17/03/2018 Football Focus

And it is absolutely brilliant.

This

is getting better and better.

Cristiano Ronaldo!

Cristiano Ronaldo!

History boys

indeed.

The biggest celebration of

the season.

No team has won it more than

Arsenal.

It is a lovely goal. Tsonga livers.

Jesse Lingard, magnificent strike.

Iheanacho! He is so good at that.

That is a cool, calm finish.

Wigan

Athletic are into the quarterfinals

of the FA Cup!

It is good, isn't it?

737 clubs entered the FA Cup

at the start of August and now

just eight are left,

each within touching

distance of Wembley.

Dion Dublin and Mark Schwarzer will

assess the chances in the

quarterfinals over the next hour.

And all of this is on the way.

Dion puts an old friend

on the spot at Wigan.

The main objective is promotion. If

we were lucky enough to get to the

semifinal, that might change!

We hear from the man

in the Chelsea engine room.

I got the car I liked.

Jack Butland wants to be

England's main man.

I'm going for the number one spot,

and that is what I focus on

everyday.

We will speak to Alex

McLeish on second time around with

Scotland.

The Lions are in the play-off hunt -

Clem visits Millwall's pride.

I am really enjoying it, the results

are going our way. It is nice to be

home.

And comedian John Bishop

takes on predictions.

And we will also reflect on

yesterday's extraordinary Jose

Mourinho press Conference for you.

Here's how cup quarterfinal

weekend shapes up.

Swansea and a Harry Kane-less

Spurs are first up.

Full team news from

the Liberty shortly.

Manchester United face

Brighton tonight.

And there's a double-header

on BBC One tomorrow,

including a meeting of the last two

champions of England.

We're going to begin

with the lowest-ranked team left

in the competition -

Wigan, who will look to add a fourth

Premier League scalp

to their collection at the DW

on Sunday lunchtime.

And ahead of Southampton's visit,

we sent Dion to meet an old pal.

This place is pretty special. Not

like when I was a player. This is

the training ground! Look at the

space of the lads have got, look at

the quality. How are you? ! QC,

someone even knows why name! This is

the Hydro area, ice baths, the warm

bath as well. Out of all of the

players I have played, never would I

have thought you'd be a manager or

coach. What turned you?

Turned me

into

coach. What turned you?

Turned me

into! Back in those days, football

clubs were run by the manager, the

assistant, the chief Scout, the club

secretary and the chairman. That was

your club. The difference more than

anything is the responsibility that

the manager carries in relation to

results. For a lad being a general

player, come the end of the day, I'm

not saying they will do, the results

can be what they can be, life goes

on, but in football management

today, they used to say a week is a

long time in football, but a week is

like a year now. It changes that

quickly, and it is not for the

benefit of the game.

The legend is

Mr Peter Reid!

Mr Peter Reid! The facilities here

are amazing.

The club is in a good

way at the moment. The atmosphere,

the manager is the main man at any

football club, and I think they have

all got different styles. His is

work hard, enjoy working hard, try

and win football matches, and the

social side is not bad!

I was

waiting for that!

COMMENTATOR: Here is great, and

Walker is winning. And he has

scored!

No celebration?

I was too tired, I

hadn't seen the ball for 80 minutes,

and I was exhausted! I just wanted

to take the moment in, I have family

there.

Have you been approaching FA

Cup games differently?

Cup games differently?

Against

Manchester City we did! We defended

the 18-yard box with our lives!

Being a football fan, I wanted my

teams to play like a football fan

would want, which is trying to pass

and play good football.

So I am here today with the Burns,

big down, and Notts so big Nathan!

Which would you take, promotion or

being winners of the FA Cup?

For us,

it is about promotion, that is our

main aim. If we can get through this

round, everything is a bonus from

thereon.

Yes, promotion has got to

be the main priority.

be the main priority.

All the

questions previously were about if

we could get the semifinal. But you

are testing me now. I think FA Cup

days are that special, but if we

could even dream of that. But the

main objective has to be promotion.

If we were lucky enough to get to

the semifinal, we might change! It

is a lovely thought, I love it. I'm

sure Mark Hughes is saying, wait

until Sunday night!

Lovely to see a manager

understanding the importance of the

cup.

Dion, you said you didn't

see him becoming a manager,

but he's done a terrific job

at Chesterfield,

Portsmouth and now Wigan.

He seems to have had quite a sort of

flawless transition from the game to

being a manager. His enthusiasm

around the training ground, not just

in the office, walking round the

training ground, players are

high-fiving him, saying, good

morning, gaffer.

They are not

embarrassed to get close to the

boss?

Exactly, or you say hello,

inducing, did anybody see me? But

every player was saying, good

morning. He has built this

togetherness, and he has got this

juggernaut that is going all the

right direction, everybody is

pulling same way. There are no

superstars, he just makes every body

have such high standards. After that

interview, we left the room, and

there is this machine where you

scrape your boots, and there is a

bit of mud around, and he shouted

one of the young players, can you

come and get this sorted, it is

messy over here. His standards are

so high, and it was reflecting on

the team.

And that works, when you

are all playing well and having a

good cup run as well. Will Grigg is

getting a lot of attention and

scoring the goals, but actually

their success is built on their

rock-solid defence, isn't it?

Yes, I

think fret any team to have success,

you have to not concede so many

goals, it is difficult to break down

and have the free going forward, and

they clearly have that.

23 goals

conceded.

And Will Grigg is has more

than anybody else in the

competition.

Well, Southampton will travel

to Lancashire with a new man

in charge after it all went wrong

in the North East last weekend.

COMMENTATOR: And Newcastle are in

front! And Southampton are ripped

apart. It is becoming a day of

misery, soul-searching and plenty of

questions.

The performance was poor.

You think you are the man who can

keep Southampton in the Premier

League?

It is borderline disgraceful

at times.

Southampton are sacked

manager Pellegrino after just one

win in 17 league games.

Southampton

of appointed mark uses manager until

the end of the season.

I have been

incorrect by what I have seen in

terms of their application, they

have been first class, so that

encourages me as a manager and a

coach, so I know we have got the

talent here to get the job done. At

the moment we are looking solely to

the end of the season and making

sure that hopefully we are Premier

League club and weaken have won the

FA Cup.

That would be impressive!

Pellegrino had a really bad record,

one win in 17 games. You spoke to

him. Did you get the indication that

it is hard for him to get the club

out of this situation?

It was almost

like it was impossible for him to do

so.

His way that he conducted himself

post-match was a true reflection of

how the team performed, flat,

lacking in direction, lack of

understanding of how they wanted to

play football, they had run out of

ideas, that was the impression I got

from him after the game.

So what

about Mark Hughes? An interesting

article this week about the managers

doing this cycle around the Premier

League clubs. He feels he was

bruised by what happened at Stoke,

and now he has to rescue the

situation.

He has gone back in. I

know him reasonably well. He will

always want to be managing. He

always backs himself, he always

backs his staff. Now the team have

got to get on board with a new

manager. I wasn't surprised that

telling -- Pellegrino got sacked.

I

remember you saying in the past, man

management is not his strength. Is

that going to be important at

Southampton?

100%, he has to really

man managed that squad, and list

them. They are down on confidence,

they need direction. Now he will

need all of his staff, I have since

put it this week he was on the

pitch, barking instructions, that is

what he needs more of. Mark Hughes

is a legend in the game, and players

will feed off that, that confidence

from a guy who has pretty much

accomplished everything.

Let's look

at their remaining fixtures. This

isn't in chronological order, but

you can see what they have got both

home and away. They know that this

could end badly this season, with a

lot of sides the wrong end of the

table.

The sprinkling of quality that

Southampton have, there is enough of

that to get them out of the

situation they are in, but it is not

just that. It is back to basics,

roll your sleeves up, pull your

socks up, and if you can look people

in the eye before you go out on the

pitch, you have a good chance of

staying up.

It goes back to what we

were saying about man management in

the last few weeks.

The first of the four

quarterfinals is about to get

under way in South Wales,

and Simon Brotherton can bring us

the team news for Swansea and Spurs.

Swansea are without both Ayew

brothers, one suspended, and one cup

tied. Kyle Bartley is preferred to

Federico Fernandez, and Nathan Dyer

and Tom Carroll come into midfield,

with Tammy Abraham leaving the

attack. And Tottenham are without

Harry Kane, Dele Alli named among

the substitutes. Kieran Trippier and

Ben Davis come in at full-back, with

Sanchez and Vertonghen in the

middle. Sissoko and Doire other

midfielders, with Christian Eriksen

and Lucas Moura at the back. Son

Heung-min is leading the attack. It

is cold and blowy, but we are all

putting up with that today, aren't

we?

That is a perfect description of

what is going on outside our studio

today, and the many people across

the United Kingdom. Let's talk about

Harry Kane then.

It is a nightmare at any stage for a

goalkeeper in the build-up to a big

tournament, to be feeling like that,

isn't it?

I did feel for him as soon

see did it. That picture there, that

just shows that his ankle, you know

when you rock your ankle as a

player, left or right, it doesn't

matter, it will keep happening, and

it will stay weak, unfortunately,

and I think that is the situation he

is in right now. He will now have to

start strapping it up incredibly

tightly so he stops it from rocking

over, and it will get weaker. And

that is unfortunate Harry.

But I

tell you what, if Begovic landed on

your ankle, you would be doing that

as well!

I would have jumped over

him and then celebrated!

No, you

wouldn't, because you would have

been offside as well! He was injured

and it wasn't even a goal that

stood.

And you mentioned the goal

record of Son.

And there was a lot

of talk about leaving the club,

because he hadn't played

particularly well the season before.

It took time for him to adjust to

the game, and to get some

consistency. I was at this game, and

I always like him when he is running

at players. I was felt he had few

opportunities coming up through the

middle, but he proved me wrong. He

was brilliant on the day, he is

clinical, he was a little lucky on

that last one, that second goal

where he mis-hit it a little bit,

but however, when you are in that

type of form, that confidence, it

goes in.

He's one of those players who just

sits below the radar, with Harry

Kane being the superstar. It

happened at Man United, when Ronaldo

left, Rooney stepped up, so there's

always two or three below the radar

who are good enough to step up.

What

about Swansea, both of the Ayews are

missing running all of those

victories in the Premier League

they're only eight points off the

relegation zone!

That's the thing. I

think the FA Cup has been a really

good distraction for them because it

has allowed them to have a bit of

continuity. They've found form and

they've been able to continue that

form, can you imagine if they

weren't playing this weekend there

was an argument to say that they

would possibly lose that rhythm.

Laying Spurs at home, it's a free

hit, it's the FA Cup, which is and

unbelievable opportunity to

progress, however it is not the be

all and end all if they lose.

The second of tomorrow's ties

sees this man returning

to the stadium where, two years ago,

he and Leicester wrote

one of the unlikeliest stories

in sporting history.

Now a title winner with Chelsea

as well, Caroline De Moraes has been

to meet N'Golo Kante.

Who was there to cover? Of course,

N'Golo Kante.

I've never seen anyone

cover as much grass as he does.

cover as much grass as he does.

You

were at Leicester and now, Chelsea,

do you feel Chelsea is home?

It is

my second year in Chelsea and I feel

like last year was a fairly good

season for us, to win the title Edu

the second season to play the

Champions League, to go again for

the top four, yeah, I'm at home with

my club, I'm a Chelsea player.

I

want to show you a picture that we

found.

That's me, yeah. It was my

second season in football I think. I

was 11 or 12 years old. And at the

end of the season we used to do a

lot of tournament and we won that

one and we celebrated the trophy.

And the trophy looks so huge and you

look so tiny next to it!

Yeah, it

was big! This time I think I was

playing with some people older than

me, so that's why I am smaller than

them!

You're a great example that

you don't need to be physically big

to succeed in the game.

I think now

in football you can see every

physical aspect in all the players,

some small, some big, some strong,

Sam Quek, but the most important is

to understand how to play.

You have

a very different personality, you're

very down to earth - what is the car

that you drive?

I drive a mini. I

arrived in Leicester and it was my

first car in England, people advised

me and I like it.

High-five on the

mini!

mini! Yes, N'Golo! Other cars are

available!

Leicester City are the

Premier League champions!

What

happened at Leicester was a fairy

tale - what do you feel when you go

back to play against Leicester?

Yeah, for sure, Leicester was an

amazing year for everyone. I had the

chance to play this season and I

think I will remember it all my

life.

Blue is the colour of the

Premier League winners again!

You

won with Leicester and you won with

Chelsea, it was an incredible two

years, this year has not gone to

plan?

We will fight until the end to

be in the top four and to be in the

Champions League position. We have

the FA Cup, the FA Cup is a good

competition. Last season we failed

in the final. It is the only title

we can win this season, so you have

to give everything to go in the

semifinal and to win the final.

Such a good footballer, so quiet,

you have had a dressing room with

him, I have a feeling of him sitting

in the corner getting quietly on

with his business, is that right?

Very much so. He is infectious

because he has always got a smile on

his face. Just watching that now I

have ended up with a smile on my

face, because he's such a nice guy,

so humble and an incredible

footballer. The reason he's got a

mini as well, it suits him, it

works, with the sizing! Imagine!

But

you haven't got enough steps to get

him into a 4x4!

He is far too small

for that! Maybe Chelsea aren't

playing as well as they did last

season, but has he struggled a

symbol for the lack of a regular

partner maybe with the departure of

Matic?

I think definitely Matic

leaving has affected N'Golo but I

think also the fact that the team

has not jailed overall this season.

It is very difficult for one player

to control everything. Yes, if the

team is well organised then one

player can make a big difference.

But when things are not working and

the team is not Gelling, that one

player is not necessarily going to

have the same impact.

In terms of

what happens this weekend, knocked

out of the Champions League by

Barcelona in midweek, and Leicester,

I think we had them in the first

round of the FA Cup, they have got

some momentum, scoring goals,

playing well, quite a few goals last

time out - they could cause Chelsea

is in serious problems?

Yeah, they

could. When Vardy plays well,

Leicester play well That is such a

hard skill, but they're doing things

naturally now. They were not earlier

on in the season.

Not only Vardy

playing well but Mahrez as well, the

two work hand-in-hand. One does not

necessarily play as well without the

other. We saw when Mahrez was out of

the side, Leicester were a different

team.

But they've got goal scorer is

all over the place, Iheanacho and

others who can come off the bench.

All Bryant as well, they've got a

really good chorus players who can

really upset the opposition.

Going

to moaning a bit but the manager has

done a great job. I've got another

stat for you! The last three times

that Chelsea have beaten Leicester

in the FA Cup they've gone on to win

the trophy.

That's an interesting

one! Give me two seconds!

One more quarterfinal to preview,

and that's tonight's

game at Old Trafford,

as Brighton travel to face

Manchester United in a re-run

of the 1983 final.

And once again it's probably time to

apologise to Gordon Smith!

apologise to Gordon Smith!

Played

forward to Robinson... He's inside

the Manchester United penalty area!

And Smith must score! And he hasn't

scored!

scored!

I think it is their last big

day out before we got to the Premier

League. I know they took it to a

replay and I can remember, I've seen

some quite iconic pitchers of Steve

Foster from that era. That's all I

really know about it. I don't think

many of the squad would know too

much about it. I think things like

that are more for the fans. We've

got to approach it more on a

professional level. We've got to

know that it's going to be really

hard work, and we've got to carry a

bit of luck with us if we're going

to get a result. If we could win

somehow, then a trip to Wembley

would be a real fantastic year, if

we could remain in the Premier

League as well. But it's going to be

a fans at Old Trafford, star-studded

side, earlier in the season we went

up there and we got beat 1-0.

Deflected in off Lewis Dunk!

An FA Cup Final opportunity would

stay with you for years to come.

And

no-one could take those memories

few, whereas staying in the Premier

League, it's sort of just another

year, but I think for the club it is

more important to stay in the

Premier League.

Plenty more of that

interview on the iPlayer.

This was Glenn Murray's reaction

on social media to his absence

from the England squad!

Dion, tongue in cheek -

but shows just how well he's done

this season to have been

in the frame?

Yeah, he's a goal-scorer. And at his

age, he now knows that he is in the

eyeliner of the England manager, if

he keeps scoring, who knows? I never

thought he had a chance anyway!

Tonight's game holds an even greater

significance for Manchester United

following their Champions League

exit to Sevilla, the fallout

of which was still being felt

in yesterday's Mourinho press

conference.

I also told we are not one of the

top teams, we are not one of the

favourites to win, and I told you

that with these words because I

cannot tell you with different words

before I am going to play. Why? I'm

still in the competition. I cannot

be in the competition and go there

and to say we have no chance to win

the Champions League. I couldn't

tell you! It's the same thing, you

cannot expect me to say, this player

and that player, they have to do

better. You cannot expect me to say!

The fans, they read what people

write. They listen what people say.

And the people that write and the

people that say are people with a

lot of ideas. And I used to call

people with a lot of ideas idealists

or idiots. They can be both. In my

dictionary, which is the dictionary

of life, a person with a lot of

ideas can be ideologist Torrie

idealist, I don't know, or can be an

idiot. And the people, they listen

to the ideologists and they also

listen to the idiots, and that's

life.

He did answer a question on his way

out as well! One of his answers

lasted 12 minutes! You worked under

Mourinho, when he does that, you

might say it is a diversion tactic,

out of the players react the next

time you see him?

You know

beforehand that he is upset, he's

angry. There is no doubt whatsoever

after that defeat that he would have

been upset and angry, because he's a

winner, he hates losing matches. And

that was a game that he himself

definitely would not have expected

to lose.

Did he fail to accept that

it was Sevilla, not the best side in

the Champions League, yes, a good

side but they only had four shots on

target?

I think if you take

everything in context he has come

under so much pressure because of

the fact that the neighbours, Man

City, have been so good, they've

played such great football. But

Manchester United have had a good

season, they're five points clear of

the rest! So, it is only because

Manchester City have been so good

that it looks like Manchester United

are struggling, where they're not.

He did imply that our job in the

media is to read between the lines

of the messages he is trying to get

out sometimes. You mentioned some

players he might want to move on but

he didn't mention Sanchez or Pogba,

are we reading too much into that?

Or was he trying to say that some

players were not playing up to the

standard he would have expected?

They're not at the moment because

I'm not sure if he's got them in the

right position, if he's got the

right blend, I'm not quite sure if

he knows his best team yet. What I

do know is that he is an absolute

winner, he knows how to win games,

he has had a blip. They will still

go on and be successful under his

management. He's got a great squad

of players, I don't think it is a

big issue at all.

Does it really

matter exactly which position is now

playing in?

It depends who is now

playing with.

I get that overall, if

they're that good, they should

adjust to any position.

They should

but if you've got Sanchez and Pogba

who basically want to play in the

same position, and those kind of

players don't really have a

position, just go and play, there's

always one or two which you allowed

to have that freedom. And they both

want to do the same thing.

It will

be really interesting to see the fan

reaction to that. Some will say, I

cannot believe the Manchester United

manager would say that, others will

say, I love the passion.

I think

it's brilliant, because it's

completely different.

It's passion.

And people want to see that, people

want to see that he cares, and

there's no doubt about that.

We'll have highlights

of that tie in a special

hybrid Match of the Day,

which includes all of today's games

in the FA Cup and Premier League.

That's Match of the Day,

tonight at 10.20pm on BBC One

Before that, you can keep

across all the three

o'clock games with Jason,

Alex Bruce and Sue Smith on BBC Two

Final Score, today from

2.30pm on the red button

and from 4.30pm on BBC Two .

And tomorrow, it's a super sunday

on BBC One, as Wigan

take on Southampton, before

Leicester and Chelsea complete our

quarterfinal double header.

"Super Sunday" has a nice ring to it

- someone should use that!

Now to the Monday night football

from this past week,

which saw struggling Stoke take

on the runaway leaders.

COMMENTATOR: Silva made

COMMENTATOR: Silva made that just

looks so easy.

looks so easy. He shoots, and by far

the best chance Stoke have had in

the game. De Bruyne takes the

delivery, and this is a good

recovery by Kyle Walker, and it

nearly goes under the crossbar.

Gabriel Jesus sends it into the box,

Silva this could be two. Of course

it is, second goal of the night for

David Silva. Here they go again,

Sane on the left-hand side, and that

was saved by Butland. And that is

that, so comfortable at the end,

Stoke City 0- two Manchester City.

Sooner or later, if we play this

way, we can be champions.

Everybody

knows it is a once-in-a-lifetime

opportunity, but I'm sure it won't

be handed to us.

opportunity, but I'm sure it won't

be handed to us.

Another win for Manchester City,

leaving the 16 points clear at the

top.

It's Everton next, and victory

in that one will mean mean they can

win the title by beating

Manchester United in the derby

on April 7th.

Different story at the bottom

of the table, where the relegation

battle is set to go right down

to the wire, and after Monday's

game, Shay Given made a house call

to see his former team mate

at Stoke, Jack Butland.

Good to see. It has been a few

months. Reflect back farce on Monday

night, Manchester City, the

champions elect.

Yes, it was a free

hit, go out there and make sure we

made a good show of ourselves. The

confidence was there, the players

were there, belief in the manager

and what he is trying to do as well.

Mark Hughes has got the job at

Southampton. How do you think he

will get an?

From a selfish point of

view, hopefully not too well,

because we need to stay up! Marquess

and you gave me my big break in the

Premier League, and I enjoy working

with him it was sad to see him go

from a personal point of view, and I

wish it well, but not too well,

maybe we can both stay up!

Is a

vicious rumour going around in

football that you like a bit of

rugby, you have gone to a couple of

England games. Can Ireland pull off

the grand slam? There was room on

the street that you would even be a

good number eight if you hadn't

played football.

I played, but

whether it would've turned out to

successfully as football did, I

don't know. I loved my rugby in

school, but I had to put the egg

away at 1415, and football took off

for me, but I love my rugby and I

still enjoy watching it now.

I

believe you have played a famous

international rugby player in your

younger days.

My rugby claim to fame

is beating Billy Vunipola in the

under 15 is at school. We had to

tackle him in twos and threes

because he was a big specimen even

then!

And you got the captains

armband, I don't think there are

over enough goalkeeper captains, has

that made you have to do more

leadership things?

I have always

felt that I have been a leader, and

wearing the armband, meeting the

referees before, and the slight

addition of responsibility that you

might get during the game, and to

speak to the reference things like

that, but I have always felt as a

keeper and me as an individual that

I have always tried to lead by

example, and be someone that others

could follow.

That is good, because

other keepers who have been

captains, I don't see why you

couldn't be captain long-term. Going

on to you and your form this season,

how do you feel you have been

playing and coming into the

summertime coming with a big

tournament coming on?

There is a big

event this summer! One blemish from

me, I felt that the Leicester game

was a mistake that I will never make

again.

COMMENTATOR: That is not a moment

that Jack Butland will want to see

again.

This weekend you have Everton at

home. Jordan Pickford, and I have

worked with Joe Hart before and

Fraser Forster. Who is Gareth

Southgate going to pick in the

summer? That is the question

everyone wants me to ask, and I'm

intrigued.

The only thing that goes

through my mind is making sure it's

me. I am going for the number one

spot, and that is what I'm focusing

on everyday, being as good as I can

and giving Gareth Southgate either

an easy decision or a hard decision,

which ever way you want to put it. I

know the competition I am up

against, and I enjoy the pressures

that come with the game and the

position, and I'm looking forward to

the battle. Whoever gets it will

deserve it, and I will back whoever

it is, or expect the same in return.

I am really excited for the summer

in general, and hopefully I can be a

part of it.

You can see more of Shay Given on

Match Of The Day to night. He is

taking part in a nonstop penalty

shoot-out next Friday. These other

four goalkeepers. Where does Jack

Butland rank for you?

He is

definitely one of the contenders

without a doubt. All four are

contenders. Joe hasn't played a lot

is late, Jack Butland is consistent

and so is Jordan Pickford. But Nick

Pope stands out. A 2% save rate, ten

clean sheets at unfashionable

Burnley. And that just shows you,

how well Sean Dyche is going at that

club. -- he has an 80% save rate.

how well Sean Dyche is going at that

club. -- he has an 80% save rate.

And you like him?

Yes, he has been

in excellent form. I think he has

been brilliant for Burnley all

season. He is a big reason why they

are where they are in the league.

And I think the only thing that is

against him is his lack of

experience.

And this guy?

I like

Pickford, he makes important saves.

I have got no idea, really, with

keepers, because he was putting the

right every time, and Joe Hart as

well, I still think he is a very,

very good keeper. With him not

playing, it has hindered his

chances, but I still think he is

still the best for me, I still think

Joe is the best out of that bunch.

This is the full England squad. Here

are the defenders, and one point

lots of people have made this week,

you look at the standard centre

halves, only 27 caps between them,

and 23 of those are from John

Stones. That is a pretty

inexperienced side. And if you go to

the midfield, you have Lewis Cook

getting called up, and I suppose you

could make both cases. Three months

out, surely you should be more

settled, or is it a good time to

experiment?

I don't think he can be

settled this far ahead, because so

many changes can happen, and he is

right to give people that are on

form their England debuts in the

squad. He is doing it at the right

time. Gareth Southgate knows what

he's doing. He is putting the miles

in and getting the right players in

the right squad at the right time.

So what we have got to do is lead

him to do his job. He is adding

quality to an England squad which I

think has a lot of quality in it

already.

And one thing that will

definitely be at the Cup is VAR.

There is this whole thing at the

moment, there needs to be mock

imitation with the fans, in the

stadium, on the TV or radio, and if

that is fine tuned, 100%.

OK.

It's Butland versus Pickford today,

Stoke versus Everton,

one of four Premier League games,

and a crucial one for the home side.

Vicki Sparks has already

made her way to the Potteries.

Good afternoon, look at that

weather! This is the stage of the

season where they are all big games,

but this is particularly massive.

Yes, Stoke are expecting their

highest league crowd for 38 yes,

over 38,000 fans expected this

afternoon, and big because they have

tough games coming up, Arsenal and

Spurs next, and they still have to

go to Anfield before the end of the

season, so it is a big opportunity

against Everton this afternoon,

primarily because of Everton's

terrible away form, they have only

won one of their last away games.

They are without Gylfi Sigurdsson as

well, although they are hopeful he

might be back before the six to

eight weeks but was initially

predicted, and there is still this

discontent over Sam Allardyce from

many fans, underwhelmed by his

initial appointment and he hasn't

won them over yet, and the away form

is still difficult for them. So a

big opportunity for Stoke, if they

can get a fast start, which is what

Paul Lambert is urging them to do,

and they could have the momentum.

And the weather will be a challenge

here. There are blue lines here

today which is a Premier League

directive in the areas they think it

might snow, which hopefully will

allow the game to go ahead, but it

is very chilly, so if you are coming

along, do wrap up warm.

Good advice,

Vicki, could be a few gloves on

display. Stoke are seven points

clear of West Brom. I did ask the

fellas if they wanted to talk about

them, West Brom, but they both think

they are going down! And also we

have Crystal Palace, and the

Baggies, of course. Palace will be

looking to narrow that gap on

Huddersfield who are just four

points outside the relegation zone

at the moment.

Martin Fisher will be watching this

one at the John Smith's Stadium.

Here he is. There we go! I pressed

the right button in the end. We

mentioned last week that Palace have

already been in the relegation zone

and got themselves out, they are

back in again, and just on a bad run

at a bad time, aren't they?

Absolutely right. Two months ago,

Crystal Palace were 12, and there

was a lot of confidence in the

Eagles camp that they were waving

goodbye to any suggestion of

relegation this season, but since

then, seven games without a win, and

they have lost their last four in a

row. There are mitigating

circumstances,

circumstances, they have had some

difficult games, they have played

Chelsea, Manchester United and

Spurs, and they have also had a

crippling injury list. The good news

for Roy Hodgson is that some of

those players are coming back, and

the fixture list is on the face of

it getting a little easier. Today

Huddersfield are in pretty good

nick, their last four games, they

picked up seven points, and they

have only been in the relegation

zone all season for eight days. That

is remarkable given the fact that

most pundits before a ball had been

kicked this season have Huddersfield

down as the team they expected to

get relegated. They will also be

bucking a trend if they stay up. The

last three teams that have come up

via the play-offs have all suffered

immediate relegation. They are

looking to go seven points clear of

Palace and seven points clear at the

bottom three.

Thank you, Martin. It

is only 70 miles between

Huddersfield and Stoke, and look at

the difference in the weather!

No such worries for Liverpool

or Watford, who meet at tea time,

and it was a typically upbeat

Jurgen Klopp who spoke

to Gabby Logan on The Premier

League Show this week.

It is football, it is a game,

interviewed and enjoy the game,

don't play it. The results are

important, but the most important

thing is to keep the business going,

so that is how it is. What we do

physics pensive, so we need the

money, we earn it from tournaments,

we have to be in the Champions

League, all that stuff, so that is

our life, but the 90 minutes, it is

a game.

When you look at other

Premier League managers at the top

four or six, and sometimes they look

very, very intense...

I look very

intense! I killed my teeth over 20

years!

And is there another side

that the public don't see?

I think

the public knows my ugly face

because I have this constantly! One

of the most important skills in this

job is dealing with the pressure. I

know myself in my 50 years, I have

put a lot of pressure on my

shoulders, and I learned to deal

with that.

What is your way of

dealing with the pressure?

I ignore

the public pressure. If you think,

every body looks at your thing, what

does he think about that, what does

he think about this, you don't know

these people, but you are thinking

of what they are thinking about you,

and most people, I am not interested

in their opinion. I responsible for

my family, I would do everything for

them, and then for my club. But as

to what the rest of thinking, I'm

sorry.

Make sure you watch Gabby's

extensive interview

with Klopp on iPlayer.

Dion was very much appreciating the

trainers with no socks!

Definitely!

And what a quarterfinal that is

going to be.

But it does nothing for

us. Give our team is a chance.

Against each other? I can't call the

game, because both teams on their

day can beat any of the others as

well, so that is a hard one to call.

Over two legs, do you think

Manchester City will be too strong

for Liverpool? Or can you see Jurgen

Klopp getting the better of them?

You would think over two legs that

Manchester City will be too strong,

but it is Champions League. It is

one of those, you flip a coin. It is

an incredible draw overall, if you

look at the teams that are left, it

is amazing.

I want to show you one

more thing as well. Third statistic

of the day. Arsenal have got CSKA

Moscow in the quarterfinals of the

Europa League, and their goalkeeper

back three, they have played

together, those four since 2004 in

the same side. There you go.

That is

the best one yet, Dan! I will use

that one.

So, Arsenal are chasing

European silverware,

and their women's team had

the chance on Wednesday night

to claim the first prize

of the domestic season

as they took on Manchester City

in the Continental Cup final.

take on Southampton, before

Leicester and Chelsea complete our

It is the holders against the team

who have won this competition more

than anybody else. Against the

crossbar! From Dominique Janssen!

Lifted in towards Beth Mead...

Miedema! And Arsenal have the

breakthrough! Crossing opportunity,

it's a good one... And so was the

header from Nikita Parris! Claire

Emslie delivers the corner...

There's the header! It is Arsenal

who are the champions of 2018!

Congratulations to Arsenal.

The WSL returns next weekend.

And on Friday evening, Radio 5 Live

has got commentary of England's game

in the Netherlands.

Also playing that night are

Scotland, who take on Costa Rica.

It will be the Alex McLeish's first

game in charge since agreeing

to become national team boss

for the second time.

Rob Maclean sat down for a chat

with Big Eck about his big job.

There will always be a critic out

there and you have to rise above

that.

Alex McLeish says becoming

Scotland manager for a second time

is a tremendous honour. He's been

confirmed in the job 11 years since

he left it for the first time...

Did you think long about taking the

job, because obviously at the moment

it is associated with 20 years of

failure?

I knew what I was taking

on. Any team that you take on,

there's always some obstacles. But I

felt that, you know, with the

current young players coming

through, IMA be wrong but I'm hoping

that my experience is correct in

that, in what I've seen.

You weren't

first choice, the Scottish FA were

publicly chasing Michael O'Neill,

does that bother you?

Not at all.

I've been second choice in club

jobs, maybe third choice at all when

I've been offered the job you always

feel that it was meant to be. It is

up to you to show that you can do

it. And the jobs in the past that

I've had, I think I have a pretty

decent success rate.

There's a lot

of excitement about Manchester

United's Scott McTominay committing

himself to Scotland - was that a

persuasion job to get him to join

Scotland rather than England?

Well,

I was pleasantly surprised when I

met Scott and he was leaning towards

Scotland.

McTominay! Really good

touch...

I said, I'm not coming down

here to put pressure on you, I

looked in his eyes and I knew he

meant it. He's a young guy, so let's

not say that he's going to takers to

finals. But the games I've seen him

in, he's shown a fantastic maturity,

and Jose Mourinho is ecstatic with

his performance.

And to have Andy

Robertson doing as well as he is

with Liverpool as well, and the

Celtic players as well?

Yes, these

guys are playing at the highest

level. Celtic playing in the

Champions League, they've proven how

good they are. If you think of the

other teams in Europe, it shows how

much they've grown.

Your first match

is against Costa Rica - those are

dirty words for Scotland fans,

aren't they, when you look back?!

Flag stays down! And the ball goes

in! And another page in the sad tale

of Scottish performances in a World

Cup has been written!

Reaction we

had was normally the reaction of a

Scot after a setback. When you want

to show the world what you really

made of, and we beat Sweden in the

next game.

Stuart McCall! Stuart

McCall has scored for Scotland! At

least if they're going to go down,

they're going to go down fighting.

That's typical Scotland.

You know

him well, it's a big decision for

him to go back, do you think it is a

wise one?

For him, I think he always

wanted to try to get back to that

pinnacle job with his country.

Again, he knows the players so well,

he knows the job, the environment,

the expectation of the fans, I think

it's a good fit.

And we mentioned

Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay,

James Forrest, there is a nucleus of

good players coming through?

McTominay is a massive one, we were

just talking about it fair and

saying what a result it was, it is

great to hear, he has gone where his

heart is, to play for Scotland, he's

a massive player for them in the

future.

And if you're in Scotland,

you can see that game on Tuesday

week live on BBC One in Scotland.

This week Millwall boss Neil Harris

said his side weren't getting

the credit they deserve

for an unbeaten run stretching

back to New Year's Day,

that's put the Lions in the hunt

for successive promotions.

Mark Clemmit needed

no greater excuse.

So, you've got to be careful what

you wish for! No recognition, so

here we are!

Thanks for popping down

and seeing us, do you remember where

you're going?!

Amazing, the buzz

around the place must be incredible?

Yeah, the lads have been good, it is

the buzz, the staff, the fans, on

the match day the place is rocking.

The players are great, they're

driven, they're hungry, but you need

to have a focus and our focus all

season has been about staying out of

the bottom three and doing well. We

talked about it for the first time

last week after the game - let's

talk about the play-offs.

Love it,

turn! Good striker, well done!

Life

in the old dog yet?!

It's good, I'm

really enjoying it, results are

going our way, team spirit is

amazing, it's nice to be home. It's

a really good feeling. It's a good

test, I'm loving it every day in

training. I think more than

anything, it's about the belief,

helping the lads believe that we can

do something special this year.

Where we are now is amazing but

we've still got to keep pushing.

It

is always with you in your heart,

you started your career here and

you've always been looking for their

results?

Yeah, definitely, always,

is the same with Everton. But I've

got a close affinity with the fans

here because I understand what it

means to play for Millwall, and

coming back, nothings changed, they

just want the heart and the passion.

The characters that the gaffer has

put together, it is similar to back

in the day.

Is it weird for you

having Tim Cahill back here and that

he used to be your former strike

partner and now you're having to

tell him what to do?!

It is weird

when he calls me gaffer or boss, and

he does it because he is such a good

pro.

My relationship with the gaffer

is awesome, yeah, we're friends, all

of that sort of stuff, I'm not ready

yet to cross that line and join the

dark side yet!

Fortunately the

players have got a winning

mentality, so when they win, they

want to win the next one.

George

Saville, two consecutive games,

scoring in the 51st second, I don't

think I've ever heard anything like

that?!

No, I think that's part of

how we train, we play with intensity

from the beginning of each game.

Sorry, I've got to interrupt this

interview, it is the 51st second and

George Saville is here - have you

scored another goal?! Can you quite

believe it?! It is weird, isn't it?

Just the way the team is set up at

the moment, just absolutely on it,

right place at the right time...?

Bit of both, I think. The gaffer

sets us up to press high and we

caught them cold.

Well, you've had

another cameo in this Football Focus

feature, thank you very much!

The

pride and the smile has been on my

face from the first day because I'm

chuffed with the players and we

worked tirelessly to get the boys

right against. And the players come

in every day and try and locate what

we want them to achieve - it's a

good place at the moment.

Tim Cahill

was there in 2002. Because it home.

He can't stop playing, can he?!

He

says that for every club he goes to!

He calls it his home!

Everton as

well! Basically everywhere! Isn't it

great but at that age he's enjoying

his football and they're playing

some good stuff but we very much so.

It's important to have that

experience, Tim is a legend at the

club, he's a very different player

now to what he was like when he left

the club. So that's going to be some

adjustment from the fans, however,

he's a great pro.

I was lucky enough

to play with Tim at Millwall, with

players like Sean Dyche, who was our

captain at centre half, and then

you've got Neil Harris. And he knows

the club backwards. He was on the

bench at the time, he knows the club

acquits, he knows exactly what the

fans want from the club and he knows

how to take it forward. To have him

back from the old school is going to

help him out massively.

Remember

Paul the octopus predicted those

games in Germany and sadly no longer

with us! Russia have got a cat to

predict James Justin we've got a

squirrel. One of our production team

was a bit bored this week, so this

is his scroll from the back garden

and it's gone for Brighton to beat

Manchester United. We just put out

cups with some Skrill food in it...

MARK SCHWARZER: This is make or

break!

There he is, proud of

himself! Next one up, this is Wigan

versus Southampton.

DION DUBLIN: I think he will go

Wigan! I've seen him on the training

ground...!

And he HAS gone to Wigan!

Loves an underdog! And Leicester

against Chelsea now. He's had a good

look at Chelsea, as many have done,

didn't fancy them... In the end he

is gone further step.

He knows his

stuff! We will get him a job soon!

Nice one, squirrel!

Happy with

that?! Stop it!

That's all for this week.

Thanks to Mark and Dion.

We're back at midday next Saturday.

A week of Sport Relief events

get under way today.

Goodbye.

A week of Sport Relief events

get under way today.

John Bishop is one of those taking

part, and the former Hyde

and Southport player took time out

to take on that other

Liverpool legend - Lawro.

For Sport Relief I'm doing a sketch

with Gareth Southgate. I think in

many respects I victim of the fact

that there wasn't a proper scouting,

because I know, given the chance, I

would have made the difference.

But...!

But...!

Steven Gerrard!

The FA Cup

final against West Ham and that goal

that Steven Gerrard scored I thought

was brilliant, sublime. I remember I

was actually in the West Ham end

when that goal went in and the West

Ham supporters just went, fair

enough, what can you do? The goal

versus Watford, the result, I was

going to say 17-0 but that would be

a bit biased, so I'm just going to

go 110. But seriously, 3-0. Wigan

have got momentum behind them, I

don't know, I