Football news

Harry Redknapp thinks goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had a great match in keeping a clean sheet against Manchester United on Saturday but hinted he could buy a new goalkeeper in January.

Gomes committed a series of blunders earlier this season but he has now put in five polished performances on the trot after Spurs secured a 0-0 draw with champions United.

The Brazilian's best saves came from a Ji-Sung Park effort and an injury-time Ryan Giggs' free-kick.

"I've got confidence in him," Redknapp said. "He's been excellent and if he can keep these performances up we haven't got a problem.

"But I'd like to bring in another keeper as cover or someone to battle it out with him."

Mihajlovic hits back at Mourinho

Inter coach Jose Mourinho cannot discuss football because he has never played the game, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said.

Mihajlovic's comments came after Mourinho remarked that the Serbian was allowed to become an assistant coach at Inter in 2006 despite spitting at opponents as a player.

The feud began when Mihajlovic discussed how he and former Inter coach Roberto Mancini had treated controversial striker Adriano compared to Mourinho's approach.

"I didn't want to criticise Mourinho but I only referred to the situation with Adriano," Mihajlovic said.

"Mancini and I dealt with it in the same way yet we were considered incapable and he is seen as great. But it is difficult to talk with him about football because he has never played."

Kranjcar not joining Arsenal

Niko Kranjcar said he is not considering a move to another club despite speculation that the Portsmouth playmaker could leave Fratton Park to join Arsenal for a reported £12.5 million fee.

The Croatian has just recovered following ankle surgery in the summer. He said it would be foolish for him to consider leaving Pompey.

"For me, my main objective is to keep fit and that's all," Kranjcar, 24, said.

"I've been out for three months, and it would be stupid for me to think about a move in January when I haven't been fit for the beginning of the season."

Rovers defeat makes Ince wince

Paul Ince said Blackburn Rovers let their fans down on Saturday when another defeat left his side deep in relegation trouble.

Rovers were hammered 3-0 at Wigan, their sixth consecutive defeat in all competitions making Ince one of the favourites to become the next top-flight managerial casualty.

"I'm very disappointed with the players. We are hurting at this moment in time," the former England midfielder said.

"We let our fans down. Obviously, they are going to voice their frustration as anyone would, and rightly so because we let them down again."

Scudetto - nothing to do with Napoli

Edy Reja reckons Napoli are not good enough to challenge for the Italian league title despite occupying a high position in the standings.

On Saturday, Reja's team confirmed their splendid form after hammering Lecce 3-0 to move to the 30-point mark in the standings.

"We cancelled out a bit of a poor November showing," Reja said.

"We immediately got the game under wraps and then did very well on the counter. We do need to improve in our passing and movement. I hope to maintain this excellent trend.

"Scudetto ambitions? No, the title has nothing to do with us."

BBC award for Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton, who helped England lift the World Cup in 1966, was honoured with the 2008 BBC Lifetime Achievement in Sport award.

The award recognises Sir Bobby's 50 years dedicated to football. He remains England's all-time leading scorer with 49 goals. He also scored 249 goals for Manchester United in 758 appearances during a club career that spanned from 1953 to 1973.

Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement award include Bobby Robson (2007), Bjorn Borg (2006), Pele (2005), Ian Botham (2004), Martina Navratilova (2003), George Best (2002) and Alex Ferguson (2001).

No regrets says Magpies owner

Mike Ashley, the Newcastle United supremo, said he has no regrets for buying the club even though he admitted he committed some mistakes at St James's Park.

Ashley has been looking to sell the club since September when former manager Kevin Keegan quit in protest over the club's transfer policy. Ashley bore the brunt of a furious backlash from fans.

"I've made mistakes, sure," Ashley said.

"But do I regret buying Newcastle? Absolutely not. I had a fantastic year owning a fantastic club. It really was like someone fulfilling their boyhood dream."

Ashley, who is struggling to find a buyer, bought Newcastle for £134.4m in May 2007.