effects of which he has said left him with night sweats, weight loss and struggling to climb the stairs.

Now he is close to peak playing condition – “I probably need to change a bit of the fat to muscle” – and says that returning to the Wales camp where he was diagnosed was a “very nice feeling”.

Brooks said: “The first step after the treatment was to get back into the Bournemouth dressing room and be part of that.

“As soon as that was completed, to get back in the Wales set up was the aim. The lads have welcomed me with open arms.”

On meeting up with Wales’ chief medical officer, Jonathan Houghton, who detected that Brooks’ had cancer symptoms, Brooks said: “I do owe him a lot, he’s obviously done a lot for us. It’s always nice to see him.

“Whenever my mum and dad see him they burst out crying and give him a big hug. I can’t thank him enough.

“Getting that awful news drops and crushes your world, at that moment you hope it will get better and go back to normal at some point.”

Brooks won the last of his 21 Wales caps against Denmark at the delayed 2020 European Championship in June 2021.

His perspective on life might have changed in that time, with Brooks saying “he did not have a single care about football” when he was diagnosed “as I just wanted still be on Earth”.

But Brooks said: “I just love playing football and so as soon as I got the diagnosis, that was snatched away in the blink of an eye.

“But it’s not the end of the world if you don’t end up playing football. Football is not life or death, the main thing is being happy and healthy.

“My ambitions haven’t changed. I still want to try and get to the very top.

“The hunger and drive is the same for all the lads. We all have the same goal of reaching the Euros, the World Cup – that’s what everyone wants to play in.

“There’s a lot of new faces, people I’ve not met prior to this camp, and a lot of new staff.

“But the brief time I’ve worked with them over the past week, we’re all pushing in the same direction and trying to achieve the same goal.”

Manchester United is "more than a club", according to Thomas Zilliacus, who bid to take over the Premier League giants in March.

Zilliacus failed in his bid for the club, which would have included the consortium he led to creating a vehicle for fans to purchase up to half of the shares.

The 69-year-old, who is the founder and chairman of novaM Group, suggested that failure was down to some members of the Glazer family being unwilling to sell.

Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani are the bidders left in the race.

Speaking to Stats Perform, Zilliacus said: "Manchester United is more than a club. It's an institution that is known all over the world.

"I've lived in Asia for a long time and Manchester United is as famous as Big Ben out in Asia.

"So it's an institution that has been there long before any of the current investors were born and it is going to be there long after we all have died.

"So I think it's more of the privilege of being a caretaker of an institution that if you become an owner of a club like United.

"I think whatever happens, it needs to be something that is beneficial to the club and its fans. And like I said, I think both these bidders have a genuine interest to improve the club and obviously are also willing to put in a lot of money."

Zilliacus did not hide his frustration at the bidding process.

He explained: "I didn't like the process in the way it was run. To be honest, I don't think it was run in a very professional manner.

"I think that probably reflects the fact that the Glazer family has six siblings and I don't think that they all have the same view on what they want to do.

"What I would normally have expected is that if you have a deadline for bids, and you get serious bidders as they got there, at least three that we know in public; Sheikh Jassim, Jim Ratcliffe, and myself, then you sit down and negotiate with those bidders.

"What instead happened here was that there was, again, a new round and again, a new round kind of starting from scratch.

"That was one reason but the main reason why we then finally withdrew was, frankly, financial. I felt, and my consortium felt that the price simply went up too high.

"It's a business that has to be profitable at the end of the day. And I think with the price tag that the Glazers put on the club, I think it is very tough to make a profit."

Asked why he wanted to take over at Old Trafford, Zilliacus said: "Manchester United has one of the biggest, maybe the biggest, fan base in the world.

"So the fan base was something that, in particular, we felt was very interesting. The other part is, of course, the club in itself. It's a club that I've been following since I was 11 years old. I'm not investing because I'm a fan, but it helps when you like the club as well.

"Last but not least, the UK as a market is very interesting because of the substantial money that is coming from media rights. So those would have been the main reasons."

Sunderland have reached an agreement to sign 17-year-old Jobe Bellingham from Birmingham for an undisclosed fee.

The Black Cats have been targeting Bellingham for some time and will complete the deal when he returns from international duty with England Under-18s.

Jobe is the younger brother of England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who also completed his move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Jobe made his debut for the Blues at the age of 16 in January 2022, and made 22 appearances for the club in last season’s Sky Bet Championship campaign.

Bellingham told Sunderland’s official website: “I’m delighted to sign for Sunderland AFC and I can’t wait to get started.

“The opportunity for young players to move here and progress is clear, so I believe this is the perfect club for me to continue my development.

“I’m grateful to everyone at Birmingham City for their support over the past 11 years and I wish them the best for the future, as I begin the next chapter of my career at the Stadium of Light.”

Brighton have announced the signing of James Milner on a free transfer from Premier League rivals Liverpool.

The former England international has agreed a one-year contract at the Amex Stadium, with the option for a further 12 months.

Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi told his club’s website: “I’m very glad to welcome James to Brighton.

“He’s an excellent addition for us and I’m sure he will help to bring us to an even higher level.”

Milner, who won 61 international caps between 2009 and 2016, began his career with Leeds and has also played for Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The 37-year-old won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during eight years at Anfield.

He will join Brighton following the expiration of his Reds contract on June 30 and add experience to De Zerbi’s squad ahead of the club’s maiden Europa League campaign.

Seagulls technical director David Weir said: “His experience speaks for itself with the amount of games he has played and the trophies he has won throughout a decorated career.

“These games include European competition, which will be of huge value to us as we embark on our first season in Europe.”

Milner is currently third in the list of all-time Premier League appearances with 619, behind Gareth Barry (652) and Ryan Giggs (632).

The veteran midfielder, who can also operate at full-back, is Brighton’s second signing of the summer following the club-record arrival of Brazilian forward Joao Pedro from Watford.

Leeds have been charged with misconduct over their fans’ behaviour during their Premier League home game against Brighton in March.

The Football Association has alleged home fans in the Elland Road crowd used words that were “improper, offensive, abusive, indecent or insulting with reference to sexual orientation” during the first half.

An FA spokesperson said: “Leeds have been charged with misconduct for a crowd-control incident that happened in their game with Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, March 11.

“It’s alleged that the club failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters – and anyone purporting to be their supporters or followers – conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in the 20th minute and not use words or behaviour that are improper, offensive, abusive, indecent or insulting with reference to sexual orientation.

“Leeds have until Wednesday, June 21 to provide a response.”

Leeds twice equalised in a 2-2 draw through Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison but slipped back into the bottom three before suffering relegation to the Sky Bet Championship at the end of the season.

Motherwell have confirmed the departure of full-back Jake Carroll after four years at Fir Park.

The 31-year-old joined the Steelmen from Cambridge in 2019 and went on to make 76 appearances for the club.

However, he leaves under freedom of contract at the end of a campaign in which he featured in only three matches before being sidelined by a serious knee injury sustained last August.

Carroll will be allowed use of Motherwell’s facilities until he returns to fitness.

Striker Jack Aitchison, 23, is also leaving after making 11 appearances – nine as a substitute – since arriving on deadline day in January.

Homegrown centre-back David Devine, who has struggled to make the breakthrough at Motherwell since his debut in 2019, has also been released.

The Lanarkshire club are still in talks with several other players regarding their futures.

“The club wants to thank all players who are leaving,” said a statement on the Motherwell website. “We remain in discussions with a number of players ahead of next season and will provide an accurate update when possible.”

Dutch striker Kevin Van Veen, who scored 29 goals in the season just finished, has been heavily linked with a move to Groningen in his homeland in recent days.

Alexis Mac Allister is exactly the type of player Liverpool need if they are to return to the top, according to Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool wrapped up a £35 million deal to sign the Argentina midfielder from Brighton last week.

The Reds are hoping to bounce back from a disappointing Premier League season that saw them miss out on the top four as they finished fifth despite a strong finish to the campaign.

Van Dijk, speaking before the Netherlands play Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on Wednesday, thinks the swoop for Mac Allister is an ideal start to the transfer window.

"He is a very good player," said Van Dijk.

"Obviously, we have played against him many times [with Liverpool] and also with Holland against Argentina. 

"He will definitely be a big addition and something we need in order to be back where we all want it to be. 

"So it's a good start to the transfer window. Hopefully, we get a couple more quality additions and he is definitely one of the players who can make hopefully a difference for us in the next couple of years."

Mac Allister played 35 Premier League matches for Brighton last season.

The 24-year-old scored 10 times as Brighton impressively finished sixth, just one place behind Liverpool, to qualify for the Europa League.

Ella Toone says she feels “ready and prepared” to launch into a World Cup summer with England on Monday, three weeks after the conclusion of the Women’s Super League season.

Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman had long planned for a pre-tournament camp to start on June 19, but there was uncertainty when she named her World Cup squad on May 31 as talks continued over the timing of players being released for duty ahead of the showpiece in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way on July 20.

The European Club Association had in April highlighted July 10 as the earliest date for player release under FIFA regulations, and in mid-May the two bodies proposed June 23-29 as a guideline timeframe that they said “(struck) the all-important balance between players having sufficient rest while allowing adequate time to prepare”, with exact dates to be agreed between clubs and national associations.

Last week the June 19 start for England’s camp was confirmed by the Football Association, which said it was “grateful for the mutual understanding of the clubs, as we have collectively worked towards a solution with the wellbeing of players at the heart.”

Regarding the recent uncertainty, Toone told the PA news agency: “It’s not been ideal, but for us it’s what we can control and that was making sure we had rest and recovery, making sure we were physically and mentally getting ourselves back to where we know we need to be.

“Now I’m back on it, working hard and can’t wait to go into camp.”

Toone, part of Great Britain’s Tokyo Olympics squad in the summer of 2021 before helping England win the Euros last year, has been a regular starter for her country across 2022-23 and featured in a Manchester United side that achieved WSL and FA Cup best efforts as runners-up in each competition.

The 23-year-old Wigan native – speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session in Manchester – says it has been a “long season, but one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed” and has declared herself “really happy” with the agreed camp start date, adding: “I’ve had time to switch off and now I feel ready and prepared.

“We have a lot of trust in our England staff and they thought the 19th was right for us and so did we as players.

“It’s a World Cup, my first World Cup, so I can’t wait to get going.”

Toone feels it is important player welfare and scheduling is something that continues to be looked at closely as the women’s game keeps developing, saying: “We’ve seen quite a few injuries in the WSL this season.

“We have to make sure we get that rest and recovery right, as teams and as players. The women’s game is growing massively, as a club we are in the Champions League now as well so that’s extra games. It’s definitely something we all need to focus on because injuries are a big part of the game right now.”

England captain Leah Williamson and Euro 2022 top-scorer Beth Mead will not be at the World Cup after sustaining ACL injuries, and Fran Kirby is also absent due to a knee problem from a 23-player group scheduled to face Portugal in a warm-up match at Milton Keynes on July 1 before flying to Australia four days later.

Toone said: “It is an amazing squad. We know how much talent we have in England now. We’re obviously missing a few big names and people who were massive in the Euros win, but we’ve got to look forward and be confident in the team that’s going.”

Fun Football is an initiative to give children aged five to 11 free access to the game, and Toone said: “It’s great for the next generation of young girls.

“It’s something we probably missed out on and wish we’d had when we were growing up. It’s an amazing thing that McDonald’s are doing for communities and for young girls and boys to start out on their journey.”

:: Ella Toone was speaking at a special McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the opening of sessions in Lionesses’ hometowns during the Women’s World Cup. Toone hopes to encourage the next generation of young girls to get involved. Sign up to your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football

Ciaran Clark is leaving Newcastle this month, the club have confirmed.

The 33-year-old defender, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield United, joined the Magpies from Aston Villa in August 2016 and was named player of the year as they won promotion back to the Premier League in his first season.

Clark went on to make 127 appearances during his time at St. James’ Park, which comes to end this month upon the expiration of his contract.

Also leaving is academy graduate Matty Longstaff, but he will remain at the club and continue to receive treatment on an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered towards the end of 2022.

The 23-year-old scored the winning goal on his Premier League debut against Manchester United in October 2019 and went on to play 20 times for the club, having also spent time on loan at Aberdeen, Mansfield and Colchester.

Matt Ritchie is staying for another season after the club triggered an option to retain the services of the 33-year-old, while contract offers have also been made to defender Paul Dummett and goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Newcastle have taken an option on goalkeeper Mark Gillespie’s deal to keep him for another 12 months and defender Dan Burn gets another year on his deal after activating an appearance clause.

Striker Chris Wood will make his move to Nottingham Forest permanent at the start of next month after he spent the second half of last season on loan with Steve Cooper’s side.

Scotland defender Jack Hendry is relishing the prospect of facing Erling Haaland after enjoying previous battles against some of the world’s best forwards.

Hendry has a good chance of starting in Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo despite missing Scotland’s opening wins with injury. Grant Hanley and Scott McKenna are absent with injuries ahead of this month’s double header.

Haaland also missed the March qualifiers through injury and will be determined to add to his 53 goals for club and country this season after helping Manchester City clinch the treble last weekend.

When asked how you stop the striker, Hendry said: “I think we will keep that amongst ourselves in the group, I don’t want to give too much away. But a lot of people have tried to stop him this season and they haven’t done.

“He is an amazing player with an amazing record this season but we will taking a look at the full team and trying to combat that.

“We will do our best but it’s something I will definitely be relishing if I get called upon, to try and get the better of him.

“Obviously he has had an amazing season and of course that’s the type of players you want to test yourselves against. If I am called upon it’s a game I will be really looking forward to, testing yourself against the best in the world.

“I think we concentrate on ourselves, we did that for the first two games. If we keep on focusing on ourselves that will stand us in good stead.”

The Club Brugge defender faced City last season in the Champions League and also Paris St Germain, helping his side to a 1-1 draw against a forward line of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

“Not just big names, every game I am going into, I will have a quick look at the strikers I am coming up against, what their movements etc might be,” he said.

“Like Haaland, with every other player, I will study them and see how they are going to play and come up with a best solution on how to deal with them.

“But playing against top strikers like Mbappe will give me great experience going into these type of contests.

“The more games you play at that level the more confidence it gives you and I am lucky enough to have played quite a few games at that level now.

“I know that’s the level I can play at and I get a real excitement out of coming up against these type of players. It’s something the full team are looking forward to.”

Hendry missed three months of the season with a knee injury shortly after facing Benfica in the Champions League knockout stages in February, but he was back in the team for the final three games of the season.

Hendry, who had a loan spell at Serie A side Cremonese earlier in the season, said: “It was vital for me on a personal note at Club Brugge but also to now come into the international set-up, those games were vital for me to get that rhythm.

“They couldn’t have come about at a better time for Scotland. It was kind of an up-and-down season for me but I made sure I worked hard at Club Brugge to get those games and get those minutes and it has paid off coming into these games.

“I like to put myself out the comfort zone and went to play in Italy. The chance came up, it was probably just the wrong club at the wrong time, but I learnt a lot from it.

“Obviously there have been a few managerial changes at the clubs I have been at this season so it’s not been easy, with a couple of niggling injuries that recurred a couple of times. But that’s part and parcel of being a footballer and I still managed to get a few games under my belt.”