Month: May 2023

MK Dons have appointed Graham Alexander as their new head coach.

The 51-year-old former Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford and Motherwell manager replaces Mark Jackson, who was sacked earlier this month after the club were relegated to Sky Bet League Two.

Alexander, who will be assisted by ex-Bury boss Chris Lucketti, told the Dons’ official website: “I’m grateful to the club for showing faith in me and providing me with this fantastic opportunity.

“This is, of course, a club with great potential, though we know we need to win on the pitch to justify everything we’ve got off it – that’s what me and Chris are here to do.

“That will require a lot of hard work but we are both committed and driven to try and bring success to MK Dons.”

Former Preston, Burnley and Scotland defender Alexander left Motherwell by mutual consent last summer after their Europa Conference League exit.

He has twice won promotion as a manager with previous clubs Fleetwood and Salford.

Dons chairman Pete Winkelman added: “This is a start of a new chapter for us.

“Graham ticked all the boxes for us following a lengthy and thorough process, and he brings with him the football experience and success, both as a player and as a manager, that we demanded of our next head coach.”

Steven MacLean has been handed a three-year contract as St Johnstone manager after leading the Perth side to safety.

The former Saints striker stepped up to replace Callum Davidson on a caretaker basis last month and has only lost one of his five cinch Premiership games in charge.

Steve Brown has rewarded him with an extended contract just before he steps down as chairman.

MacLean, whose side host Livingston in their final league game on Sunday, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be given this opportunity.

“I met with the chairman (on Friday) and we sorted things out very quickly. I thank him and the board for giving me this exciting opportunity.

“St Johnstone has a very special place in my heart. This club has been a massive part of my life and means so much to me.

“We have secured our SPFL Premiership status and that was my immediate goal.

“But the work for next season starts now and I will be giving my all to be a successful St Johnstone manager.”

Brown said: “I am delighted to get Steven secured on a three-year contract.

“I’ve known him for many years and I always had him down as a leader.

“As interim manager, he hit his targets very quickly and it became abundantly clear that he was the man I wanted to lead us on a permanent basis.

“He totally gets St Johnstone from top to bottom and has an excellent rapport with our supporters. We all believe good times are ahead for our club.”

David Martindale insists Livingston’s poor recent form should not detract from their accomplishments over the course of the campaign.

There is a sense of deflation around the Lions at present as they have won only four of their last 17 games in all competitions and missed out on the top six in the cinch Premiership despite having been as high as fourth in January.

But Martindale was keen to point out that if they win their final match away to St Johnstone on Sunday – which could take them up to seventh place – they will equal the points tally of 49 they accrued last term, in what was widely deemed a positive campaign.

“If we win, we finish on the same points tally as last season and we’ve already won as many games (13) as we did last season, but last year was a fantastic season, so it’s about trying to put it all in perspective,” he said.

“We can’t finish any lower than eighth, there’s an opportunity to finish seventh. I’m at peace with all of that. It’s just about trying to pick up three points on Sunday.”

As disappointed as he remains not to have made the top six, Martindale insists Livingston – operating on the lowest budget in the league – deserve credit for not becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.

“We had a decent start, I was really happy with the start,” said the manager, reflecting on the campaign. “We’ve not been at our best probably since January onwards but we’ve still picked up points.

“The main objective is staying in the Premiership and we’ve done it quite comfortably. With the position we got ourselves into around the turn of the year, we’re disappointed we didn’t make the top six.

“But we went into the last game before the split, the same as last year, knowing that if we won we’d have gone into the top six so if we put it into perspective and take the emotion out of it, I’ve got to take my hat off to the players and staff for keeping Livingston in the Premiership.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva insists Aleksandar Mitrovic has nothing to prove on his Old Trafford return following an FA Cup meltdown there in March.

Mitrovic was handed an eight-game ban after grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh during Fulham’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester United.

The Serbia striker has scored three goals in two games since returning from suspension – taking his total for the season in all competitions to 15 – and ends his best top-flight campaign on Sunday back at Old Trafford.

Asked if Mitrovic will be especially fired up against United, Silva said: “No, not at all. Mitro doesn’t need this type of incentive.

“I think he showed in 25 minutes against Southampton that it doesn’t matter the club that he is going to play against, (and) last week against Palace.

“He is Mitro, he doesn’t need to play against certain types of teams or in certain situations to be more motivated.”

Fulham will end the campaign 10th whatever happens at United – their first top-half Premier League finish since coming ninth in 2012 – but the Cottagers have a powerful incentive to finish the season on a high.

Victory will set a new Premier League points record for the club, a draw will match the 53 points achieved in 2008-09 under Roy Hodgson.

Silva said: “It’s a brilliant season for us, no doubts about it. For everything, not just because about the position we have to be proud of.

“The position we are going to finish, the way we achieve it. The way we keep improving the individual and collective of our squad. It’s been really good.

“We knew before this season started that it would be crucial for this club to remain in Premier League.

“Credit to the players because of the right mindset, they are always ready to learn and work.

“They bought our ideas and philosophy as well to the way we are going to play football.”

United secured a top-four finish and Champions League football next season by beating Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday.

Erik ten Hag’s squad will expect a rousing Old Trafford send-off on Sunday before next weekend’s FA Cup final date with neighbours Manchester City.

“They already played one final (Carabao Cup) and they are going to play another one,” said Silva, whose side have suffered late league and cup defeats to United this season.

“For a club like Man United it is really important that they are fighting for some titles. They changed some things (this season), they signed good players – two or three that made a huge impact in their squad as well.

“I think they’ve been showing this season that they’re a massive club.

“The individual quality they have, in my opinion, is clearly in the best teams in this league.

“They have players in the attack line and midfield line who can decide the game in one second if you switch off.”

It looks certain that Viktor Gyokeres will soon be playing in the Premier League, regardless of whether he can help Coventry to win promotion. 

With 21 league goals, the Swede has been one of the major inspirations behind the Sky Blues’ journey to the Championship play-off final. 

And his performances have attracted the interest of Premier League clubs, making his presence in the top flight next season a virtual inevitability. 

Ahead of Coventry’s clash with Luton at Wembley, we turn the spotlight on Gyokeres and take a look at his future options. 

Bargain signing

Gyokeres might just be the rarest thing in football. A bright young talent that slipped through the net at Brighton. 

The Seagulls signed him from the Swedish club Brommapojkarna in 2018. Loans at St Pauli and Swansea followed, before a temporary spell at Coventry began in 2021. 

Despite the striker only scoring three times in his first 19 appearances, the club paid Brighton £1million to make the deal permanent. It was a shrewd bit of business. 

In his first full season, Gyokeres scored 18 goals and assisted five more across all competitions. He has followed that up with 22 strikes and 11 assists during this campaign. 

Along with the Dutch midfielder Gustavo Hamer, the 24-year-old has been the driving force behind Coventry’s promotion campaign. 

Yet with Gyokeres’ contract set to expire next summer, it would seem that the Sky Blues’ only chance of keeping hold of the player is to beat Luton on Saturday. 

Robins’ verdict

Earlier this season the Coventry manager Mark Robins reflected on Gyokeres’ time at Coventry. 

He said: “He’s brilliant. He’s a brilliant kid as well. He came in on the back of a spell at Swansea from Brighton and I knew that the raw ingredients were there but he’d not done it and he hadn’t played. 

“He came in and wasn’t starting in the side and he was fuming, absolutely furious that he wasn’t playing. He wasn’t ready to do that. 

“I said to him, ‘I’m waiting to see it’. From that moment on, he’s shown me and fair play to him. He’s phenomenal.

“There’s still loads of learning there as well, he’s 24. For a striker he is very young but he is doing everything you would want him to do. 

“He’s 100% got a chance, no doubt about it. But hopefully we can keep hold of him for a little bit because we want to progress ourselves as a football club.” 

Premier League interest

Gyokeres’ productive season has caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs. If Coventry are to convince him to sign a new contract, they will need to be a top-flight side themselves. 

Even if they do, it will be a tough sell. The likes of Brentford, Burnley, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, West Ham and Wolves have all been linked with the Swedish international. 

Back in April, Gyokeres switched agents to become represented by Hasan Cetinkaya, which suggests that he is at least considering his future. 

With his pace, work-rate, strength, skill and confidence, it is clear why this player is so desired, after a season in which his end product has been much improved. 

But should he help his team to win promotion, then there would be no Premier League club more in need of him next season than the Sky Blues.

Whatever happens, Gyokeres will remain a Coventry City hero. He might not be on board for the full journey, but he has driven them to a point that the club’s fans had not imagined possible. 

Sunderland co-owners Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori have increased their respective stakes in the club and now own 100 per cent of the shares between them.

The Black Cats have announced chairman Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori have bought the remaining shares held by former Sunderland owner Stewart Donald.

A club statement read: “Sunderland AFC today announces that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has increased his shareholding in the club.

“Mr Louis-Dreyfus has increased his stake to 64 per cent, with Juan Sartori increasing his stake to 36 per cent.

“The shares have been acquired through the purchase of shares previously held by Stewart Donald, who has now exited the club’s shareholder group entirely. SAFC’s board of directors remains unchanged.”

Louis-Dreyfus, the son of former Marseille owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus,  became the youngest English Football League chairman when his takeover at the Stadium of Light was approved in February 2021.

He increased his shareholding in the club to 51 per cent in June last year, with Sartori increasing his to 30 per cent and they have now acquired Donald’s remaining 19 per cent.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore believes Michael Duff has done a “magnificent job” at League One play-off final opponents Barnsley.

Both managers meet on Monday for the all-South Yorkshire clash at Wembley, where the winners will celebrate promotion to the Championship.

Wednesday progressed to the final after staging a thrilling second-leg comeback against Peterborough, overturning a 4-0 aggregate deficit, while Barnsley earned their place in less dramatic circumstances by squeezing past Bolton 2-1 after two legs.

Moore was full of praise for the job Duff has done.

“I’ve known Duffers a little while now over the course of our footballing careers and now into management at the level that we are,” Moore told a pre-match press conference.

“Am I surprised with the work he’s done at Barnsley? No.

“Why am I not surprised? Because he’s thorough, he’s meticulous with his work, he’s a worker, he sees the game, he understands the game and he’s very astute with his approach in the game in terms of how he sets his team up and understanding the strengths and weaknesses that his team has.

“So if you embody that with where he’s at, it shows the level of consistency, he’s got wonderful leadership qualities, he’s clear and methodical with his approach and he’s clear with his views.

“He’s done a magnificent job to go in there and steady the ship and not only steady the ship, but give the whole place belief in a continuation.

“Credit to him and the work he’s done this season, it really has been a tremendous bit of work.

“As managers we can appreciate the work that we’ve done over the course of the season and I’ve got to say to him he’s done a magnificent job, but he knows it because I told him myself after we played them.

“Credit to him, we go head-to-head again at Wembley on Monday and our two teams will battle it out to try and get that final spot that’ll take the team into the Championship.”

Wednesday finished the season third in League One with 96 points, while Barnsley secured a fourth-placed finish 10 points behind them.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has described Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as the best coach in the modern era and an inspiration ahead of Sunday’s game at the Gtech Community Stadium.

City’s recent Premier League title win was their fifth under Guardiola’s stewardship and they will look to build on that in the FA Cup and Champions League finals next month.

Frank, whose side won at City in November, talked up treble-chasing Guardiola’s impact on the game which he admitted has inspired him during his managerial career.

“He’s top class, after the game he said it was well deserved (Brentford’s win). I only come across him when he shows class all the way through and I look forward to congratulating him on winning the Premier League,” Frank said.

“Many people have spoken about Pep Guardiola for good reasons. I think he is in the modern era, the best coach, most innovative, he’s developed the game massively.

“I studied him a lot when he was at Barcelona and followed him closely, I’ve been inspired by his work and he’s definitely an inspiration.”

Brentford will have to deal with record-breaking striker Erling Haaland, who has netted 36 Premier League goals in his debut campaign.

Frank lauded the 22-year-old for his impact on English football since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

“Haaland added a different dimension to City, he is so good in the box,” Frank added.

“If you see the disallowed goal against Brighton he makes four or five movements before the cross comes in, it’s very rare for me to see this from a striker.

“He’s always on the move which is so difficult to defend against, he is also always focussed and believes the ball will come in for every chance.

“A top finisher who can use the left foot, right foot and header but I think the biggest thing he’s given them is the pace in behind.

“I think it’s very impressive the amount of goals he’s scored which has destroyed the Premier League and there is probably even more to come.

“I know he broke the record this year and he’ll probably break it again next year.”

Frank highlighted the quality in City’s squad as he tried to predict which line-up Guardiola will pick.

He said: “They have 22 unbelievable players so who is the best? (Ruben) Dias or (Aymeric) Laporte? I don’t know that, I am not sure even Pep knows that, that’s two top players.

“Who’s on the wing? (Jack) Grealish, (Phil) Foden, (Riyad) Mahrez or (Bernardo) Silva? I myself wouldn’t know who to pick so they put world-class players out there and we need to top perform, our fans need to top perform and we need to finish off the season in style.”

Ryan Mason has trust in the key decision-makers at Tottenham to get the big calls right this summer.

Spurs’ acting head coach Mason will take his squad to relegation-threatened Leeds on the final day in what is set to be his last fixture in charge.

Eighth-placed Tottenham remain without a permanent manager or managing director of football and could miss out on Europe for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign unless they better Aston Villa’s result and match Brentford’s on Sunday.

Crunch decisions are required by chairman Daniel Levy and the board, with a promise already made to supporters over the style Spurs will try to play next season.

Last Saturday’s programme notes from Levy pledged the team will go back to “football you will love to come and watch” after the recent pragmatism and counter-attacking of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

Mason feels a stable brand of football will help, and he said: “We’ve probably had two or three different styles of football in the last two or three years and I don’t think that is good for any squad of players or for fans.

“When you lose people, lose coaches, lose players, lose members of staff, the impact is huge if you keep going from different things.

“Like I say, going forward it really is important and we see it in the Premier League, we see it across the leagues, I want people to know who Tottenham are, know what a Tottenham team looks like and certainly know what a Tottenham player looks like.

“This is just how I view the situation as it is. Obviously there will be loads of conversations in the summer about going forward.

“There is a lot of people here who really care and want the club to get back to where we want, where we expect and where we hope to be.

“Them conversations and decisions I am sure will be made in the summer. I trust the people making them decisions.”

Quizzed about how the managerial search could impact Spurs’ transfer business, Mason admitted the club need a new man in place before they can go after targets.

“There is work because we have a big squad, a lot of players on loan and decisions to make,” he said.

“The most important work is probably away from the transfer window right now because you need a manager in place, you need commitment, you need an idea to know where you go.

“You can’t do transfer business without a manager because it might not fit his idea. At the moment I believe we need an idea of what we want to do, who we want to be and stick to it. Recruit people for that and ultimately recruit players for that.”

There remains uncertainty over the future of Harry Kane, who is approaching the final year of his Spurs contract.

Mason would not be drawn on what next for the Tottenham forward but insisted it is imperative every club has a long-term plans in place.

He added: “For any player, manager, member of staff at this football club, when one leaves it’s important to have a succession plan in place.

“So, when people do leave, the next one comes in and the impact isn’t so big. That’s not just speaking about Harry. That’s speaking about other players.

“For me, it’s really important that there’s an identity in all departments.

“If you want to be successful on the pitch then everyone working for the organisation within the football club has to be on board with what we are and who we are.

“I hope going forward that’s definitely the case.”

Ross County manager Malky Mackay is adamant the clarity of his relegation-threatened team’s situation this weekend means there will be no lingering hangover from the concession of a last-gasp equaliser against St Johnstone on Wednesday.

The Staggies fought back from 2-0 down to lead Saints 3-2 in the closing stages, but the Perth side hit back at the death to equalise.

Fortunately for County, the late goal did not significantly alter their overall predicament, as even if they had held on to win, their inferior goal difference means they would still require a victory away to 10th-placed Kilmarnock on Sunday to leapfrog their hosts and get out of the relegation play-off spot.

As it stands, the 11th-placed Staggies are two points behind Killie and know that they need a win at Rugby Park to secure their cinch Premiership survival and consign their opponents to a play-off against Championship promotion hopefuls Partick.

“I don’t think anything changed with winning and not winning on Wednesday,” said Mackay.

“For us to come out of the bottom two spots, we need to go down to Kilmarnock and win, and even if we’d won on Wednesday we’d have needed to do that anyway.

“We go there knowing exactly what we need to do.”

County still have the lingering threat of being dragged back into bottom place and automatically relegated but that would require an unlikely eight-goal swing in favour of Dundee United, who are away to in-form Motherwell.