Sporting briefs...

Joins rivals: Celtic's reserve team coach Kenny McDowall quit the club to join Glasgow rivals Rangers yesterday in a move reported by local media to be linked with Walter Smith's expected return to Ibrox. McDowall, 43, steered his side to five successive Scottish Premier League reserve titles having been at Celtic for 10 years. He is the first senior coach to quit to join bitter rivals Rangers.

Wolves: Former Scotland international Graeme Souness confirmed yesterday he had made a £20 million offer to buy English second division Wolves. The Daily Mirror said negotiations between Souness and club owner Jack Hayward had taken place in recent weeks but Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey denied the report. Businessman Hayward, life president of Wolves, bought the club he supported as a boy in 1990, pumping in millions of pounds to try and restore the Molineux outfit back among the game's elite.

Beckham: Real Madrid want former England captain David Beckham to make a quick decision on his future so they can plan for next season. "A few months ago we presented an offer to extend his contract that reflected his importance as a football player and as a marketing image," Real sports director Predrag Mijatovic said. "He asked for time to think about it, but we are in a situation where we don't have time. We have to decide now."

Eriksson: Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has no interest in joining Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille. "These were only rumours. I never considered joining Olympique Marseille," Eriksson said. Eriksson made the comment after he attended a Dubai Cup match between Lazio and the French league side.

Terry: Chelsea and England captain John Terry was fined £10,000 and reprimanded by the FA yesterday for improper conduct after criticising referee Graham Poll. The central defender was sent off by Poll during last November's Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Coppa Italia: Quarter-final first leg - Empoli 0 Inter 2 (Adriano 71; Cordoba 90). Today - Roma vs Parma; Sampdoria vs Chievo. Tomorrow - Milan vs Arezzo.

King's Cup: Last 16, first leg - Atletico Madrid vs Osasuna 1-1.

Williams: Serena Williams may have to remove sister Venus's number from speed dial after some misguided advice left her scrambling to beat Czech Lucie Safarova at the Hobart International yesterday.

"I spoke to Venus before the match, she's played her before and she said that she was a tough opponent," Serena told reporters after squeezing past Safarova 6-3 3-6 7-6.

"But Venus didn't give me any good pointers, actually. She told me some false information, so I'll be calling her back about that."