West Ham enjoyed a heroes’ welcome as fans lined the streets of east London to celebrate their Europa Conference League glory.

The Hammers won their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, and a first European title since 1965, when they beat Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague on Wednesday night.

And their jubilant supporters, decked out in the famous claret and blue on a warm and sunny evening in the capital, packed the pavements as the Hammers paraded the silverware on an open-top bus.

The squad’s journey started at the site of their former home at Upton Park and finished at Stratford Town Hall, where they enjoyed a reception.

Only West Ham fans of a certain age will ever have seen their side celebrate success like this, with a similar parade being held after that 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup victory, where the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters got the taste of winning trophies.

But the younger generation made the most of it, climbing on lamp posts and bus stops to get the best vantage point of their heroes while also letting off flares.

David Moyes may have joined Ron Greenwood and John Lyall in earning immortality as managers to win a major trophy with the Hammers but he initially endured a lessened role on the bus, taking pictures of his players as they posed together.

But he was soon joining in with the celebrations, dancing and jigging with the trophy on his head.

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Lifting the trophy appears to be a fitting way for captain Declan Rice to bow out, with chairman David Sullivan confirming the England international will be allowed to leave the club this summer, with a bidding war expected to commence soon.

Rice was emotional on top of the bus, admitting it does not feel “real”.

“This is absolutely incredible, when you’re a kid and you love football as much as I do, and the lads do, you see teams having trophy parades,” he said. “I was once a kid watching teams do trophy parades and now to be doing one and captaining the side is just so, so special, I can’t even put into words.

“We knew it would be exciting and the fans would come out, I am just trying to take it all in, we don’t get to experience this ever. These moments don’t come around very often.

“I’ve seen top captains over the years lift trophies and it was my time at West Ham to lift the trophy. It doesn’t really feel real.

“At 24, captain of West Ham lifting a trophy in a European competition, I don’t think it is going to hit me for a while, but I am going to enjoy it and be as happy for as long as possible.

“Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, I am seeing messages that I am now in that category, I don’t really know what to say. Bizarre.”

Moyes spent much of the season under pressure following a disappointing Premier League campaign, but Rice believes he is now the club’s best-ever manager.

The England midfielder added on Sky Sports News: “I think he goes down as the best manager West Ham have ever had. The circumstances, when he first came in, kept us twice, European competition, we finished fifth, sixth, a semi-final (Europa League) and now we’ve won this, he deserves all the credit he gets.

“He’s a top man and as you can see he is buzzing.”

Jarrod Bowen was West Ham’s hero in the final as he scored a 90th-minute winner, capping off a remarkable turnaround in his career having been playing at non-league Hereford nine years ago after being rejected as a youngster by Aston Villa.

“I love the game and these moments make it all worth it, the rejections and not going the way you want it,” he said.

“You fast forward 10 years and you are on an open-top bus parade for winning a European trophy so from where I have come, my mum was crying on the phone, my dad was there.

“It is a bit surreal to say I have won a European trophy from where I have come from. I love it.”

Jonny Evans is back in the Northern Ireland squad for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers but Michael O’Neill will once again be relying on youth with a long list of senior players still injured.

Evans – out of contract at relegated Leicester this summer – was unable to add to his 100 caps in March when he was forced to pull out of O’Neill’s first games back in charge of the national team due to a hamstring injury, but is in a 28-man squad to play Denmark away and Kazakhstan at home.

But with Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson all still sidelined, O’Neill has included five uncapped players, with 15 of the 28 having fewer than 10 caps.

Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all received their first call-ups, with the uncapped Sean Goss and Eoin Toal again included after not featuring in March’s fixtures.

Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery returns after a hamstring injury kept him out of the last squad, although there will be a question over his fitness levels as he has managed only one appearance, as a substitute away to Norwich on the final day, since being sidelined in February.

There is also a return for Ethan Galbraith, who earned the last of his two international caps back in 2020.

The 22-year-old is a free agent this summer after leaving Manchester United, having spent last season on loan at Salford.

O’Neill has been working with several players from both the senior ranks and the under-21s at a series of training camps in recent weeks, aiming to keep his players sharp following the end of their domestic campaigns.

Northern Ireland travel to Copenhagen to face Denmark on Friday June 16 before taking on Kazakhstan at Windsor Park the following Monday.

Count D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney among the many who are excited about Lionel Messi coming to Major League Soccer.

After Messi announced on Wednesday that he would be joining Inter Miami CF after his exit from Paris Saint-Germain, Rooney said the move is a major win for MLS.

"I think it's great, to bring Messi into the league," Rooney said on Thursday. "We've all seen, over the years, the impact of (Inter Miami co-owner) David Beckham coming in, (former Los Angeles Galaxy striker) Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) coming in.

"Different players from overseas. To get Messi in the league, arguably the greatest player of all time, and still – he’s a little bit older – but not long ago he won the World Cup almost single handed.

"It's going to be great for the league, for Miami."

Messi, 35, is expected to make his MLS debut sometime in July, and D.C. hosts Inter Miami on July 8.

"It'd be nice if we were his first opponents for D.C. fans to see him up close and for us to challenge ourselves against him," Rooney said.

"One thing I will say – it’s not going to be easy for him. The league's a difficult league and I don't think he's going to come over here and absolutely tear it up immediately.

"He'll have to adapt because it's a bit different, it won't be an easy ride for him."

Messi dragged Argentina to their first World Cup success since 1986 in Qatar last year, and the Barcelona great has won the Ballon d'Or trophy a record seven times.

"He's the best. Simple as that," Rooney said. "In my view he's the best player to ever play the game. That's how he's different.

"The fanbase around him will be huge, commercially, for the league I'm sure it'll be huge as well. It's massive for MLS. With Messi coming here – I know MLS has always brought players in – but I think it'll do that again, and it shows MLS can compete.

"It shows it’s a league where people want to come and want to play and it's a huge first step."

Erling Haaland is well aware he was brought to Manchester City to help them win the Champions League.

City are just one victory away from claiming the prize they covet most but has eluded them time after time with several near misses in recent years.

Haaland has been key to their latest charge to the final, where they face Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday, after a prolific first season at the Etihad Stadium.

The Norwegian has plundered 52 goals in all competitions since City identified him as the potential final piece in their jigsaw last year and paid £51million to recruit him from Borussia Dortmund.

“The Premier League, they won it two times in a row before I came here,” said Haaland. “So they know how to win the Premier League.

“The only thing they miss now is the Champions League. You can think and read between the words and the lines – I have been coming here for a reason.”

Haaland scored a record 36 Premier League goals as he helped City make it three titles in a row. They followed up that success by winning the FA Cup last weekend.

Now City are bidding to join rivals Manchester United in the history books by becoming only the second side to win the treble.

Doing so would see Haaland fulfil a long-held dream of winning the Champions League.

“I have been dreaming and thinking of it my whole life,” said the 22-year-old. “It has been my dream as long as I can remember, so a long time.

“Of course I have been thinking of this. There is one game left we have to perform at our best in. We have been doing it now for so many games in a row. It’s about keeping going.”

Such is Haaland’s love of the Champions League, that he even used to play the competition’s theme music in his car during his younger days.

“Yes, there is a video of me doing that,” he said. “You can search it up. It’s true.”

Haaland feels his game has improved at City under the guidance of Pep Guardiola – someone he describes as a “detail freak” – but is convinced there is more to come.

He said: “I am really enjoying every single day with him, with the intense Pep. I like it.

“I am still young, I can improve a lot and I am at the perfect place to work with the best coach and players in the world.”

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes his old club need to sign two forwards who can outscore James Tavernier or they will not stop Celtic dominating Scottish football.

Right-back Tavernier was the club’s top league goalscorer last term with 16 goals and his total in all competitions of 18 was the same as Antonio Colak.

Fashion Sakala and the now departed Alfredo Morelos both hit 12 while Celtic’s main striker Kyogo Furuhashi weighed in with 34 goals on the way to the club’s fifth treble in seven seasons.

Hateley said: “We need two strikers that can score more than a right-back to win anything. It’s as simple as that.

“We need strikers that can get more goals than the captain to have a chance of competing at the very top. And that doesn’t come cheap.

“I think you need to bring in three strikers that are all credible and can produce.”

Colak’s future looks unclear after he only scored four goals and struggled for fitness following Michael Beale’s arrival, while Sakala played in a central role at times and on the wing on other occasions.

On Sakala, Hateley said: “He’s a young lad so he will develop as time goes on but if you are working with top goalscorers, your game comes on a lot quicker. I think he would probably become more of a squad player.

“The key now is to get two strikers in the team. It’s now easier because Alfredo has left the club because it was always difficult to play another player with Alfredo. He was the lone wolf with players playing around him but Michael now has the ability to play with two strikers, different formations.”

Hateley does not necessarily believe Ange Postecoglou’s departure from Celtic Park to Tottenham is in itself an opportunity for Rangers.

“You could say so but the structure that Celtic have in place, I don’t think a lot will change,” he said.

“I don’t know if Ange can take players with him but what Ange has done has been absolutely phenomenal, and the way the board have trusted him in his methodology and his way of thinking has been commendable.

“Top coaches like a challenge and they like to challenge the best. Ange has produced that. It’s always great competition, if you have two great teams on the pitch who are competing to prove who has the edge, and it’s the same with managers. You need managers to push each other.”

Hateley was promoting the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament, which will feature players from more than 50 nations at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on July 2.

The former England striker said: “Refugees are coming to all different parts of the world and trying to find homes and friendships and where better to come than Glasgow, Scotland? Always welcoming, hence why I am still here.

“Football is a medium where friendships are built so it’s an important factor. It’s a fantastic initiative.”

Lionel Messi's impending transfer to Inter Miami will be a great tool to help MLS grow, says Michael Dawson.

Messi confirmed on Wednesday that he will join Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.

Barcelona wanted to re-sign the 35-year-old, but could not make the finances work, with Messi claiming he did not want a potential return to his old club to result in other players having to cut their salaries or be sold.

Now, a new venture in the United Stats awaits, and former Tottenham defender Dawson thinks it will be a huge positive for the growth of the sport in the United States.

Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I always look back to the MLS when David Beckham went [in 2007 to LA Galaxy] and I always believe he was the start of the MLS improving and growing.

"You look at Cristiano Ronaldo going to Saudi [Arabia] and playing over there, it gives people a different interest.

"Messi [and Ronaldo], they are icons of football, the best players of my generation. So if you attract that to your country, to your league, it's only going to bring people watching it.

"I say the Premier League is the best league in the world. I've never played in a different country. Maybe that's something I would have maybe liked if the opportunity to come along.

"But with these kinds of players going over there, it will always attract interest from the supporters because as a fan, you follow Messi, you follow Ronaldo, and that's why the owners of these football clubs spend all the money to go and get them because they try and enhance their brand, their football team and their league."

Celtic should bring Brendan Rodgers back “in a heartbeat” if their old manager is keen on a return to Glasgow, according to former Hoops full-back Mark Wilson.

Rodgers is favourite to replace Ange Postecoglou as Celtic boss following the Greek-born Australian’s departure to Tottenham.

The former Liverpool manager has previously stated he would be open to a return to Celtic Park if the timing was right, but accepted he might not be welcomed by fans who were hurt by the manner of his sudden exit to Leicester in February 2019 after winning seven domestic trophies out of seven.

There are reports that Rodgers would prefer a longer break after losing his job as Foxes manager in early April but talk of a return is lingering.

“If Celtic have got the option to bring him back, I would in a heartbeat, I really would,” Wilson said.

“Brendan Rodgers is a top-tier manager, his history shows that. You don’t get the Liverpool job if you’re not a top-tier manager, you don’t get the success in Glasgow he had if you’re not a top-class manager.

“He had a style of football here that the supporters and players bought into, possession-based. It was terrific to watch and it yielded trophies, year after year.

“Of course the baggage he has with some Celtic fans, the way he left, would be hard to dissolve. But football is a results-driven business and if he came back and started well, and there were a few good signings in the door, I think a lot of that bad feeling would quickly evaporate.”

Postecoglou’s departure days after clinching the treble has impacted some Celtic fans in similar fashion.

“It’s where are in the world of football,” Wilson said. “We are here in the Scottish Premiership, which is a fantastic league, entertaining, we all love it.

“But when you are just across the border from the richest league in the world, really anybody that is successful here is going to go to England.

“I know we hate saying it but the resources and the lure of the English Premier League is too much for our players, managers and chairmen who get offers for players. Managers are no different.

“When their stock is as high as Ange Postecoglou’s, and you get offered a job like Spurs, how can you blame anyone for going south of the border?”

Wilson was promoting the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament, which will feature players from more than 50 nations at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on July 2.

“It’s an outstanding initiative, it gives everybody the opportunity to play, particularly in Glasgow where we are so diverse,” he said.

“And the football pitch brings everybody together, it doesn’t matter their race, religion, background, ethnicity, to have this tournament to bring all parties together, is going to be a fantastic occasion.

“I do a lot of work in Glasgow myself with charities and we have a lot of participants who are refugees, young refugees, and they can get signposted to the next level.”

Ross County defender Jack Baldwin admits he had an emotional moment with his family after the Staggies’ great escape following their sacrifices for his career.

The Essex native moved his family up to the Highlands after joining from Bristol Rovers two years ago and did not want to think too much about the ramifications if County lost their top-flight status.

His team were facing that prospect after going three goals down on aggregate in the first half of the second leg of the cinch Premiership play-off final against Partick Thistle on Sunday.

County fought back in the final 20 minutes and got the advantage in the penalty shootout only for Baldwin’s spot-kick to be saved. But they eventually prevailed in sudden death to spark a pitch invasion from the Dingwall fans.

“The overriding emotion was relief, obviously with the way it ended and personally missing the penalty,” the 29-year-old told the PA news agency.

“Conceding the goal was a bit of a kick early on but we had scored five goals in the previous two home games so we knew if we could score we would give ourselves a chance, because the boys create chances and love playing here.

“I am just delighted for everyone involved in the club. It’s a family-oriented club, everyone works so hard from the backroom staff to the coaching staff and players. Everyone off the pitch probably does three jobs. It’s fantastic for the club, the community and the area in general to keep our Premiership status.”

The former Hartlepool, Peterborough, Sunderland and Salford centre-back added: “We have moved a long way from home. I think you need to immerse yourself in the community and the team you play for, the club you represent.

“My family were on the pitch at the end with me and I was welling up and getting emotional, because they have sacrificed a lot for me to come up and play football here. Kids starting new schools, wife leaving home and making new friends, miles away. It does mean a lot, for sure.

“I have two kids, aged six and nine. My nine-year-old girl is probably in her fifth or sixth different school so far because we have done a lot of moving. It’s a fantastic area to raise a young family. They are loving being up here, they are loving everything about the Highlands.

“The ramifications for the club if we went down would have been massive so I am sure there would have been lot of conversations. It’s not something you wanted to think about too much. But thankfully we are not in that position.”

Dundee have confirmed the signing of Charlie Reilly from Albion Rovers on a two-year contract.

The 21-year-old was recently named PFA Scotland League 2 Player of the Year and was on the shortlist for the players’ and Scottish Football Writers’ young player awards.

Reilly hit 24 goals and provided 19 assists in 43 games last season despite Rovers finishing bottom of the table and losing their league status.

The former Hamilton and Partick Thistle player was training with Dundee last season while playing for Rovers.

He told the club’s website: “I am delighted to get it over the line, it’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to get started.

“The club felt right for me, I’ve been in training for a long time and the boys were good with me and it just felt right.

“Being in at the club for training last season helped massively while I was at Albion. It helped me a lot fitness wise and in a lot of other ways too.

“I’ve had good conversations with the gaffer and he’s shown belief in me, he knows what I can do. I’m really excited to work with him and to get started.”

Manager Tony Docherty added: “I have worked with Charlie previously and have seen him in action. I was impressed with him, with his ability and athleticism. The numbers and nominations he got last season speak volumes about him.

“I know I’m getting a player with talent and an eye for goal, but I know I’m getting a player with the right attitude. He’s committed to the club, moving up to the area, which is a big thing for me.

“I think he’s a player when the Dundee fans see him in full flow they will really enjoy watching him. I am delighted that he has chosen to sign for us.”

Kevin De Bruyne insisted there would be no complacency as Manchester City prepare for Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.

City are the overwhelming favourites as they look to win the competition for the first time – and complete the treble – in Istanbul.

Inter finished 18 points behind champions Napoli in Serie A this season but De Bruyne is wary of the threat of Simone Inzaghi’s side.

The Belgium playmaker said: “You don’t get to the final of the Champions League without being top.

“I think they won the (cup) double in Italy. They’ve been winning basically every game at the end of the season.

“They have their system, they have their style, they do what they do really, really well and I don’t feel that anybody is going to think that it’s going to be an easy game against Inter. It’s a final so it starts 50-50.”

City have long coveted Champions League glory but endured a number of near misses in recent seasons, the closest being their runners-up finish to Chelsea in 2021.

Their frustrations contrast with their domestic success after, most notably, five Premier League title wins in the past six seasons.

Manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that City will need to transfer their home successes onto the European stage to be truly regarded among the great teams.

De Bruyne said: “I’ve been here eight years and it’s been incredible. Could I have come here and thought about the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight years? Probably not.

“In the end we have had a pretty impressive career at City, but it is something we have not won yet and it is something that we want to win. Hopefully it will be Saturday.

“We know how big the moment is but I feel the more relaxed you are as a team, and the team is doing pretty well with that at the moment, you get a better chance.”

De Bruyne has painful memories, literally, of that final loss to Chelsea two years ago after suffering a serious facial injury following a collision in the second half.

He said: “I don’t look at what happened two years ago with bad feelings. You go on, you move on. Ultimately, that’s football.

“Saturday is a great opportunity. It’s been an incredible year already. We can make it even better, but no matter what, it’s been great.”

West Ham striker Michail Antonio believes their Europa Conference League triumph is just the start of bigger things to come.

Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute goal against Fiorentina ended the Hammers’ 43-year wait for a trophy.

Their 2-1 victory also means West Ham will be back in the Europa League next season, the first time they have qualified for Europe three years running.

“It’s massive, it’s massive,” said Antonio. “Moving forward this is not where we are going to stop, we will see if we can keep carrying it on and keep pushing ourselves and keep doing better.

“Last year we got to the semi-finals of the Europa League. This year, we won the Conference League. You can see we have a good pack of boys here, we have got good confidence and hopefully we can build on that.”

Said Benrahma put West Ham ahead from the penalty spot before Giacomo Bonaventura equalised for the Italian side.

But Lucas Paqueta’s ball over the top sent Bowen through on goal to fire the Hammers to European glory.

Full-back Emerson Palmieri revealed manager David Moyes gave a victory speech and, as promised, joined his players in some dancing.

“The gaffer said, ‘thank you for everything, thank you for the title’. Of course he is happy, we are happy. So everyone is happy,” he said.

“If you take the images, when you receive the medal, you need to walk on the podium, he did the dance. It was good – for a Scotsman!”

Manchester City defender John Stones could cap a remarkable turnaround from a virtual outcast to being at the cutting edge of Pep Guardiola’s masterplan with a Champions League victory.

Three years ago the 29-year-old’s future was uncertain. He had made just 24 appearances in the 2019-20 season and the club had spent over £100million on centre-backs Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias.

That summer Guardiola admitted there was a distinct possibility a player lacking confidence could leave and he did not play a minute in seven of the eight opening league games of the next season.

But over the course of three seasons he has turned things around so much he is now seen as an integral part of his manager’s latest tactical tweak, with the current fashion for a defender to play as a midfielder when the side is in possession.

“It was probably one of the hardest times in my career,” said Stones of that period in 2020.

“I literally went back to firstly looking at myself, being super-critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch, and then looking into every fine detail, down to what food, what training, what extras.

“That’s come down to doing stuff here and then going home and doing work, even late at night, or straight after the training, finding these small margins, putting them all together to kind of break where I was at after coming back to playing.

“Yeah, (it was a) big learning curve for me and maybe who I am today.”

In that time period a number of players have left, with Guardiola’s propensity for dispensing with full-backs a little too close for comfort at times for Stones.

But the former Everton defender never considered seeking opportunities elsewhere.

“I never thought about that. I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset then you have killed yourself,” he added.

“I always wanted to stay, I have stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove to myself. I didn’t say to anyone ‘It was because I want to prove to you’.

“I think, if anything, you have to prove to yourself first and foremost that you deserve to be here, you are good enough to be here, and what you bring to the team.”

The goals of Erling Haaland have helped propel City to a second Champions League final in three years where they start as strong favourites against Inter Milan in Istanbul.

But Stones’ role and that, to a lesser extent, of Rico Lewis in stepping forward has added another dimension to an already multi-layered team.

“People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in there. I still do love playing as a centre-half and I’ve absolutely loved this role as well,” said the Barnsley-born defender.

“I think I have showed myself that I’m able to do it, maybe showing some attributes that I didn’t know that I had.

“But the manager has seen (something) in me and ultimately I think I’m just trying to show what I can do in there and be able to help the team ultimately win with my attributes.”

City may be the favourites but Stones insists they will not be under-estimating Inter, a team who finished in third 18 points behind Serie A champions Napoli.

“They’re in the Champions League final for a reason,” he added.

“No matter who we’re playing, no matter what league they’re in, we give the team the respect that they deserve because even the FA Cup, let’s make an example of that, there’s giant-killers, smaller teams in League One and League Two that beat Premier League winners.

“That’s where the respect (comes from) that every team deserves.

“They’ve got incredible players. How they played in a big occasion, in a derby game in the Champions League semi-final (against AC Milan) is never easy.

“We know what we’re up against, they are an incredible team.”

West Ham fans were “a credit to their club” according to a Prague bar owner, while one supporter will have to break the news to his fiance that their forthcoming wedding will only be the second best day of his life.

West Ham ended a 43-year wait to win a trophy when they defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in the final of the Europa Conference League on Wednesday night.

Around 10,000 Hammers fans were in attendance at the Eden Arena, while another 20,000 headed to the Czech capital just to be present for the historic match, the club’s first European final since 1976.

The game itself was slightly marred by one West Ham fan throwing a missile at Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi, leaving him with a nasty gash to the back of his head.

But Paul Smith, 42, owner of The Dubliner pub in Prague’s old town where hundreds of Hammers fans converged, did not have a bad word to say about the cockney invasion.

“I was a little bit worried, because the last team we had over was England a few years ago, and that didn’t end very well,” said Smith, from Dublin.

“There was a riot outside in the courtyard, there were about 3,000 England fans and a few started throwing bottles at the police and then there was tear gas and plastic bullets.

“But I have to say the West Ham fans are a credit to their club. They were as good as the Scots were, the Irish and the Welsh when they came over.

“All I can say is fair play to them. There was a huge number of fans in the city. I was worried when I heard numbers of 30,000 being mentioned.

“I walked out on to the square yesterday and it was pretty full, flags everywhere, and they were just nice from start to finish.

“It’s been a pretty profitable week. And the icing on the cake was West Ham winning. It’s just a shame so many of the fans didn’t have tickets.

“But they didn’t look like they were too disappointed when they were celebrating. It was great.”

Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute goal secured the trophy for West Ham, their first since winning the FA Cup in 1980.

But the club’s first silverware in a generation came at a cost; Hammers fan James, 25, from Coventry, will have a bit of grovelling to do ahead of his forthcoming nuptials.

He said: “I’ve told my missus that when I get back, that when I get married, that this is the best day of my life, and my second best day will be my wedding.”

Ange Postecoglou is a coach in the same style as Mauricio Pochettino so says Michael Dawson, who is excited by the Australian's appointment at Tottenham.

Tottenham's long search for a new coach took them to Celtic's door, and Postecoglou this week signed a four-year contract.

That came on the back of the former Australia coach leading the Hoops to the treble in Scotland in 2022-23.

And former Spurs defender Dawson thinks Postecoglou will end up being an ideal fit.

Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I think it's a really positive appointment with Ange Postecoglou.

"What he did at Celtic, but not just there. I think what he did in Australia and then Japan, people were wondering, how would he actually settle in [at Celtic], how would his style of playing get implemented.

"He's certainly done that Celtic. So now he has to come to our club and do the same. I do believe it's a lot harder because the Premier League, in my opinion, is the best league in the world.

"But he's done in Scotland and now he'll want to come and come to England and do it again at a massive football club. I'm sure he's delighted to get the opportunity to work in the Premier League, and at Spurs and work with a group of young players that are in the building and try and improve them like he certainly did at Celtic."

Indeed, Dawson believes the 57-year-old's approach will be similar to that of Pochettino, who led Spurs to multiple top four finishes and a Champions League final during his stint in charge.

"Daniel [Levy's] gone out and made the manager clear that he wanted to play an attacking style of football," said Dawson.

"I looked at 2014, when I was at the club when Pochettino came through the door. You try and implement your style of what you want with a group of players then try and get the best out of that players and the right personnel to play in the right formation.

"[Postecoglou] plays with a 4-3-3 and with his fullbacks inverted, and they overload the midfield. Players will be on holiday and go away on international duty, but certainly when the first day of pre-season comes he'll be trying to get the message across."

Spurs finished eighth and failed to qualify for a European competition, and Dawson knows they must be targeting much better.

"I look at the Spurs team and the players that we've got at the top of the field with Harry Kane, one of the best strikers in the world," he added.

"He's done it for many years and he will keep doing it. He's an absolute genius, world-class, Spurs' all-time goalscorer, England's all-time goalscorer and he will keep doing that because he's relentless. 

"Son [Heung-min], [Dejan] Kulusevski, Richarlison; it's now about getting the best out of these players to try and get us back to where I believe we should be and that's in the Champions League.

"There's no there's no hiding, it was a disappointing season. We looked at 12 months ago when we ended the last two games by beating Arsenal and finishing in the Champions League, it was great. This year we've come up short. The players know that and now you always get another chance."

Crystal Palace have agreed terms with Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma on a three-year deal.

The 28-year-old will join the Eagles on July 1 when his current Bournemouth contract ends.

“I am very happy and excited by this new opportunity,” Lerma told the official Palace website.

“Crystal Palace has good players and a good team, and I want to help with every objective the club has next season.”

Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “Jefferson is a strong addition to our squad.

“He is a proven performer at Premier League level, and his combative and competitive nature will endear him to the Palace fans.”

Lerma made a £25million switch to Bournemouth from Levante in August 2018 and made 184 appearances in five seasons with the Cherries. He has won 33 caps for Colombia.