MOURINHO ADVICES MARTIAL

  Jose Mourinho has laid down the law to Anthony Martial after leaving the Manchester United forward out of Sunday’s win over Chelsea. Mourinho has advised Martial to follow the example of United team-mate Marcus Rashford, who battled back from a run of inconsistent performances to score a crucial goal in last weekend’s 2-0 victory against the Premier League leaders. The United manager, preparing for the second leg of the Europa League tie with Anderlecht, also admits he is uncertain what role Wayne Rooney will play as he struggles to overcome injuries. But the status of Martial is of particular interest, as United must pay his former club Monaco a further £8.5 million ($10.8 million, 10 million euros) the next time the France international scores a goal for United. Martial, 21, cost United £35 million in 2015, with the fee to rise to a potential £56 million based on incentive clauses. The latest kicks in when he scores his 25th goal for the club, a mark of which he is currently one short. But, despite flashes of brilliance, Martial has yet to hit consistent form and Mourinho is clearly losing patience, leaving him out of his squad altogether on Sunday. “I know we are together for almost 10 months now. The same way I know the players much better now and the players should know me also much better now,” Mourinho told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s why Marcus Rashford, even without being since September with a goal in the Premier League, even without that, he was always a player that I trust, always a player that I play, always a player that I support. “Because he was always coming in my direction, in the direction I want from a player, what I want as a Manchester United player. “He’s about that. It’s about getting to know each other better and better and better and going in the direction of things we like. “Do I think Anthony is a player with great potential? Yes I think. Do I think he can play successfully for me? Yes I think. But he needs to give me things that I like very much.” – ‘Difficult to recover’ – Rooney, 31, was also absent from the Chelsea game, with an ankle injury that adds to a list of problems that has featured knee and muscular woes and illness since he became United’s record goalscorer in mid-January. England striker Rooney has played just 131 minutes of league football since then and has not been involved in the Europa League since December, casting doubt on whether he will play for the club again. “He is working now and he is improving and, if in this training session the answer is positive, I will select him to be on the bench tomorrow (Thursday),” Mourinho said. “With his experience and know-how of this knock-out phase, he is a player who can be useful. “If we need a goal, he can help us. If we need to keep a result, have possession, keep the ball, he can help us too. “So hopefully his answer in the training session is positive. “He had not big problems during the season, but a few small problems and sometimes when you get into a certain age – I am not saying he is old, we have older players, there are many older players in great condition – but when you get to a certain age, it is a little bit more difficult to recover. I think it is just that. “We lost players in the January market, we didn’t bring in anyone, we lost players in international week, so we need everyone that can and Wayne can. Hopefully he is there.” ***prbxselfnetwork***

FA FINES MANCHESTER UNITED FOR PLAYERS MISCONDUCT!!

The Football Association have fined Manchester United £20,000, for their player’s behaviour during their FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Chelsea on Monday. Ander Herrera was sent off after picking two yellow cards in the first half and several of his United team-mates surrounded Michael Oliver after the red card was shown. ***prbxselfnetwork***

CLHAMPIONS LEAGUE:RANGERS DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE AGAINST ZAMALEK

  Rangers International of Enugu would tomorrow at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, confront Zamalek of Egypt in a make-or-break round of 32 CAF Champions League match to determine who romps into the money spinning stage. The Egyptian outfit beat the Enugu Antelopes 4-1 in the first leg second round tie at the El – Salam Stadium in Cairo. Former Heartland FC of Owerri striker, Stanley Ohawuchi, scored the first goal of the game in the eighth minute for Zamalek. And things went from bad to worse for Rangers as two quick goals in the 29th and 31st minutes courtesy of Hossam Salama and Ayman Hefni respectively meant the Flying Antelopes had an almost impossible task of overturning the situation. The Egyptians made it 4-0 before Rangers’ Bobby Clement reduced the deficit seven minutes before full time to give the Nigeria representatives a fighting chance heading into the second leg. With this massive result, keen CAF Champions League watchers believe Rangers’ chance of reaching the group stage of the competition hangs in the balance. To underscore the huge importance the Egyptians attach to this encounter, the White Knights stormed Nigeria Thursday for the tie in which the overall winners will move to the group stage. Since arriving the shores of the country, Zamalek coach, Mohamed Helmy has been playing mind games telling whoever cares to listen that his side is not yet sure of their place in the next round of the CAF Champions League. He, however, expressed his satisfaction at Zamalek’s showing in the first leg. While Zamalek have already started looking beyond Rangers in their dream of winning the Champions League trophy, Rangers attacking pearl Edoh Ocheme, believes his side can upturn the huge deficit.  “The task looks daunting but not insurmountable. It is going to be a-make-or mar game and we’re ready.” Nigeria’s other clubside in the race, Rivers United of Port Harcourt are however doing battle today in Sudan to keep a date with Al-Merrikh. The match which will take place at the 43,000 capacity Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman will decide which of the two sides will progress. The Stanley Eguma tutored side is heading into the encounter brimming with confidence, having hammered the Sudanese outfit 3-0 in Port Harcourt last week. However, El Merrikh goalkeeper believes it is not over for his side, adding that they have the arsenal to shoot down the Nigerians on home soil. “We know it is going to be a tough game. But we are confident of up turning the table against the Nigerians,” he boosted. Speaking further, he said their aim is to score two goals in the first half and finish it in the second half. “We have our game plans and we hope to achieve it in the first half”, he concluded. ***prbxselfnetwork***

BAYERN VS REAL MADRID

Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, has said he is looking forward to their Champions League quarter-final clash against Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich and labelled it as “master vs pupil”. Madrid will travel to Munich for the first leg on April 12, before welcoming Ancelotti to the Bernabeu the next Tuesday. ***prbxselfnetwork***

KARANKA DESERVES TO BE SACKED--MOURINHO

Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has sarcastically said that Aitor Karanka deserves to be sacked as Middlesbrough manager. Karanka, who was Mourinho’s assistant at Real Madrid, was fired on Thursday  with Boro in the Premier League relegation zone. Speaking at a news conference before United take on Boro this Sunday, Mourinho said: “In this case, […] Karanka deserves to be sacked – Mourinho

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GUARDIOLA UNDER FIRE™

Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City to ease their Champions League pain by securing a vital win against Liverpool, while leaders Chelsea aim to move a step closer to the Premier League title this weekend. Guardiola Guardiola’s side were eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition in stunning fashion on Wednesday as they blew a 5-3 first leg advantage to go out on away goals following a 3-1 defeat at Monaco. It was another major setback for City manager Guardiola, who had never before seen one of his teams knocked out before the Champions League quarter-finals. Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola was heavily criticised for his tactics and team selection in Monaco. With third placed City just one point ahead of fourth placed Liverpool in the battle for a top four finish, Guardiola needs a lift at Eastlands on Sunday and he is eager to see how his team respond to the situation. “Qualification for the Champions League will be tough until the last game of the Premier League,” Guardiola said. “It will be good to see how everybody reacts, myself and the players, after going out of the Champions League. “It’s an important game before the international team break against one of the best teams in the Premier League.” ***prbxselfnetwork***

POCHETTINO EXPECTS SPURS TO THRIVE WITHOUT KANE!!

Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham are better equipped to cope without star striker Harry Kane than they were earlier this season, as they approach the defining point in their campaign. Kane is sidelined for several weeks with ankle ligament damage sustained against Millwall in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend. Tottenham last time failed to fill the void left by Kane’s 10-game absence with the same injury, going six matches without a win during a lean run in October and November. But Pochettino believes his title hopefuls, who host Southampton on Sunday, will ensure there isn’t another drop in form with England forward Kane back on the treatment table. “It was a different period,” he said. “We are finding our best form now and the team is more solid. We have improved a lot since then. “We had a very difficult pre-season with players returning from Euro 2016, so today is a completely different period and we are at a completely different level.” Kane will also miss England’s friendly against Germany on March 22 and the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania four days later. League matches in April against Burnley, Swansea City, Watford and Bournemouth could also come too soon, while an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea is looming next month. But Kane, who has 24 goals in all competitions this season, is confident he will return from injury ahead of schedule, according to Pochettino, and play some part in the run-in. “We need to assess him day-by-day. He’s very positive, he’s always joking about being fit after the international break or in three or four weeks,” Pochettino said. “He’s very positive and that is good, but at the same time we need to be careful with his injury. “We trust completely in our doctor and physios and department that looks after them in the best way. “We’ll see but we hope that yes, as soon as possible he will be available again.” – Form teams – In his absence South Korea forward Son Heung-Min and Vincent Janssen are vying to start up front as Spurs try to close the 10-point gap on leaders Chelsea. Son bagged a hat-trick in the 6-0 quarter-final win over Millwall, while Janssen scored his long-awaited first goal from open play. Pochettino expects the pair to seize their chance: “This is a great opportunity for Vincent and Sonny to play more in the starting 11.” Pochettino faces his former club in Southampton, who have seen Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse win their first England call-ups this week. Saints manager Claude Puel expects the pair to be flying at White Hart Lane on the back of their maiden international calls. “It’s fantastic for them and for the club,” he said. “They deserve it and we wish them well. Lately we’ve been in good form, scoring lots of goals and they have played a part in us achieving that.” Southampton chiefly have in-form striker Manolo Gabbiadini to thank for that with the Italian scoring six goals in his four appearances since joining from Napoli in January. But Southampton’s impressive recent run will be on line when they face a Tottenham side who have won nine successive league games on home soil. “They have a lot of wins at home, so it’s a good challenge for us,” Puel said. “It will be interesting to see our progress. They are a very good side who are very strong. “They have beaten a lot of teams, especially at home, so we need to concentrate and play to our ability that we are capable of.” ***prbxselfnetwork***

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE::

The draw for the quarter-final stages of this season’s Champions League was conducted on Friday afternoon in Nyon, Switzerland. Defending champions Real Madrid, have been handed a tough tie against Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich. Their La Liga rivals Barcelona will take on Serie A champions Juventus, for a place in the semi-final. ***prbxselfnetwork***

YAya toure may join manchester united!!

Yaya Toure’s agent, Dimitri Seluk, has suggested the player is ready to leave Manchester City in the summer and would consider a move to city rivals, Manchester United. Toure’s current deal at the Etihad runs out at the end of this season. And with manager Pep Guardiola looking to freshen up his squad ahead of next season***prbxselfnetwork***

WHY BALOTELLI MIGHT STOP GIVING INTERVIEWS!!!

Mario Balotelli has vowed not to grant any more interviews, lamenting that the French media twisted the recent sit-down with him. In a wide-ranging talk with French radio station RMC, where he spoke about racism and his return to the Italian national team, it was his comments about Paris Saint-Germain striker, Edinson Cavani, that made waves instead***prbxselfnetwork***.

PRIMORAC ISNT LEAVING ARSENAL YET-WENGER

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, has denied reports claiming that his first-team assistant Boro Primorac, is leaving the club and labelled the news as “a complete invention”. On Wednesday,press reported that Primorac, who has worked alongside Wenger at Arsenal since 1966, is set to take up the role of manager at Turkish club, ***prbxselfnetwork***

PREMIER LEAGUE:CAN ARSENAL STILL MAKE TOP FOUR??

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, has hinted that his side may find it difficult making the top four in the Premier League this season. League leaders Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are all vying for four Champions League places. Arsenal have already dropped from the top four with Manchester United chasing ***prbxselfnetwork***

IBRAHIMOVIC NOT RULING OUT A MOVE TO NAPOLI

Manchester United forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he is not ruling out a possible move to Napoli. The 35-year-old joined the Old Trafford outfit on a one-year contract in the summer with an option for a second year, but that has yet to be triggered and the striker’s agent, Mino Raiola, has made several references......***prbxselfnetwork***