Katie Taylor is relishing the “biggest night” of her illustrious career, hoping to make a triumphant homecoming and become a two-weight undisputed world champion by beating Chantelle Cameron.

The Irish fighter has reigned supreme as the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight champion since mid-2019 and is now moving up to light-welterweight to challenge for Cameron’s four belts at Dublin’s 3Arena.

Added significance comes from this being her first professional fight on home soil – major boxing shows have not occurred in Ireland since a deadly shooting at a weigh-in at a Dublin hotel in May 2016.

Taylor made her debut in the paid ranks six months later and has gone on to win all 22 fights, six inside the distance, but the 36-year-old faces arguably her toughest test in Britain’s Cameron.

“I’m so proud to be here and represent this great nation and I’m going to give it my all and become a two-weight undisputed champion,” said Taylor at Friday’s weigh-in ahead of the weekend showdown.

“It will absolutely be the biggest night of my career so far.”

Despite being the challenger, it was Taylor who made her way to the stage second in front of a partisan crowd singing her name, greeted by two violinists performing the Irish folk song ‘Drunken Sailor’.

She weighed in first, however, with both Taylor and and fellow undefeated fighter Cameron coming in at 139.7lbs, below the 140lbs limit.

“This is absolutely incredible, seeing the crowd here, thank you so much for all the support,” added Taylor.

“To bring big-time boxing back to this great nation, this is a nation who loves our sport, loves our boxing. I cannot wait to get a hold of those belts.”

Taylor was initially slated to face Amanda Serrano on Saturday night in a rerun of their epic contest at Madison Square Garden in April last year – the first women’s bout to headline the famed venue.

Taylor won that affair by wafer-thin split decision after withstanding some punishment in the middle rounds and hoped to entice Serrano to Croke Park, only for security cost issues to scupper the dream.

 

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Serrano’s injury then led to Taylor, somewhat uncharacteristically, taking to social media to call out Northampton fighter Cameron, who gleefully stepped into the breach.

Cameron, who will have height and reach advantages over Taylor, has not been unduly tested in her 17 wins, eight inside the distance, and has seemed unfazed by all the hysteria surrounding her opponent.

“Cool heads in a hot kitchen, it’s just down to business,” said Cameron, who claimed all four major world titles last November by beating Jessica McCaskill.

“I’ll bring everything I’ve got.”

On the undercard, Doncaster fighter Terri Harper makes the first defence of her WBA light-middleweight title defence against former undisputed world welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus.

Harper tipped the scales at 150.8lbs, while Braekhaus weighed in at 153.3lbs.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 19.

Football

Phil Jones paid tribute to Manchester United fans after it was confirmed he will be leaving the club.

Manchester United remembered Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game as a manager.

Aaron Ramsdale reflected on his time at Arsenal after signing a new contract.

Declan Rice celebrated West Ham reaching the Europa Conference League final.

Chelsea reminisced about their Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

Rugby union

An emotional day for Alun Wyn Jones and Welsh rugby.

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Tributes were also paid to flanker Justin Tipuric following his own retirement from Wales duty.

Golf

Tom Kim got a bit muddy at the US PGA Championship.

Snooker

It makes perfect, Ronnie!

Mostabshir looks a colt sure to go on bigger and better things following a dominant display on day three of the Dante Festival at York.

An impressive victory on his debut at Kempton in November earned the Shadwell-owned youngster a place in last month’s Craven Stakes at Newmarket with a view to a potential 2000 Guineas bid, but he could finish only fifth of seven runners.

Perhaps as a result, Mostabshir was passed over on this occasion by Shadwell’s retained rider Jim Crowley, who instead elected to partner Wood Ditton runner-up Kathab.

The latter was the 6-4 favourite on the strength of that fine effort behind Thursday’s luckless Dante Stakes third Passenger, but he was ultimately unable to lay a glove on John and Thady Gosden’s highly impressive winner.

With William Buick in the saddle, the son of Dark Angel set his own fractions in front and once asked to go about his business quickly put daylight between himself and his rivals. His stablemate Ziryab finished best of the rest, pipping Kathab to the runner-up spot, but was a full five lengths behind Mostabshir.

Gosden senior said: “He’s like a lot of ours – the grass gallops were closed in Newmarket, so they had to train on the all-weather and then when they went to the races they ran in a bog and he didn’t like it. This was the first summer ground we’ve had this year and it’s a different result.

“William gave him a great ride from the front and said he gave him a lovely feel. What was nice was that William said he quickened twice, and when they do that you’ve got to take note.”

Coral cut Mostabshir to 8-1 from 50-1 for the St James’s Palace Stakes a Royal Ascot, a Group One contest Gosden has previously won with Kingman (2014), Without Parole (2018) and Palace Pier (2020).

The Clarehaven handler was non-committal regarding future plans, though, adding: “He was giving 6lb to the opposition so it was a decent performance, but we’re in a complete muddle now as we don’t know if we’ll go to the Britannia or the handicapper will make it impossible – the other option is to go in at the deep end.

“What he’s shown today is that on genuine summer ground he’s a decent horse.”

Shadwell’s racing manager, Angus Gold, walked into the paddock with a rather puzzled look on his face.

He said: “I’m delighted to see him quicken like that, I didn’t expect it.

“He looked a galloper when he won at Kempton and it didn’t work out for him in the Craven for whatever reason – course, ground, needed the run, whatever.

“William said he quickened twice and under a penalty that was a handy enough performance today.

“Timing-wise you’d love to run him in a Listed race somewhere and if that went well then go St James’s Palace, but there isn’t the time to do it. We’ll have to see how he is and see what John thinks.

“We ran in the Craven to see if he was a Guineas horse, it fell in a hole so we thought we’d come back down to bring him back up but to do that with a penalty in that style – that’s why I was a bit puzzled, I was surprised to see the speed.

“As for Kathab, Jim says he probably needs 10 furlongs, if anything.”

Dundee United left-back Aziz Behich will use his positive experience of fighting relegation to try to seize the initiative against Livingston in a game he is treating like a cup final.

United sit bottom of the cinch Premiership with three games left and defeat in West Lothian could see them staring into the abyss depending on results elsewhere.

“We all know what’s at stake here,” the former Bursaspor and Istanbul Basaksehir player said. “We are bottom of the table. We can’t look ahead of this week and we are treating this game as a final. That’s the mentality we need to go in with.

“A lot of players maybe haven’t been in this situation before. Personally I have, two or three times over in Turkey, and come out on top of it.

“This is a new situation for a lot and it’s just how you deal with it. You either take it by the scruff of the neck or you roll over. I don’t think we have got players here that want to roll over.

“We have got good characters in the changing room and us older guys have to push that leading into Saturday.”

Behich’s season has veered between huge highs and massive lows, from conceding seven goals on his United debut against AZ Alkmaar to playing for Australia against Argentina in the last 16 of the World Cup and nearly scoring a sensational late equaliser.

The ups and downs continued. After a strong return from the World Cup, United went 11 league games without a win before claiming three consecutive victories going into the split.

But they have still not been able to kick on and successive defeats against St Johnstone and Ross County have left them in the mire.

“It has been a bit of a roller coaster but that’s part of football, part of the journey,” the 32-year-old defender said.

“But I’m happy to be at this club. It’s a great football club, a great fanbase.

“Obviously we have to look at ourselves, why we are in this situation, as individuals.

“But it’s not the time for that now because we still have three final games to play and we still have to have that belief within the four walls, in that changing room, that we are going to get out of this.

“We are the only ones that can do that. Not the coaching staff, not the people on the outside – it’s us players on the pitch that, at the end of the day, define the outcome really.”

Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy believes last weekend’s tough experience at Ibrox can ultimately be of benefit to some of the younger players in the team.

The likes of Yuki Kobayashi, Alexandro Bernabei and Oh Hyeon-gyu were handed derby starts but were on the wrong end of a 3-0 defeat.

Celtic had already wrapped up the cinch Premiership title and beaten Rangers in both cup competitions but the first derby defeat of the season still stung Ange Postecoglou’s side and supporters.

However, Kennedy believes there was plenty to take from the game which can help treble-chasing Celtic continue to move forward.

“There is learning in every game for us, individually and collectively,” he said.

“If we go out and win 5-0 we will always pick the holes in it and the positives and feed that back to the players as a group and individually.

“It’s the same process when we suffer a defeat or a poor performance. The players are very comfortable with that, they know that.

“But sometimes in terms of going through that tough experience, you do get a lot of learning from that.

“When you are winning every week you get in a mindset and that becomes the norm, and sometimes it just shakes you up a little bit and gives you a reminder that if part of your game is not quite on it or if you don’t attack the game in the right intent, it gives us a reminder.

“Even the way we started the game wasn’t to our normal standards. Rangers came on to us, we lost a lot of duels, missed a lot of passes. And straight away that put us under pressure.

“It’s important for us to always remember that we play a style that we look to impose on the opposition.

“When the game is more challenging, there is certainly more things to look at.

“In hindsight, a lot of the boys will look back at that and learn a lot from that, especially the younger lads, who hopefully will be able to go into the next games and correct some of the errors that happened.”

Celtic had two-thirds of the ball at Ibrox but only one shot on target compared to Rangers’ eight.

Kennedy said: “I think that was Rangers’ strategy, they had two quick players at the top end, they gave up possession at times, but we were probably as wasteful with it as we have been in most of our games.

“In terms of decision-making, execution and the technical side of the game, we missed too many passes and made too many bad decisions.

“And that led to a lot of turnovers and gave Rangers the opportunity to hit us on counter-attacks and catch us when we weren’t quite organised.

“There was certainly a lot to look into on the game. As much as it was a bad result and poor performance, it’s a good reminder for us as a group that we have constantly got to be on it. You can’t drop 10 per cent because we know how much that affects our game.”

Celtic bid to bounce back at home to St Mirren on Saturday and Kennedy is sure there will be an edge to his team’s game, especially with the Scottish Cup final against Inverness to come on June 3.

The former Scotland international said: “There’s always that drive. Players are stimulated by playing for the club and you want to perform in every game. They are competitors and there is always that motivation.

“The fact we have the cup final to go, it gives us that stimulant right through to the end of the season.

“We are not just playing games out, we want to finish as strong as we can and it’s important we get the right form and conditioning going into the cup final because on the day you have to put in a performance that merits the win.”

Rangers incoming chief executive James Bisgrove has suggested away fans could return to Old Firm derbies next season albeit a full allocation of visiting supporters is “highly unlikely”.

The two most recent cinch Premiership Glasgow derbies were played in front of home supporters only due to “safety and security” issues.

Previous to that around 800 away supporters were allowed, which in itself was vastly reduced from the approximately 7,500 tickets which were once allocated to visitors.

However, Bisgrove – who will officially take over the role on July 31 – said: “It’s definitely an area we are going to look at.

“We are going to have dialogue with all the right stakeholders and authorities, be that Police Scotland, be that Celtic, and we recognise all the different viewpoints on that and we will see where those discussions go for next season.

“There’s no specific date in the diary for those talks but I would imagine that during the summer and before the next Old Firm game that the dialogue would take place.

“For next season, the season tickets have not been sold in the corner of the Govan stand, where the allocation was previously.

“So for next season we do have the opportunity should we decide to restore that allocation of about 700-800, that’s our maximum for next season.

“Beyond that it’s a broader conversation. We need to have that dialogue with those stakeholders because there’s a lot of different views on it.”

Celtic fans had traditionally occupied the Broomloan Stand at Ibrox for Old Firm clashes, with Rangers supporters housed in the corner of the Main Stand and Jock Stein Stand at Celtic Park.

Bisgrove said: “We’ll take the decision that is right for Rangers and is right for our supporters.

“I think the question was, ‘is there the chance to go back to the traditional allocation of 8,000?’ I think that’s very unlikely at the moment.

“We need to see where the conversations go. But I don’t think that is imminent at the moment.”

The Viaplay Cup final and the Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and Celtic this season were played at Hampden Park with a 50-50 split of tickets.

Marco Silva praised Roy Hodgson’s impact at Crystal Palace since his return, which has seen the Eagles find their feet in front of goal and climb the Premier League table.

Hodgson, who took over from Patrick Vieira in March, has steered the Eagles to safety with five wins in eight matches. There has also been an upturn in attacking output, with the south London club scoring 15 goals since their 4-1 defeat to Arsenal two months ago.

Fulham boss Silva talked up Palace’s improved attacking form, attributing it to the confidence former England boss Hodgson has instilled in his squad since his arrival.

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“The new manager impact for sure (has helped them in front of goal) because they are in a good moment,” Silva said ahead of Saturday’s clash between the teams at Craven Cottage.

“It was a matter of confidence for them to find goals because they have the quality, the talent up front, to punish any team in this league.

“When they won the first game under Roy (Hodgson) and then the second, the confidence came again on different levels and they’re now expressing themselves, you can feel during the matches.

“The way some of their players are playing right now you can feel they are full of confidence.”

Silva’s side dismantled Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park in December but the Fulham boss admitted he expects a different challenge on Saturday as he highlighted the form of their young players.

Eagles top goalscorer Eberechi Eze has netted six goals in eight games, including a brace in last week’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth, and Silva is aware of their attacking threat.



Silva added: “They also have the quality there, (Michael) Olise, Eze, (Wilfried) Zaha, (Odsonne) Edouard, the support they have from the midfielders.

“With the players they have they can go on, I think they have a lot of individual quality in the attacking line.

“You can see the young talents who have the experience already in the Premier League to create many problems for the opposition every time.

“They have some very good connections, the players link (with) each other very well and of course some players in the back line too.

“I think it will be a very good game against a good side who will want to keep the same capacity to get points – and we want to do the same.”

The Cottagers have avoided any threat of relegation on their return to the top flight, spending the majority of the campaign in the top half.

Silva, who stated in the summer that his squad “was not ready” for the league, credited his players for their efforts – they are currently only two points off their record Premier League points tally of 53.

He added: “We showed the capacity to adapt in any moment of the season in  what the season demands of ourselves…some moments without our full squad, without some important players for us.”

Alun Wyn Jones, the world’s most capped rugby union player, has announced his retirement from the international game.

The 37-year-old lock played 158 times for Wales and made 12 British and Irish Lions Test appearances.

Wales flanker Justin Tipuric, who won 93 caps, had earlier announced his decision to step down from Test rugby.

The players’ decisions come less than four months before Wales’ World Cup opener against Fiji in Bordeaux, and both had recently been named in a 54-player preliminary training squad for the tournament by head coach Warren Gatland.

Writing on his Instagram page, Jones said: “Having been sele3cted in this year’s preliminary Rugby World Cup squad, and after ongoing dialogue with the coaching staff and WRU (Welsh Rugby Union), I have decided to step away from the international game.

“So, after 17 years, I look back on special memories with Welsh greats and future Welsh greats.”

Frank Lampard has revealed he tried to sign Erling Haaland for Chelsea during his first spell as the manager at Stamford Bridge.

The Manchester City striker came up against Lampard’s team in a pre-season friendly in 2019 while he was playing for RB Salzburg in Austria.

He scored 28 goals in 22 matches that season before signing for Borussia Dortmund the following summer, but Lampard said he attempted to bring him to west London instead during his 18-month spell in charge between 2019 and 2021.

Ultimately competition for the Norway international’s signature, together with the fact not everybody at Chelsea was convinced that a bid for Haaland would have been the right move, meant that Lampard was left frustrated.

His 36 Premier League goals for title-chasing City this season mean he has scored as many times in the league as the entire Chelsea squad have, with the two teams meeting at the Etihad on Sunday as City look for the victory they need to seal the title.

Chelsea by contrast remain in the bottom half of the table, with their struggles in front of goal this season having shown no sign of easing in recent weeks.

“I’ve got huge respect for him as a player, he’s a player I tried to bring to Chelsea the first time I was here,” said Lampard. “I was really keen to get him here but obviously that couldn’t happen. His level at that point was very clear, we played against him in a pre-season game for Salzburg.

“Credit to him, I love seeing players of that level, I love seeing players of that personality and hunger to play and be the best which he’s proved himself to be. In terms of having to deal with him you have to have obviously a plan and an idea, but players of that level can make anything happen at any moment.

“I think he’s special, I thought he’d adapt straight away just (because of) his level. I think with the level of players and his record of scoring, firstly in Austria then for his country and in the Bundesliga – which is not an easy league – to come into a really good unit already.

“The rest is just credit to himself and the team around him. I did expect that, it’s not just an easy hindsight answer, I’ve got real respect for the player.

“I don’t know whether he would have decided to come here anyway but I was a big fan. There are some of those that happen that people don’t know about that could have been this way, people talk a lot about mistakes and the things that could have been in football.

“Whether he would have come I don’t know, but I was pushing big, and for a couple of other players as well. But he was the outstanding one.

“From our point I was pushing it, I’m not sure what the appetite everywhere else in the club was to do it. The competition was big to take him because he was an outstanding player. I think there was a buyout clause at the time which I think was relatively reasonable given the player (he joined Dortmund for around £17million). I don’t have enough detail to say how close it was.”

Lampard has two matches left of his interim spell in charge, with Manchester United at Old Trafford and Newcastle at Stamford Bridge to come after City.

He has won only once during his eight games in the job, a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth earlier in May, with six defeats having come in that time including a Champions League exit to Real Madrid.

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be confirmed as the permanent successor to Graham Potter, who was sacked on April 2, in the coming days, and he will have a huge rebuild on his hands after a disastrous season for the club.

Despite the poor form, Lampard said he has no regrets about agreeing to take over in the short-term from Potter.

“I have enjoyed it, I get asked it a lot,” he said. “You want to always get results but you have to be realistic in football.  When I came into this, the Champions League dream that everyone talked to me about, (saying) it’s been done before, can we do it again?

“The realistic answer was we were where we were in the league for a reason. Our view was to try and beat Real Madrid then possible City to get to a final. In terms of the rest of the job, it’s been how many small wins can I try and impact behind the scenes. You can’t always impact results.

“Generally there’s a lot of work to do here. I can have a certain impact with certain individuals within the group because I have a big feeling for the club.”

Giavellotto turned the tables on his St Leger conqueror Eldar Eldarov to secure top honours in the Boodles Yorkshire Cup.

The Roger Varian-trained Eldar Eldarov was the Classic hero at Doncaster, a race in which Marco Botti’s Giavellotto passed the post in fourth but was later promoted to third after suffering interference.

In a twist on the Knavesmire, Giavellotto was the one causing interference, but following a stewards’ inquiry the placings remained unaltered in the one-mile-six-furlong feature.

Ninth behind the reopposing Broome in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March, the 14-1 chance quickened up smartly to grab the lead under Andrea Atzeni, but hung left under pressure, impeding both the long-time leader Quickthorn and Broome on the far side of the track.

In the meantime Eldar Eldarov, making his first appearance since the autumn, was building up a head of steam closer to stands rail and charged home to beaten just half a length, with Broome only a further length behind in third.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to the departing quartet of James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.

All four will leave when their contracts expire next month and are guaranteed an emotional send-off at Anfield against Aston Villa.

All leave as Champions League and Premier League winners and while Firmino and Milner, who arrived in the summer of 2015 a few months before Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers, have played a greater role, the manager insisted all four had made significant contributions.

“We spoke already with the boys earlier this week about it,” said Klopp.

“It is super-important for us and kind of super-emotional as well for different reasons because we say goodbye to, from my point of view, four Liverpool legends.

“Two of them were here when I arrived – Millie (Milner) and Bobby (Firmino) – and nothing of all the good things which happened in the last few years would have happened without them.

“Bobby, my God, how much I love the guy. It is 100 per cent deserved.

“Millie played an incredible number of games, I think I am the manager he played the most games for in his career, and probably the same for Bobby.

“My English is not good enough to really express my respect for them but that’s the same for Ox (Oxlade-Chamberlain) and Naby, for different reasons.

“Ox was unlucky in moments with bad injuries in absolutely the wrong moment. I remember the (2018 Champions League game) against Roma when he got badly injured and I had no clue how to sort that situation as he was that good and pretty much irreplaceable in that moment.

“Everyone knows we spent a lot of money on Naby and there were a lot of expectations and because of injuries in the wrong moments he couldn’t fulfil all of them but go back and look at the football he could play in his good moments.”

Milner has been heavily linked with a move to Brighton, but the futures of the other three are less clear, although they will not be short of offers.

Klopp added: “I wish them all well and hope they find a place where they are as much respected and needed as here and they find their luck again because they had a lot in the last few years.

“All four won pretty much each available trophy and we love them but it is professional football and nothing is forever.

“There is always a moment and it’s a good moment because it means one chapter will be closed and we can start writing a new one, which is good as well for them and for us.

“I will be forever thankful to them because without them nothing would’ve happened. They were super-important in all they did and that’s the farewell they deserve.”

Pep Guardiola has no plans to celebrate if Manchester City win the title without playing on Saturday and compared closing out the Premier League season to a tennis player serving for Wimbledon glory.

City are on the brink of a fifth top-flight crown in six seasons and it will be confirmed before they next play if challengers Arsenal lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Guardiola insists he is not thinking about that prospect, however, and is focusing only on beating Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium to win it on the field themselves on Sunday.

The City manager said: “I don’t think (we’ll be celebrating) because we have a game the day after and Chelsea deserve it.

“In my mind, I’d like to feel we have to win to be champions. This is what we have to think.

“We cannot control Nottingham and it doesn’t matter what happens in Nottingham. We have to do our job and win our game.

“If we can win we can celebrate in the stadium with our people and that would be the best.”

Wrapping up the title this weekend would cap a memorable week in which treble-chasing City reached the Champions League final with a stunning victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Guardiola says there has been little time to celebrate that achievement as he now tries to ensure City, who trailed Arsenal by eight points last month, see out the job in the Premier League.

He said: “Of course we are satisfied to be able to play the Champions League final but it’s non-stop.

“Now is coming the most difficult thing. Tennis players say to serve to win Wimbledon is the most difficult one.

“On Sunday, the game is in our hands to win the most important competition. We’re lucky to have the chance to finish at home with our people. We have to take it.”

Guardiola knows how difficult it can be to cross the line. In April 2018 they had to put celebrations on hold after surrendering a 2-0 lead to lose to Manchester United and last season they risked losing the title to Liverpool on the final day after falling behind to Aston Villa.

Guardiola said: “I have a good memory. When we played against United to win the Premier League, 2-0 up at half-time and we lost the game.

“Against Aston Villa we were 20 minutes away from losing the Premier League at home. So the last one is the most difficult one because there are a lot of emotions and many things.

“You have to control it and be focused. We cannot be distracted right now. We will not forgive ourselves if we are distracted in something.”

Despite those reservations, recent form suggests Guardiola has brought his players to the boil at just the right stage of the season.

Such is their intensity that Guardiola and key player Kevin De Bruyne shouted at each other during the victory over Real Madrid, and the manager says he has no problems with that.

He said: “The action with Kevin, I love it. We shout at each other. I like it. I like this step from Kevin.

“Sometimes, in some games, it’s a little bit flat and I like this energy. This is what we need from him. After that he becomes the best.

“It is not absolutely personal. These things must happen to be competitive and be a good team.”

Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil has challenged his side to continue pushing for points ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manchester United.

Despite being in the mix for relegation for most of the season, the Cherries secured Premier League survival last weekend and they now sit 14th in the table with 39 points.

Their survival bid saw them pick up some vital wins, including memorable victories against Tottenham and Liverpool.

They now face a tricky test against a United side pushing for Champions League football, but O’Neil believes the game offers a perfect opportunity for his team to respond to last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.

He told a pre-match press conference: “We’ve lost our last two games so 39 points is a good tally, but it was better two weeks ago so we’ve been stuck on it for a couple of weeks.

“We set ourselves a goal and we’ve achieved it, but does that mean that we’re just happy to just stop, park up and finish on 39 points? Definitely not.

“Last weekend was a good reminder that if you drop your level a little bit, it can look like a lot at this level; the Premier League is ruthless.

“We’re looking for a response from last weekend and Manchester United at home is a great fixture for the boys to go and show what they can do.

“We’ve got full focus on Manchester United, we’ve managed to get some good work done on preparing for what is going to be a very tough game against a good side that are still pushing hard to make sure they qualify for the Champions League.

“It’ll be a good test for us tomorrow.”

Jefferson Lerma could be involved on Saturday and is expected to wear protection after breaking his nose against Crystal Palace, while Hamed Traore is still ruled out.

O’Neil also confirmed that Antoine Semenyo has undergone surgery to a shin injury and is hoping for a “speedy recovery” ahead of pre-season.

“Antoine has had surgery so he will be out until next season,” O’Neil said.

“We’re hopeful he gets back and can have a decent little spell with the team before the season starts but it will depend on how quickly he recovers.

“Everything went well and we’re hoping he has a speedy recovery because he can be a big help again for us next season.”

Wales flanker Justin Tipuric has retired from international rugby with immediate effect.

The 93-cap Ospreys forward’s decision comes less than four months before Wales’ World Cup opener against Fiji in Bordeaux, and he was recently named in a 54-player preliminary training squad for the tournament by head coach Warren Gatland.

Tipuric, a former Wales captain, made his international debut in 2011, while he has also toured with the British and Irish Lions.

In a statement released by his agents WIN Sports Management, Tipuric said: “During the off-season I’ve had time to reflect on my playing career, and now seems the right time to step away from international rugby.

“It has been a privilege to put on the Welsh jersey and have so many great memories.

“I would like to thank all the players and coaches I’ve been fortunate enough to work with over the years, and the wonderful support I’ve received from the Welsh public.

“I am looking forward to spending more time at home and putting all my energies into playing for my home region the Ospreys.”

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