Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller believes Michael Beale will be limited in the experimentation he can do in their final five games – because he needs to get back to winning ways.

Beale promised the “biggest rebuild in years” this summer after Rangers were consigned to a barren season by Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic.

The Rangers manager gave a strong hint that Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent would depart and admitted some players would be playing for their futures in the remaining cinch Premiership games.

The Light Blues go into the closing stages of the season 13 points adrift and on the back of defeats by Aberdeen and Celtic, who they play in their next two games.

“Michael has got to weigh it up because they need to win the games,” said Miller after taking part in a McDonald’s Fun Football with children in Glasgow.

“That’s two losses in a row. You need to finish the season strong, you don’t want that gap to get any bigger.

“You need to pick the right team that’s going to win the game. There will be an element of guys that are moving on, you might not see that much of them, but there needs to be guys to come in and take their place.

“It’s really important they keep winning because he’s had a good start to his managerial career, he wants to maintain that and finish the season strongly, and then he can really focus on the recruitment which by all accounts he is already doing.

“It’s going to be interesting because there are a lot of guys out of contract. I can’t see none of them playing between now and the end of the season because you still need to win the games and these guys are big players.”

Rangers have now gone six games without beating Celtic but Miller feels the gap between the teams has been overstated in some quarters.

“It was a very close game, a game I felt Rangers just edged in terms of how the game went,” he said of Sunday’s 1-0 win for Celtic. “But, similar to the game at Celtic Park, they were undone by a really poor goal to lose, and Fashion Sakala’s chance was absolutely massive.

“These games are won and lost on the big moments and it’s whether you take those moments or not. From a Rangers perspective, unfortunately in the last couple of games they have not taken those moments and Celtic have.

“I don’t think the gap between the two teams is as big as everyone makes out.

“I do believe Michael has made big progress. He is four Old Firm games without a win but they were within three minutes of winning the first one and the other games have been really, really close.

“The edge is with Celtic in terms of the mentality but Rangers have put in some pretty good performances, just never really taken the big moments.”

Miller feels signing a goalscorer is the priority.

“A striker is really, really important,” the former Scotland international said. “I think Morelos this season has not really performed to the levels we have seen over the past five years. That might just be down to the fact he probably knew he was going to move on.

“You see the impact Kyogo (Furuhashi) has made across the city. Rangers probably need a player to come in and make a similar impact, in a similar time scale as well, because Kyogo hit the ground running.

“And at the other end of the pitch, if Allan McGregor does decide to hang the gloves up, you are going to need someone to follow him because that guy puts points on the board, he has done his whole career as a Rangers goalkeeper. It’s big gloves to fill.”

Miller said of his coaching session: “It was great to get involved, I really enjoyed the session, I counted maybe seven nutmegs on the kids! I am still young enough that a few of them remembered me.

“It would have been great to have these kind of things when I was a kid, to go with your friends or meet new friends and be coached by a good level of coach. You are having a lot of fun and it’s not costing any money.”

:: Kenny Miller joined children for a McDonald’s Fun Football session at The Riverside Museum, Glasgow. McDonald’s provides free fun football coaching for 5–11-year-olds across the UK. Find a Fun Football session near you at: www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football

Jimmy Murphy, one of the most important figures in Manchester United’s history, has been immortalised in a statue outside Old Trafford.

Family members, senior club leaders, former players and fan representatives were in attendance on Wednesday as the tribute was unveiled outside the Stretford End.

Murphy was Sir Matt Busby’s right-hand man and his statue is located close to where he used to coach the Busby Babes on a cinder training pitch.

The Welshman, who died in 1989, served as United’s chief coach and then assistant manager between 1945 and 1971.

Murphy was also Wales manager and international duty meant he missed United’s match in Belgrade in 1958 and the tragic return flight.

The Welshman remarkably kept the side going after the Munich air disaster, taking temporary charge until the end of the season with Busby hospitalised.

Murphy even led United to the FA Cup final against Bolton – a match that took place on this day 65 years ago.

Murphy managed Wales at the World Cup finals in Sweden the following month – the national team’s only appearance on the world stage until last year.

Current boss Rob Page was another in attendance at Wednesday’s ceremony, where Murphy’s son – Jim Murphy Jr – and United chief executive Richard Arnold were among the speakers.

Sir Alex Ferguson recorded a video tribute as he was unable to attend.

The statue is deserved recognition for Murphy, who is already commemorated with the naming of a building at Carrington and the club’s young player of the year award.

Erik ten Hag was unable to attend the ceremony due to Thursday’s Premier League match at Brighton but his admiration for Murphy could not have been clearer.

“I think it’s very good that the club gives so much honour and recognition to a main person in the history of Manchester United,” the Dutchman said in the Jimmy Murphy Centre.

“He stands for more symbols – symbol of youth, youth development. He stands for resilience and determination.

“They are the standards for Manchester United. It’s driven by this person after the Munich (air disaster).

“A manager fell away, many players fell away and the club was devastated. They bounced back and this person played a main role, so it is totally deserved he gets honoured for this.

“The club is doing that with the Jimmy Murphy Centre, the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year and now a statue. It’s fantastic.”

Rugby chiefs have sealed a multi-million partnership deal which will help to bring more women into the game on and off the pitch as they attempt to seize a potentially pivotal moment.

World Rugby has announced a three-year arrangement with global insurance brokerage Gallagher, the official title partner of Premiership Rugby.

Under the deal, Gallagher becomes an official partner of women’s rugby and Rugby World Cup 2025, WXV – the new, three-tier annual global women’s competition featuring 18 teams – in 2023 and 2024, and a founding partner of a new High Performance Academy aimed at increasing the prominence of females in coaching and other roles within the game.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by World Rugby (@worldrugby)

The initiative comes days after a record crowd of 58,498 watched England beat France 38-33 to win a fifth consecutive Tik Tok Six Nations title, and six months after 42,579 spectators packed into Eden Park to see New Zealand defeat the Red Roses in the World Cup final.

Speaking from the company’s Chicago headquarters, where she was joined by former England captain Sarah Hunter and three-times World Cup winner Kendra Cocksedge, both brand ambassadors, World Rugby’s head of women’s rugby Sally Horrox said: “We should recognise that it’s a moment in time.

“It’s come six months on the back of a record-breaking World Cup, so for me it’s that momentum and people acknowledging and recognising the value and the potential of the game on more than just one occasion when a World Cup comes around.

“But I would hate people to think it just happened overnight. It’s been building for a while, but with that sort of visibility and fans buying tickets, then people start to recognise value; that unlocks fans and revenue which then unlocks investment which means it does kick us on to a new place.

“That’s what ground-breaking attendances like that more regularly can do for the game – as well as just allowing women like Sarah and Kendra and the people that are following them just to have the right level of attention and the showcase that they deserve as brilliant athletes, which shouldn’t ever forget that.”

World Rugby has set a target of having 25 per cent of all coaching and performance roles with the 16 teams at the 2025 World Cup filled by women, one which Horrox admits is “very, very ambitious”.

Hunter, who retired as a player in March having amassed a record 141 international caps, has seen huge change since her early days in the game, but knows that is only a start.

She said: “There are more females involved in domestic rugby across the world; our next step is to try to get more of those females into that international space.

“You look at Gaelle Mignot over in France, but she’s one of too few that we have, so we want to try to accelerate that and just create a really inclusive landscape for women to want to come and be involved in the game.

“That’s the big thing we need to do, we need to make it a place that women have the confidence to come. There are so many great female leaders out there and it’s just saying, ‘Actually, no you are good enough and actually, you do belong at that level in this game’.

“Hopefully this is what this programme will do.”

Sam Allardyce claimed he is as good a manager as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta as he was unveiled as Leeds’ new boss on Wednesday.

Leeds have turned to former England manager Allardyce, 68, in a last-ditch bid to retain their Premier League status after sacking Javi Gracia with four games remaining.

Allardyce, relegated from the top flight for the first time in his 30-year managerial career in his last job at West Brom two years ago, said: “Far too many people think that I am old and antiquated, which is far from the truth.

“I might be 68 and old, but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms. Not Pep, not Klopp, not Arteta.

“It’s all there with me. They do what they do, I do what I do. In terms of knowledge and depth of knowledge, I’m up there with them. I’m not saying I’m better than them, but certainly as good as they are.”

Former Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham and Everton boss Allardyce takes charge of his first game for Leeds at Guardiola’s title-chasing Manchester City on Saturday.

Having already removed director of football Victor Orta, Leeds announced the departure of Gracia on Wednesday morning along with his backroom staff.

Allardyce said: “I’ve had a lot of responses from many people that I know sending their congratulations. A few others said I must be mad.

“But I enjoy the game so much and to try and save this club and keep it in the Premier League is a big responsibility and a big challenge. But it’s one I’m prepared to take because of who Leeds are.”

Allardyce is the club’s third permanent manager of the season, with Gracia having replaced Jesse Marsch in February.

The former England boss is hoping for an immediate response from a demoralised squad who are languishing in 17th place, out of the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Sam Allardyce must find a way to keep Leeds up with only four matches remaining (Lynne Cameron/PA)

“It’s probably only the biggest challenge (of my career) because of the shortness of games that are left,” he said.

Allardyce is reported to have agreed a basic salary of £500,000 for his four games in charge, with a £2.5million bonus if he can keep Leeds up.

When asked if there was a chance he would stay at Elland Road beyond the remainder of this season, he said: “Never say never.

“It depends what happens at the end of the four matches and what the conversation is all about, how I feel and more importantly how my wife feels.”

Former MK Dons, Charlton and Oxford boss Karl Robinson will be Allardyce’s assistant and ex-Leeds striker Robbie Keane has also joined the backroom staff.

Allardyce had hoped to have been assisted by Sammy Lee, who is unavailable after being refused permission to cancel jury duty.

“The judge has left Sammy unemployed and wouldn’t let them off,” Allardyce added. “I think it’s very poor judgment indeed. It’s a real shame because he loves being with me and I love having him with me.”

After Allardyce’s first game at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Leeds face Champions League hopefuls Newcastle at Elland Road the following week.

The final two games of the season are a trip to West Ham, one of Allardyce’s former clubs, and the visit of Tottenham, who are bidding to qualify for Europe.

Leeds have lost five of their last seven games, with Sunday’s 4-1 reverse at Bournemouth following 4-1, 5-1 and 6-1 defeats to Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Liverpool respectively last month.

On Sunday, fans’ group the Leeds United Supporters Advisory Board issued a vote of no confidence in both the club’s board and Gracia.

The players subsequently issued a statement on Monday apologising for their performance at Bournemouth and for failing to acknowledge fans at the team hotel.

Gracia leaves Leeds after only 11 league games in charge. The Spaniard collected 10 points from his first six fixtures, but a dreadful run of results in April left the club in a downward spiral.

Gracia said in a statement: “I’m grateful for this opportunity and proud of the team, both players and coaching staff. That’s how I would like to summarise my time at Leeds United.

“I would have preferred a different moment, but the circumstances have changed. We arrived on a short three-month contract, and we did it because we believed in this team.”

One day after being announced as the NBA's most valuable player, Joel Embiid could return from a right knee injury when the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday.

Embiid took part in the team's shootaround on Wednesday morning, and he now has a chance to suit up for the first time since Game 3 of the first round against the Brooklyn Nets.

Embiid sat out Game 4 of the opening round on April 22 due to a sprained ligament in the knee as Philadelphia swept Brooklyn. 

The six-time All-Star then missed Game 1 of the semifinals in Boston on Monday, as the 76ers won 119-115 behind James Harden's 45 points.

Embiid finally won MVP honours on Tuesday after runner-up finishes in the previous two seasons. 

He averaged a career-best 33.1 points in 2022-23 to claim his second straight scoring title, also adding 10.2 rebounds and a career high-tying 4.2 assists per game.

Embiid also set a personal best by shooting 54.8 per cent from the field, while his 66 games were the second-most he has played during a single campaign in his career.

Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith will take no motivation from spoiling a Celtic title party on Sunday with his focus purely on boosting his side’s European hopes.

Celtic will clinch the cinch Premiership title if they triumph at Tynecastle but Hearts also have plenty to play for as they chase Aberdeen for the lucrative third place and bid to hold off the challenge of Hibernian and St Mirren below them.

Naismith told Sky Sports News: “Celtic have been the best team over the season. They will go on to win the league, but our mindset is about us and what we can do.

“We have the games from now to the end of the season to try and get in European places. That’s got to be our focus. Whether Celtic win the league or not is irrelevant to us.”

Hearts beat Ross County 6-1 in Naismith’s first game in charge at Tynecastle and he knows that utilising their home games could be crucial in achieving their aims for the season.

“They will play a big part,” he said. “When the split fixtures came out, it’s a big benefit to us that we have got three home games.

“Our home result since I took over, in the Ross County game, was very good. It was a great day for everybody and we have got to show the same enthusiasm to play, aggressiveness to play in the opposition half.

“These are the key things we need to do at home which give us the best chance of winning games.”

Celtic have expressed “huge disappointment” that their Scottish Cup final clash with Inverness has been scheduled for an early evening kick-off, in a major break with tradition.

Celtic criticised a lack of consultation after the Scottish Football Association announced that its showpiece game would kick off at 5.30pm on June 3, moving from its long-held 3pm slot.

Reports emerged earlier in the week that the normal time could be moved – possibly to a lunchtime kick-off – to avoid a clash with the Manchester derby FA Cup final, which starts at 3pm and will be broadcast live on both BBC and STV.

Celtic said in a statement: “We are hugely disappointed that the Scottish Cup final has been moved from its traditional 3pm slot, something we don’t believe was necessary, or in the best interests of both sets of supporters.

“Additionally, there was no meaningful consultation with Celtic on this matter, in terms of assessing the many issues affecting supporters attending the match – something which is also extremely regrettable.”

Inverness promised to release a full statement in “due course” but some of their supporters were quick to point out some of the difficulties the change produces, notably that the last train from Glasgow to the Highland city on that day leaves at 7.37pm, giving supporters no chance of travelling home by rail on the day.

After confirming the kick-off time, the Scottish Football Association added: “We would like to thank all parties for their support in ensuring a slot commensurate with Scottish football’s showpiece occasion. The match will be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland and on Viaplay.”

Emma Raducanu is set to miss Wimbledon and the whole grass-court season after undergoing minor surgery.

The 2021 US Open champion has encountered several fitness problems in recent months and pulled out of the Madrid Open last month with a hand injury.

And the 20-year-old said she has had a minor procedure on both hands and on her ankle in an effort to resolve the issue.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ~ (@emmaraducanu)

“It is safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury on a bone of both hands,” Raducanu wrote on Instagram alongside a picture after her surgery.

“I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of this year and end of last year by reducing practice load dramatically, missing weeks of training as well as cutting last season short to try heal it.

“Unfortunately it’s not enough. I’m having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues.

“I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle.

“It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts.

“Look forward to seeing you all back out there.”

Steven MacLean is confident St Johnstone are up for the battle after being sucked back into relegation trouble in recent months.

The Perth side looked comfortable in mid-table in February but a poor run of form – which cost manager Callum Davidson his job last month – has allowed clubs beneath them to close the gap.

Saints – who survived via a play-off last season – go into their post-split fixtures six points ahead of last-placed Ross County and only two points ahead of joint-second-bottom pair Dundee United and Kilmarnock.

Defeat at home to resurgent United on Saturday could leave the McDiarmid Park side sitting in the relegation play-off spot, but interim manager MacLean feels they can take encouragement from the fact they are still “in the driving seat”.

“I think they are, I think they know that,” he said when asked if the Saints players were fully aware of the gravity of their predicament.

“The players know they are in a battle. All we’re concentrating on is ourselves right now. We know what we’ve got to do. We’re in the driving seat, it’s in our own hands. We’re not really looking towards other teams.”

MacLean was handed the reins two and a half weeks ago after the sacking of Davidson. The 40-year-old oversaw a 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian in his first game in charge and – with no fixture last weekend – he arranged a “competitive” friendly against his former club Hearts last Friday to keep his squad ticking over.

MacLean is relishing his first taste of management but insists there is no update with regard to the longer-term managerial situation at Saints.

Asked if he had any further discussions about his position, MacLean said: “No, I’m just in charge until I’m told not to be.

“I’m enjoying it. It’s hard work. It’s something that’s always been in the back of mind that I wanted to do. I’m just really concentrating on the next five games.

“Dundee United is first so I’m just looking at that and putting all my thoughts into that and having the players focused.

“The boys have been excellent. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them and more.”

Chelsea’s season plumbed new depths in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal, not just in that it was the sixth defeat of Frank Lampard’s six-game reign but also the manner in which the team seemed to disintegrate in the first half.

It is difficult to see where the team’s next win is coming from, and with three of the top four still to play as well as a trip to buoyant Bournemouth on Saturday, it may not come until August.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what has gone wrong and what hope this team have for the future.

How much worse can it get?

Materially, the answer appears to be ‘not much’. The team are not going to be relegated, though on current form that might be certain only because the season will run out of games before Chelsea run out of points.

The concern now is about what damage is being done to the players, staff and supporters psychologically on this desperately poor run-in, and how much time it will take to repair.

For a team this expensively assembled to lose six in a row – part of a winless run of eight during which only two goals have been scored – speaks to something more serious than a side lacking confidence and form.

Chelsea played like strangers in losing to Arsenal, world-class players seemingly unable to perform. The squad seem in a state of shock. The road back will not be straightforward.

What can be done in the short term?

The club appear to be damned whichever direction they move in.

Nobody could have predicted the speed or extent to which Lampard has looked out of his depth, but making yet another change barely a month after the latest one would not reflect well on the club.

Equally, putting the next permanent manager in the dugout now rather than letting him start with the spotlight off during the close-season could short-circuit the reboot at its inception.

Is there any good news?

Yes – the season is only five games from being over, but that could also be the bad news if losses keep piling up.

Yet for all the criticism of the way Todd Boehly has gone about Chelsea’s business, he has in an albeit wasteful and roundabout way assembled many of the parts that the club need in order to be a force again.

In Enzo Fernandez they have a genuine star of world football around whom a truly great team can be built, while Joao Felix – if he stays – is a game-changing talent with limitless potential.

Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk are fine young players starting to show signs of acclimatisation, and Wesley Fofana has hinted in flashes at why he was so highly regarded during his time at Leicester.

Scoring goals is a problem, and Christopher Nkunku – when he arrives from RB Leipzig in the summer – could be part of the solution.

Yet there remains the absence of a clinical, proven goalscorer and it is hard to see this team competing next season without one.

Could Pochettino be the man to turn things around?

This is another reason for supporters not to abandon hope. Mauricio Pochettino looks a decent fit for the urgent work that needs doing, with a proven record of transforming a squad of callow hopefuls into performers on the very biggest stage.

He ticks a lot of the boxes: tactical nous; good with young players; able to handle mature stars and their not-so-mature egos; charismatic.

Yet there is an almost unprecedented rebuild required at the club, and what success he has enjoyed in the past will not be a guarantee of anything.

If he is to turn things around, it will not happen overnight. But if anybody is going to get the club back on track, Pochettino looks as good a bet as anybody on the market.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has recommended fines totalling £37,000 for the players charged in the Yorkshire racism scandal.

Former England international Gary Ballance was hit the hardest with a recommended fine of £8,000 and an eight-week suspension.

Ballance – one of six individuals connected with the club accused of using racist language in the case which stemmed from allegations made by former Yorkshire bowler Azeem Rafiq – had already admitted the charge brought against him by the ECB.

The suspension appears to have little consequence given Ballance announced his retirement from playing last month, although at 33 years old he could theoretically return.

The ECB took into account the fact that Ballance had admitted the charge, and apologised, as it gave its recommendations to the independent Cricket Discipline Commission panel.

ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC said: “We understand there has been a significant impact on Mr Ballance’s mental health, and that in April 2023, Mr Ballance announced his retirement from professional cricket.

“So the ECB therefore suggests there be a reprimand, and Mr Ballance be fined £8,000, reduced from £12,500 to take in effect of his admissions.

“We also suggest a strong recommendation be made that he attend a racism and discrimination course at his own expense, particularly if he attends to return to the game in a playing or coaching capacity.

“And also an eight-week suspension, reduced from 10, if Mr Ballance ever returns to ECB-regulated cricket as a player.”

Ballance’s lawyer, Craig Harris, argued the financial penalty should be reduced due to the cost of being involved in the proceedings; namely that he lost his job as a player at Yorkshire, lost a sponsorship contract, and was not considered for England selection.

Harris also pointed to the culture in the Yorkshire dressing room for over a decade – including widespread use of the term ‘P***’ – which was eventually exposed by Rafiq’s bombshell testimony in 2021, and that Zimbabwe-born Ballance was himself the subject of discriminatory remarks.

He said: “This is not a case where Mr Ballance says the words were not discriminatory, or that he has some sort of intellectual deficit. It is accepted he ought to have known better.

“Even if used in a jocular sense, it is only a ‘joke’ because they are playing upon a prejudice, so I don’t go as far to say those rules were not breached.

“But they were breached by someone living and playing within a culture in which the use of such language had become normalised, and where there appears to have been a degree of mutual acceptance that jokes – which ought to have no place in a dressing room or in society – did develop.

“The language got worse all the time that squad spent together and there was no club intervention to eradicate it. He is somebody who himself accepted such jokes being made towards him.”

Yorkshire have admitted to four charges including a “failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period”. The sanctions against the club are expected to be announced next month.

The other five former Yorkshire players facing charges: John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard and Richard Pyrah, had all previously withdrawn from the disciplinary proceedings and did not provide written submissions. The charges against them were heard in their absence in March.

The ECB recommended former Yorkshire captain and coach Gale be fined £7,500 and suspended for four weeks were he to return to coaching.

Hoggard should be fined £7,500, Bresnan and Blain £5,000 each, and Pyrah £4,000, the ECB said.

Yet as if to illustrate the ECB’s dubious handling of the entire depressing episode, Mulcahy admitted to not knowing whether Pyrah was still coaching, but recommended a two-week suspension anyway.

All five, Mulcahy said, would have been suspended from playing were they still active. Hoggard, for example, is now 46 and retired almost 10 years ago.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was the only one of the seven players initially charged to appear at the hearing, and he was cleared of using racist language.

The latest in a seemingly never-ending series of hearings ended with CDC chair Tim O’Gorman warning: “It is going to take time for the full decisions to be made and for them to be available in writing. That is going to take several weeks.”

Europe captain Luke Donald admits he will find it hard to give his side a significant advantage with the way he sets up this year’s Ryder Cup course.

As the home skipper, Donald is allowed to dictate how Marco Simone Golf Club will play for this year’s contest against the United States as Europe look to bounce back from the record defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.

The former world number one and some of his potential team members also have the opportunity to contest this week’s Italian Open at the venue on the outskirts of Rome, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre defending the title he won last year.

“Since playing it last year, we looked at a few different fairway lines, bringing in a few fairways a little bit tighter,” Donald told a pre-event press conference.

“The template for European golf is to have a slightly narrower golf course, a little bit more rough, not greens that get too fast because that’s obviously what the US guys are always used to.

“There’s not a whole lot we have changed but we have added a couple of bunkers to create opportunities for better driving. I feel like Europe has good drivers of the golf ball.

“I think it’s a fun golf course in terms of there’s potentially two or three driveable par fours. Statistically, driving is a good part of our games so to have those in there could give us a slight advantage.

“But there’s only so much you can do. The players are very evenly matched when it comes to statistics.

“You’re just trying to find little potential differences that you can capitalise on but the standard of play is very close these days. It’s hard to gain a big advantage.”

MacIntyre defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September, the left-hander making a birdie on the first extra hole after he and Fitzpatrick had finished tied on 14 under par, a shot ahead of Victor Perez.

Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy, who was within a shot of the lead until hitting his tee shot on the 16th into the water, finished fourth on 12 under.

That was just the second qualifying event for the Ryder Cup and although MacIntyre has since fallen outside the automatic places, the world number 91 is trying to play down the potential significance of a successful title defence.

“I worried about that for the last Ryder Cup, worried about what could be,” he said. “This year, I’m not worried at all about what could be. What will be will be and I’ll be going out there to play golf because you enjoy it.

“This week is not going to define my season. I get it’s on the golf course where the Ryder Cup is going to be. Course set up is pretty similar to last year. I did it on that golf course.

“But, to be honest, I am not worried just about this week and there is so much golf to be played and it’s not going to define the season, good or bad.

“We’ll just keep marching on and working hard and hopefully we make it there come September.”

Erik ten Hag wants Alejandro Garnacho to kick on and challenge for a regular starting spot after the 18-year-old committed his long-term future to Manchester United.

The talented winger arrived at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 2020, in the last wave of international signings before the Brexit regulations changed.

Garnacho was named last season’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year after playing a key role in United’s FA Youth Cup triumph and went on to make his first-team debut in April.

The Argentina youth international did not appear on the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia after frustrating Ten Hag, but has since won the Dutchman over and has signed a new deal until 2028.

“First of all, I think he has the prize and it’s a prize,” the United manager said of Garnacho. “He also shows he can make the final step – not only in talent but also, he made it.

“But now it’s a new start, a restart, because now the expectations will be higher, the demands definitely will be higher.

“He is on his way, he is a strong character and that’s why he’s there in the moment on this level, and he did it by himself.

“But now is coming more work to go because the demands are higher, we expect more from him.

“But it’s great he made it because it tells we will give young players opportunities, but they have to deserve it.

“When I say ‘give’, translate it to ‘deserve’ and they have to deserve with their feet, they have to show it on the pitch and that means you have to invest a lot and deserve it by training performances, by performance in the under-21s, then wait for your moment and prove it again.

“For Alejandro, he is that step beyond but now the demands will be even more because he has now to compete for a starting XI position.

“So, every time is the same: you have to cross limits and every time you have to go in the next level.

“We go with him in that challenge but most important is the player has to do it.”

Garnacho has been laid low for the last seven weeks with an ankle injury sustained against Southampton – an issue that also saw him miss the chance to link up with the Argentina senior team in March.

But the teenager has made good progress and is closing in on a return to action, albeit Thursday’s Premier League trip to Brighton comes too soon.

“We have one training but I think it’s too soon to be available,” Ten Hag said. “I think he’s short, I think he needs some training and then short notice he will be available.”

Raphael Varane is also making good progress on his return to fitness.

The 30-year-old went off injured in last month’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Sevilla, when fellow centre-back Lisandro Martinez suffered a season-ending metatarsal injury.

Varane will be unavailable at Brighton and then at West Ham on Sunday, but Ten Hag suggested he could return in United’s home match against Wolves on May 13.

“The prognosis, I think Rapha is closer than Scott McTominay in this moment,” the United boss said. “But still for the coming two games, they are not available.”

United have the chance to strengthen their grip on a Champions League qualification spot when they head to the high-flying Seagulls on Thursday.

Brighton are the only away team to have won at Old Trafford in the league this term but are reeling from their recent FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to the Red Devils at Wembley.

“I think everyone involved in top, top sport, if you get beaten you want to have revenge and that is normal that they have a huge motivation to beat us,” Ten Hag added.

“But we have to match that and not only match that – we have to do more.

“We have to show we have more hunger than them to win this game and willingness – that is the word for (Thursday).”