Sunderland’s close-season rec-ruitment must be good if the club are to avoid flirting with relegation for a fifth consecutive campaign, manager Sam Allardyce said after guiding the serial strugglers to safety.
The north-east team beat Everton 3-0 on Wednesday to secure survival but pulling off a last-gasp escape has become something of a habit for them in recent years.
“This club can’t be cheering and doing a lap of honour just for escaping relegation,” he said.
“This club has been in this position before and said it doesn’t want it to happen again, that has to happen this time. The next set of recruitment is crucial.”
Keane a good fit for Celtic – O’Neill
Ireland boss Martin O’Neill is confident assistant Roy Keane would be a good fit for Celtic if they turned to him in their search for a new manager.
Some bookmakers have suspended betting on the former Manchester United skipper, who had a brief spell at Parkhead as his playing career drew to a close, replacing Ronny Deila at the helm.
O’Neill said: “I think Celtic is one of the great clubs in the world and I have to say that he was one of the great players in the world, so that’s not a bad fit for a start.
“Could he do the job? I would have no problems with that whatsoever. Would he be capable of doing that? Absolutely. But as Roy said, you still have to be asked and so far, I’m not so sure that that’s been the case.”
Leicester dominate EPL nominations
Leicester City footballers look set to sweep this year’s individual awards after five were named in the 10 nominations for the Premier League Player of the Season.
Playmaker Riyad Mahrez, the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year, was joined by Football Writers’ choice Jamie Vardy, midfielder N’Golo Kante, keeper Kasper Schmeichel and captain Wes Morgan.
Tottenham trio Harry Kane, PFA Young Player of the Year Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld also made the list of nominees along with Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet.
Newcastle thank fans after relegation
Newcastle thanked the club’s fans for their support after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on Wednesday.
Newcastle were demoted to the Championship after their rivals Sunderland beat Everton 3-0.
“Tonight we are devastated at our relegation from the Premier League, as I know every single person connected to this football club will be,” managing director Lee Charnley said.
“I want to thank all of the fans for the support you have shown for the club you love throughout the season, in spite of this massive disappointment.”
Niang aims to be back for Coppa final
Milan forward M’Baye Niang is aiming to be back in action for next week’s Italian Cup final against Juventus after recovering from an ankle ligament injury.
The 21-year-old suffered the injury in a car accident and had to undergo surgery in March.
“My goal is to be available for the final. I am starting to find my feet and I still have 10 days to be at my best,” Niang said.
Milan, seventh in the league, face third-placed Roma tomorrow in their last Serie A game of the season.
The Italian Cup final is on May 21.
Grealish handed England U-21 call-up
Jack Grealish has received a first England Under-21s call-up since the Aston Villa playmaker turned his back on Ireland.
A difficult season for relegated Aston Villa has seen the 20-year-old’s star dim somewhat since in September declaring he was switching his allegiance to the country of his birth.
Grealish had represented Ireland up to Under-21s level, but will now continue his international career with Gareth Southgate’s Young Lions after FIFA cleared the switch in March.
The Villa midfielder has been selected as part of the 20-man group heading to France for next week’s Toulon tournament.
Real Madrid top most valuable list
Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid retained top spot on a list of the world’s most valuable soccer teams for a fourth consecutive year, according to a Forbes poll.
The value of the 10-time European champions rose 12 per cent to $3.6 billion, making them the world’s second most valuable sports team, surpassed only by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion), Forbes said in a statement.
Barcelona were second on the list with a value of $3.5 billion, also up 12 percent from last year. Manchester United ($3.3 billion), Bayern Munich ($2.7 billion) and Arsenal ($2 billion) rounded out the top five.