Mark Schwarzer says he is “living the dream” with Fulham and wants to play for at least a further two seasons. The 39-year-old goalkeeper has been a mainstay in the Cottagers’ side since joining from Middlesbrough in 2008.
Schwarzer wants to represent Australia at the 2014 World Cup. He believes it is well within reach.
“It’s great, I am living the dream,” he said.
“I am playing at the highest level and I am almost 40 years old.
“I still have ambitions to go and represent Australia in another World Cup in 2014, that is my ultimate goal.”
Hodgson in no rush on future
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson insists he will not rush into making a decision on his future.
Hodgson is out of contract in the summer and is among the candidates for the vacant England manager’s role.
When asked about his contract situation, Hodgson said: “I shall be 65 in the summer and I don’t need to worry about those sort of things. We’ll see what happens.
“The one thing I do care about is working in the Premier League.
“I’m not so certain that I want to stay in England and just cling on to any job and work in any division.”
Celtic cut debts
Celtic reduced their bank debt by £2 million during the second half of last year.
Celtic made a pre-tax profit of about £180,000 while cutting the debt to just over £7 million.
Turnover increased by 3.1% to £29.3 million during the six months to December 31.
Celtic reported investment in football personnel of almost £4.5m, half of the figure for the same period last year, when they profited from the sale of Aiden McGeady among others.
Celtic’s Europa League re-prieve helped increase turn-over by almost £1m after they were reinstated following the exclusion of Sion before bowing out in the group stages.
McCarthy sacked
Wolves yesterday sacked manager Mick McCarthy just 24 hours after their humiliating 5-1 home loss to rivals West Bromwich Albion.
Former Republic of Ireland international McCarthy, 53, took over at the club in 2006, guiding them into the Premier League in 2009.
But the club have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games and are now 18th in the table after a Peter Odemwingie hat-trick inspired West Brom in the Black Country derby at Molineux on Sunday.
McCarthy was already under pressure to improve results after owner Steve Morgan came into the dressing room following a recent defeat against Liverpool and blasted the players for their poor performance.
Mou welcomes breathing space
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho acknowledges his side now have some room for error in their Liga title bid after extending their lead over Barce-lona to 10 points with a 4-2 win over Levante Sunday night.
With 16 games left, Real will feel confident about ending Barca’s three-year reign as Spanish champions, although Mourinho knows there is still plenty left to play for.
He said: “Ten points are 10 points and that gives you some margin for error. If you lose a game it’s not decisive. But, there are a lot of points and a lot of games left.
“We need 39 points, which translates into 13 victories, and that is still a lot.”
Chelsea summit
Chelsea yesterday confirmed Roman Abramovich met with Andre Villas-Boas and his players after the squad were hauled in on their day off following the club’s defeat at Everton.
The flight back from Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League loss at Goodison Park saw manager Villas-Boas order his underperforming stars to turn up at the Blues’ Cobham training headquarters Sunday morning, where they were again greeted by Abramovich.
The club’s billionaire owner, who is far from happy with recent results, spoke to both Villas-Boas and the players, having already spent almost every day last week inspecting the current regime at close quarters.
His presence has sparked speculation over Villas-Boas’s future.
Ex-players take over at Hertha
Rene Tretschok and Ante Covic have been placed in temporary charge of Hertha Berlin following the dismissal of Michael Skibbe on Sunday.
Skibbe paid the price for a run of five successive defeats since replacing Markus Babbel during the winter break.
Youth coaches Tretschok and Covic, who between them played 157 games for Hertha, will sit on the bench for Saturday’s clash with Borussia Dortmund.
However, the club is looking at other candidates to fill the role on a full-time basis.
One of those is former Hertha coach Falko Gotz, currently out of work after a spell in charge of the Vietnam national team.