A former Manchester United employee who worked closely with Sir Alex Ferguson has heard the Red Devils are eying a “top” Ruben Amorim replacement.

Man Utd manager targets with Amorim under pressure

It feels as if Amorim’s sacking at Old Trafford could be a matter of when and not if following a poor start to the Premier League season.

Reports have even suggested that Man Utd will wait until November to part ways with the Portuguese coach, which will lower the compensation due to Amorim as that figure currently stands at £12m.

In regards to replacements, a number of managers have been heavily linked with taking over from the 40-year-old.

Their own Pep: "Incredible" manager favourite to replace Amorim at Man Utd

Manchester United look set to turn to one other manager in their hunt to replace Ruben Amorim.

ByEthan Lamb Oct 1, 2025

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is thought to be open to the idea of taking over from Amorim, Sir Gareth Southgate has been in direct contact with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Xavi Hernandez is another thought to be among the favourites.

However, another name is thought to be under consideration at Old Trafford by INEOS.

Ex-Man Utd employee says Man Utd are eyeing “top” Amorim replacement

Former Red Devils scout Mick Brown, who worked closely under Ferguson during Man Utd’s dominance for more than 10 years, has been talking to Football Insider regarding potential replacements for Amorim.

Brown remains very well-connected at United and has heard that Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler is a “top option” those at Old Trafford would consider.

Hurzeler, who is just 32 years of age, has already been quizzed on the rumours linking him with a move to Manchester, but was quick to respect Amorim.

Games

53

Wins

25

Draws

15

Losses

13

Points per game

1.70

“Of course it is always an honour to be part of the rumours but I really respect the coach, Ruben Amorim, there. I think it is not the right thing to talk about this.

“Overall, I can say it is a privilege to work with Brighton. I am very happy to be the coach here and we have a lot of work in front of us.”

Lucas Paqueta has been sanctioned by the Football Association (FA) for "two proven breaches" following their investigation into alleged spot-fixing. The West Ham United and Brazil midfielder was cleared of four spot-fixing charges by an independent commission in July – almost two years after English football's governing body launched their investigation.

• Paqueta was cleared of four spot-fixing charges in July

  The FA began their investigation in August 2023 and Paqueta was charged in May 2024 for allegedly getting booked deliberately "for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market".

  The four charges against the 28-year-old related to a Premier League game against Leicester City on 12 November 2022, alongside 2023 fixtures against Aston Villa on 12 March, Leeds United on 21 May and Bournemouth on 12 August.

  Former Lyon midfielder Paqueta was faced with the prospect of a lifetime ban if found guilty. However, the regulatory commission found the four charges to be "not proven" following the hearing.

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  Brazil midfielder thanked West Ham after he was cleared

  After the verdict in July, Paqueta said: ”Since the first day of this investigation, I have maintained my innocence against these extremely serious accusations.

  "I can't say anything more at this time, but I would like to express how grateful I am to God and how eager I am to return to playing football with a smile on my face.

  "To my wife who never let go of my hand, to West Ham United, to the fans who always cheered me on, and to my family, friends and the legal team who have supported me – thank you for everything.”

• Paqueta has now been sanctioned by FA for 'two breaches'

  But Paqueta has now been sanctioned for "failing to comply with a requirement to answer questions and provide information to The FA’s investigation into breaches of the Rules". 

  Paqueta had denied the two charges, however both breaches of FA Rule F3 were found proven following a hearing. The regulatory commission has imposed a reprimand and a warning over Paqueta’s future conduct.

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• West Ham say they are pleased the case 'is finally closed'

  Following the news, West Ham said they were pleased the investigation "is now finally closed".

  A statement on the club's official website reads: "West Ham United acknowledges the statement published by the Football Association today, confirming that Lucas Paqueta has received a warning as to his future conduct, following two proven breaches of FA rule F3, after he was cleared of misconduct charges made against him for alleged breaches of FA rule E5.

  "West Ham United and Lucas Paqueta are pleased that this matter is now finally closed. The Club will be making no further comment."

Essex 504 (Cox 132, Critchley 123, Harmer 53) beat Sussex 204 (Coles 52, Porter 4-30) and 261 (Coles 108, Alsop 72, Critchley 4-41) by an innings and 39 runsEssex needed just 25 minutes to secure only their second victory of the season in the Rothesay County Championship when they beat Sussex by an innings and 39 runs at Hove.James Coles completed his third successive Championship hundred, but Sussex were bowled out for 261 in their second innings and suffered their first Championship defeat at Hove since May 2022.”I think that was our most complete performance of the season,” Essex skipper, Tom Westley, said. “At a crunch time, with where we are in the table, to turn up and play like that is testament to everyone in our changing room: 24 points and a win is massive for the club and hopefully we can take that into the last four games, starting against Warwickshire next week.”We don’t want to make excuses about injuries – we probably haven’t played anywhere near our ability through the season and it has been challenging getting our strongest XI at times, so it was nice here to bowl them out for 200 in the first innings and then throughout the game everyone chipped in.”Sussex’s cause at the start of the final day was pretty hopeless with 55 still needed to make Essex bat again and only three wickets in hand. But at least Coles, 99 not out overnight, was able to follow up centuries against Durham and Warwickshire by reaching his seventh first-class hundred, when he cut the fourth ball of the first over of the day from Matt Critchley to the boundary.Coles was ninth out for 108, when he slog-swept Simon Harmer and top-edged to Jamie Porter at backward square leg. He’d faced 214 balls, hitting 14 fours and a six.Harmer had made the breakthrough in the second over when Ari Karvelas tickled a ball down the leg side and was well caught by Michael Pepper.The end came when Critchley bowled Henry Crocombe for 2. The legspinner finished with 4 for 41 and played his part in an excellent performance by Essex, who will fancy their chances of climbing the table in the remaining four games now they have a full-strength bowling attack available again, having controlled this match from the first session.Sussex’s head coach, Paul Farbrace, said: “It’s been hugely disappointing. In the three years I have been here it’s comfortably our worst performance in four-day cricket. We never got into the game. We played poor shots with the bat and made poor decisions throughout.”Apart from James Coles and Tom Alsop in the second innings we haven’t batted anywhere as well as we can, there were a lot of soft dismissals and our bowlers haven’t done much better to be fair, we didn’t play Division One standard cricket which is really frustrating and disappointing.”It’s on me and the rest of the coaching staff as much as the players to reflect and then get into the right mindset for next week’s game at Scarborough. Ollie Robinson had an injection in his groin on Wednesday and won’t be available until the back end of the One-Day Cup.”

Gill has dropped three places to No. 9, Bumrah continues to top the bowling chart

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2025Joe Root is back on top of the ICC men’s Test batting rankings after being briefly displaced by his team-mate Harry Brook.In the Lord’s Test, Root made 104 in the first innings and 40 in the second as England beat India by 22 runs. Brook, who made scores of 11 and 23, is now third, with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson going second.India captain Shubman Gill had a disappointing outing at Lord’s and dropped from No. 6 to No. 9, while Rishabh Pant also dropped a place to No. 8 despite his first-innings 74.Full rankings tables

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KL Rahul, the other centurion in the match, moved up five spots, as did Ravindra Jadeja, who notched fifties in both innings, including a stubborn 61 not out that went in vain in their chase of 193. Jadeja and Rahul went up to Nos. 34 and 35, respectively.Australia’s Steven Smith jumped above Yashasvi Jaiswal to go fourth on the charts after making 48 in the first innings of the low-scoring day-night Test in Jamaica. Jaiswal had scores of 13 and 0 at Lord’s – the first time he failed to go past fifty in a Test against England.While Jasprit Bumrah kept his place at the top of the bowling charts after a five-for against England, Scott Boland went up six places to sixth thanks to his six wickets, including a second-innings hat-trick, against West Indies.Mitchell Starc, who claimed figures of 6 for 9 as Australia bundled West Indies out for 27 in the fourth innings, stayed at No. 10 on the bowling charts, although he gained two spots in the allrounder rankings, which is still topped by Jadeja.

No further action taken following on-field bat-gauge test during T20 Blast fixture

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2025

Lancashire have expressed their frustration with the testing process for illegally sized bats, after Phil Salt was cleared of any wrongdoing following an on-field inspection during a T20 Blast match against Northamptonshire on Friday.Salt, who made 80 from 57 balls in Lancashire’s five-wicket victory, was alleged to have breached ECB Directives 3.2 and 3.3 after his bat failed an on-field bat gauge test conducted by umpires Rob Bailey and Simon Widdup.Further tests carried out after the match proved inconclusive, even though the bat passed through the gauge on “several occasions”, and the Cricket Regulator confirmed in a statement that no further action would be taken.In response, Lancashire criticised the process used to determine the bat’s legality, and the speculation that the issue had created, adding that Salt had used the same bat “for the last two years for England, Lancashire and in the IPL with no issue”.”At Lancashire, we believe this whole process could have been avoided with improved processes on and off the field, whether that be through better equipment and or additional training,” the club wrote in a statement.”Following the incident there have been inappropriate comments made by match commentators, inaccurate articles written in the media and some unsavoury social media posts towards the player, that could have been avoided.”Following this evidential testing process undertaken by the Cricket Regulator, the bat was found to be compliant with the Regulations – and the Club and player have been informed that no further action will be taken.”The issue of bat testing came to the fore last September when Essex’s Feroz Khushi was deemed to have used an illegally sized bat in the club’s County Championship victory over Nottinghamshire in April. Essex were subsequently docked 12 points, a penalty which effectively ended their hopes of competing for the title.In a statement, the Cricket Regulator confirmed that the match officials had performed their roles fully in compliance with the regulations. “The Regulator also acknowledges the cooperation provided by Lancashire and the player in this matter,” it added.

Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper just spearheaded the franchise's NL East title and has hopes of bringing a World Series title to the city of Philadelphia.

In 541 plate appearances this season, Harper is batting .287 with 30 home runs and 87 RBI and remains a force in the middle of the order for the Phillies.

But that doesn't mean that he hasn't contemplated what he will do once his playing career is done. In fact, he has two distinct ways that he wants to remain involved in baseball once he eventually retires. Harper discussed those options with 's Tom Verducci.

"I talk to Scott [Boras, his agent] a lot and I tell him, ‘I want to coach after I’m done, but I want to go to college.’ That’s my dream,” he says. “I want to do it really bad. Scott always gives me crap. He's like, ‘You’re going to be a Hall of Famer … [and] you're going to go back and coach college kids?’

“I just want to put the baseball [playing] version of myself behind me and put my coach’s cap on. I want to do it that way at a college. I would never want to do it at the Major League level."

But just because Harper doesn't want to manage in the major leagues, doesn't mean he wouldn't want to be involved in the professional game entirely once his playing days are done. In fact, he could see himself owning a major league team someday.

“I could be an owner on the Major League level. I would love to do that. I’d rather own and do that. I would like to be an owner/president. I would like to do what [Phillies president of baseball operations Dave] Dombrowski does, but ownership-wise. So, I'd like to be [like Derek] Jeter [was with the Miami Marlins].“That's like my biggest dream. But coaching college would be great. Yeah, I think that would be awesome to work with kids at that age. It’s just a different vibe. Kind of different mindset, too. You know, I don’t want to lie to kids, either. Kids get lied to so much at the college level nowadays, too.

Harper turns 32 in mid-October, and has plenty of baseball left in front of him. But once he's done, expect him to stay involved the game that he loves so much.

Afghanistan sealed an emotional victory over Pakistan with a sublime performance from their spinners, squeezing Salman Agha’s men out and triumphing by 18 runs. In the wake of the earthquake at home where the death toll has crossed 1400, a resilient performance from Afghanistan in Sharjah proved much too good for Pakistan with Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal producing a 113-run second-wicket partnership that formed the backbone of their innings.It was an innings held up almost entirely by that single pillar; while Zadran and Atal scored 65 and 64 respectively, no other batter managed to get beyond single figures. Pakistan’s bowlers might have felt the had done enough as an economical showing from Saim Ayub and a sensational one from Faheem Ashraf kept Afghanistan on a leash, with Pakistan needing 170 to win in wet, dewy conditions.For the Afghan spinners, though, the dew proved an almost laughably negligible impediment. Fazalhaq Farooqi set them up by getting rid of Ayub for a golden duck and a misfiring Sahibzada Farhan shortly after. It was just the window Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi needed to run riot in the middle. No Pakistan batter was ever really able to work out which way Noor turned the ball or how to target Rashid without taking extreme risks.The trio took six wickets among them as Pakistan lost 7 for 49 to slump to 111 for 9. At the time they were looking at a chastening defeat, but Haris Rauf restored some balance to the scorecard with a breezy little cameo, an unbeaten 34 off 16 that took Pakistan past 150, and made the game look more competitive than Afghanistan’s dazzling spin attack had ensured it really was.Ibrahim Zadran scored a second fifty in two games•Emirates Cricket Board

Zadran, Atal combine for a special stand

Pakistan made a dream start after being put in to bowl with the early dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. By the end of the fourth over, Afghanistan had only shuffled along to 18. But Atal and Zadran have made a bit of a habit of partnerships that straddle multiple phases of an innings, and they produced their most impressive one yet.The first signs of a gear shift came when Rauf, who struggled all day with the ball, was smashed for a four and a six in the fifth over. Thereon, Atal and Zadran rendered the Pakistan bowlers strangely toothless, while gradually cranking up the scoring rate. The signal to launch had been building, but at the same time seemed to come out of nowhere as the pair plundered 20 off Sufiyan Muqeem in the 14th over. By the time the partnership was finally broken, the duo had added the second-highest second-wicket stand in Afghan T20I history.Faheem Ashraf returned his best T20I figures•AFP/Getty Images

Ashraf’s silver lining

On a forgettable day for Pakistan, Ashraf’s spell stood out, going some way to burnishing his short-form bowling credentials. It was a slow, spin-friendly wicket, but with Pakistan struggling to break that Atal-Zadran stand, they turned to Ashraf in the tenth over. He went through it without either inflicting or sustaining much damage, but it was his three-over stint at the back-end that demonstrated his value.It was he who broke that partnership off the second ball of the 16th, and was unfortunate not to snare Azmatullah Omarzai later on that over when Mohammad Nawaz shelled one. He would get his man with a beautifully disguised slower delivery next over, with another change of pace doing for Zadran two deliveries later. Taking pace of the ball continued to work when it proved too good for Nabi. At a time when Pakistan’s bowlers were travelling from the other end, Ashraf’s last three overs had seen just 18 scored and four wickets taken, ensuring the batting side were kept below 170.Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi made life tough for the batters•Getty Images

Afghan spinners rip through the middle order

This is why Afghanistan feel so confident defending totals. There was plenty of dew by the midpoint of Pakistan’s pursuit, but Afghanistan’s spinners buzzed around the batters, relishing their defence of a total that was just about par. Pakistan had consolidated after two early wickets, and kept up with the rate; Fakhar Zaman took 15 off Omarzai’s first over to help Pakistan to 52 for 2 in the powerplay.In the eighth over, though, the spinners began to weave their web. Nabi threw in the change-up, darting the ball in as Fakhar sliced his smear to short third for Farooqi to grab. With the runs drying up, Pakistan threw in a signature unforced error, some lazy running combined with a clever bit of work from Rashid catching Salman short of his crease.Left-arm spinner Noor, curiously benched for the first two games, made up for lost time with a wicket off his first delivery to send Hasan Nawaz packing. Mohammad Haris failed to punish a long hop from Nabi the following over to allow Afghanistan to burrow deep into Pakistan’s tail. They had gone from 62 for 2 to 82 for 6, and no amount of deep batting can hedge against that kind of collapse against an attack of Afghanistan’s quality.

Leeds United have built up a six-point gap between themselves and the bottom three in the Premier League after their 2-1 win over West Ham United last week.

Three wins, two draws, and four defeats in nine matches is a respectable return for Daniel Farke’s side after their promotion from the Championship in the 2024/25 campaign.

Prior to this season, the last six teams to have been promoted from the Championship had all been relegated at the first attempt, which illustrates the size of the task ahead of the Whites.

Not only did that mean that Leeds needed to recruit well, which they have with the likes of Noah Okafor and Sean Longstaff, but they also needed some of their stars from last season to make the step up.

The Whites did not recruit an entire new starting line-up and bench to bolster their squad for the Premier League, instead hoping that some of their players could bridge the gap.

One player who is still looking to convince supporters that he is good enough for the top-flight is Brenden Aaronson, who has revived his Leeds career.

How Brenden Aaronson has revived his Leeds career

In the summer of 2022, Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta swooped to sign the American attacking midfielder from RB Salzburg for a fee of £28.5m to bolster the club’s options for the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.

Aaronson scored one goal from 3.86 xG in 36 appearances in the division that season, earning himself the lowest Sofascore rating (6.51) in the entire division, as he made the website’s ‘Worst Team of the Season’.

The USA international opted to go out on loan to Union Berlin for the 2023/24 campaign, rather than remain at Elland Road to fight for promotion from the Championship, at which point the writing appeared to be on the wall for his career at the club.

However, Aaronson returned to the club after his loan spell and Farke revealed that he was “desperate” to help the team, and that he would need to win his place by working hard.

The American was met with some “boos” from supporters, per reporter Graham Smyth, in pre-season, but he then went on to feature in all 46 Championship games as Leeds racked up 100 points, scoring nine goals.

This shows that he proved to Farke, with his performances in training and in matches, that he could be a reliable player for the head coach, and that has carried over to the Premier League.

As you can see in the table above, Aaronson has not set the Premier League alight with his performances, with one goal in nine games, but he has been a solid performer and has been unfortunate not to register any assists.

Overall, it is fair to say that the 25-year-old has revived his Leeds career, after it looked all-but-finished when he joined Union Berlin on loan, thanks to his hard work and performances on the pitch.

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Aaronson, though, was not the first member of the current first-team squad who revived his career after being sent out on loan by the club. Dan James was the original Brenden Aaronson.

Why Dan James was the original Brenden Aaronson

A year before the American was signed by the Whites, Marcelo Bielsa and Orta swooped to sign James from Manchester United for a fee of £25m to bolster the team’s options out wide.

The Wales international scored four goals and provided four assists in 34 matches in the Premier League in his first season at Elland Road, per Sofascore, but ended the campaign with a new manager in Jesse Marsch.

Despite starting three of the first five league games at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, James was then sent out on loan to Fulham in the summer of 2022, and claimed that he made the move because he “wanted to play games”.

After that move was confirmed, journalist Phil Hay almost wrote off the winger’s chances of continuing his career at Leeds in the future. He wrote: “I don’t think I see Dan James coming back, or it feels like a long shot. James is 24. He’s not especially young and Leeds have essentially said to him that they can do without him this season.”

You can see where Phil Hay was coming from. Leeds were willing to let a player they signed for £25m a year earlier join another Premier League team on loan.

However, the Whites were relegated from the Premier League that season and Fulham did not opt to sign James permanently, which led to him emerging as a star under Farke in the Championship.

The Wales international scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 40 appearances in the second tier in the 2023/24 campaign, per Sofascore, which shows that his performances paid back the faith that the German head coach showed in him.

As you can see in the table above, James delivered consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in his two seasons in the Championship under Farke, with 25 goals and 29 ‘big chances’ created.

The winger claimed last season that he wants to be “ruthless” and has a “ruthless” mentality, which is evidenced by his impressive goal return, as he outperformed his xG in both of those seasons.

James has yet to score a goal in the Premier League so far this season, but he has started three of his six appearances and is a key member of the squad.

His revival of his Leeds career, which looked on the ropes after his move to Fulham in 2022, pathed the way for Aaronson to follow in his footsteps after being in a similar position a year after James’ remergence at Elland Road.

Longstaff 2.0: Leeds plot January move to re-sign “exquisite” £60k-p/w star

Leeds United are considering a January move for this exciting star, who could be Daniel Farke’s next Sean Longstaff.

1

By
Kelan Sarson

Oct 28, 2025

James was the original Aaronson and now both players are brilliant examples for the club to show future players that there is always a chance to revive their careers, if they are willing to put the hard yards in to be reliable on the pitch.

Barcelona centre-back Andreas Christensen addressed his future at the club, claiming that he doesn't "have a Plan B" in case he doesn't receive a contract extension from the reigning La Liga champions. Persistent struggles with injuries have prevented the defender from becoming a vital player for Hansi Flick, with the club reportedly wanting him to leave as a free agent next summer.

• Christensen no longer important for Hansi Flick

  Christensen had won over the trust of head coach Flick towards the 2024-25 season after spending the majority of the campaign on the sidelines due to an Achilles tendon injury and muscle issues. The centre-back played only six games, all of them towards the end of last season, making two starts. His return was a big positive. 

  Ahead of the start of the ongoing season, Barcelona sold Inigo Martinez – one of the best performers last season – to Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Nassr, with the ex-Athletic Club defender claiming he felt he wouldn't be able to contribute at the highest level anymore.   

  Despite a spot alongside Pau Cubarsi opening up, Christensen still remains a long way from sealing his starting berth. While the Danish international has featured in 10 games across all competitions, he has managed to accumulate a paltry 342 minutes of action. He has been handed a place in the starting XI only thrice, although it may be argued that he spent two weeks out of action due to a calf injury last month.

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  No renewal in sight for Christensen

  All signs point towards the reigning La Liga giants opting against offering a new deal to the 29-year-old, especially if Flick doesn't use him a lot between now and the end of the season. Numerous reports have stated that Barcelona have no intention of keeping Christensen on their books beyond next summer, despite the player's wish to continue in Catalunya.

  Last month, Barcelona sporting director Deco refrained from commenting extensively on Christensen’s future but hinted that a contract renewal remains a possibility.  

  “We’re taking Andreas step by step. He had a spectacular first year. Then injuries have affected him quite a bit,” he told last month. “We’ll see how he does this season and we’ll talk. He’s a great player. We don’t have to renew all the players in October either."

• Christensen has no 'Plan B' amid contract uncertainty

  Speaking to , Christensen admitted that Barcelona had not yet reached out to him with regards to an extension. When asked if he was bothered by it, he said: "No, not really. I don't think so. I think we're in a good situation, and there's not really anything that can change anything I do in my everyday life. Of course, you want to have it in place and know what's happening. But it's not something that changes our mood during the days, or something we talk about

  "Of course we have desires, we all do, but it's not something I think about in my everyday life. I try to do what I can do on the pitch, and hopefully that's enough for me to stay there."  

  Christensen also admitted that his agent will remain involved over future decisions. "If there is something that needs to be done, he will of course do it. Of course I would like to know what is happening, but I would rather focus on what I can do, and that is to do what I can do.

  When asked about whether he knows what Barca will do, he added: "Oh, no, I have no idea. Not yet. I'm just choosing to focus on being part of the team and playing as much as I possibly can. Hopefully that's how it ends up, but I'll have to take it as it comes, right now. 

  "Not at all. No plan B," he replied when asked he has started thinking about the potential leagues he could join should he leave as a free agent next summer.

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  Christensen to return to Denmark?

  The former Chelsea centre-back, in the same interview, was also asked about whether he considers a return to Brondby in Denmark to be a possibility. In reply, Christensen said: “In an ideal world, I would like to finish my career at Brondby, but it also depends on the stage of life I’m at. It also depends on what my family is doing. I feel I still have a lot to offer; I’m 29 years old, and I can still compete.

  “When you’re that age… it depends a lot on the situation, so it’s difficult to say. I repeat, in an ideal world, I would like it to happen. But if it doesn’t, I won’t be angry or sad. It depends a lot on my family’s situation and my performance as a player.”  

After getting back to winning ways against Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic and Martin O’Neill have now been handed some positive injury news on Kieran Tierney.

The Bhoys were in ruthless form as they dispatched Falkirk in comfortable fashion, welcoming veteran manager O’Neill back to the dugout in style. Given that shock league leaders Hearts also dropped points in a 2-2 draw, there’s no denying that it was the perfect evening at Celtic Park.

Things haven’t quite taken a turn for the better off the pitch, however, and Celtic have already been dealt their first blow on the hunt for their next manager. According to Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph, the Hoops’ pursuit of Ange Postecoglou is now unlikely to progress.

The Australian, who was recently sacked by Nottingham Forest after just 39 days in charge, had been linked with a return to Celtic before reports shut those rumours down.

With their former manager off the table for now, Parkhead chiefs have been left to choose from the remaining names on their shortlist, which reportedly includes Craig Bellamy and Kieran McKenna.

McKenna would be a particularly interesting choice despite how his Ipswich Town side have struggled as of late. He famously took the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, before suffering instant relegation last season. Now, a big move could finally be calling.

In the meantime, it remains O’Neill’s job to steady the ship and potentially take Celtic into the Scottish League Cup final with Tierney’s injury return only helping that cause.

Kieran Tierney set to return for Celtic vs Rangers

As revealed by O’Neill, Tierney is in line to return for Celtic vs Rangers this weekend after missing out on his side’s 4-0 thrashing of Falkirk. The left-back is no stranger to injury problems, but does not face a period on the sidelines this time around ahead of a crucial cup clash.

The return of the former Arsenal defender should provide O’Neill with an instant boost. His experience, alone, proves crucial in moments like these and in the Old Firm derby, of course.

Despite how Celtic have struggled this season, Tierney has enjoyed some much-needed consistency. The Scot has started seven of 10 Scottish Premiership games to begin putting his injury history behind him.

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Dubbed “unique” by Rodgers in his very first Celtic spell, Tierney now has the chance to make his mark the second time around as an experienced member of O’Neill’s squad. And that could start against Rangers in the Scottish League Cup this weekend.

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