Premier League

JEFF STELLING admitted he supported Premier League side Burnley as a kid… before switching allegiance to Hartlepool.The new talkSPORT Breakfast host revealed the amazing reason why he turned to the north-east club.
Jeff Stelling admitted he supported Premier League side Burnley as a kidCredit: talkSPORT
Stelling then switched allegiance to HartlepoolCredit: Phil Shephard-Lewis – The Times
Stelling left fans in stitches when he celebrated the all-too-rare news of his beloved Hartlepool’s goals on Soccer Saturday.
But the sports pundit confessed during the breakfast show on Tuesday he was a Burnley fan as a young boy.
And admitted the only reason he supported the Clarets was because the club gifted him free souvenirs.
He said: “I used to be a boyhood Burnley fan.
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“They’re not my team anymore. I love Burnley.
“The reason I supported Burnley was because as a kid you used to write to all the big teams and ask for programmes and any free memorabilia and most of them just ignored you completely.
“But Burnley always sent back a load of stuff. I didn’t even know where Burnley was!”
And on Tuesday he received yet another gift from his boyhood club -a heartwarming video message from former Burnley ace Frank Casper.
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He said: “Hi Jeff, it’s Frank Casper, your boyhood hero. I just want to wish you all the best in your new job at talkSPORT.
“I’m sure you’ll be fantastic and can’t wait to listen to you. All the very best, Frank.”
Despite Burnley making the effort to reach out to Stelling his heart will always be with Hartlepool.
In 2015 he was appointed the President of Hartlepool and still holds the position.
Stelling has also done tremendous work for Prostate Cancer UK including completing 15 marathons in 15 days alongside then Hartlepool Chief Executive Russ Green in 2015. More

JOHN O’SHEA has opened up on his front row seat to the infamous tunnel row between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. It was in 2005 that then-reigning Premier League champions Arsenal welcomed Manchester United to Highbury.
Roy Keane during his infamous row with Patrick Vieira
O’Shea celebrates with Rooney after scoring in the 4-2 victory
And Vieira set the fiery scenes early by confronting Gary Neville over a previous clash the right-back had with Jose Antonio Reyes at Old Trafford.
As the two lined up before the game in the tunnel, Keane furiously hurled expletives at his opposite number Vieira.
But O’Shea has revealed how a “clever” Neville was to thank for their captain’s furious blast.
He said on Off The Ball: “I was on the bench that night.
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“But the best thing was how clever Gary Neville was just before kick-off in the dressing room. 
“He just happens to quietly mention, ‘Patrick Vieira’s pinned me up inside the tunnel, saying I’m going to get it tonight after kicking Reyes up at Old Trafford.
“Next thing, everyone’s like, ‘What, what happened?’ and of course Roy was just stone silent.
“The brain just going into overdrive thinking okay, here we go. Didn’t say a word to anybody and then walked out and did what he did.”
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United went on to win the match 4-2, with O’Shea scoring.
Afterwards, Keane was asked about his row with Vieira.
He said: “I don’t want to go into too much detail but Patrick Vieira’s 6ft 4, starts having a go on Gary Neville. I said, ‘Come and have a go at me’. Simple as that.
“If players want to intimidate some of my team-mates, let’s have a go at some of the other players.
“They think Gary Neville’s an easy target. But I’m not having it.”
Chelsea won the league that year but Arsenal avenged their 4-2 loss by beating United on penalties in the FA Cup final.
Vieira left the Gunners the following season while Keane was ousted by United soon after and joined Celtic.
The pair are both now in retirement with Keane working alongside Neville for Sky while O’Shea is part of Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham coaching staff.
Together at United, O’Shea, Rooney and Neville won the Premier League and Champions League.
Ashley Cole, John O’Shea and Wayne Rooney on Birmingham’s benchCredit: PA More

ERIK TEN HAG insists he has the backing of his players and says performances prove it.While Manchester United sunk to defeat at Newcastle, the manager pointed to the victory at Everton and draw away to Galatasaray before that to back his belief.
Erik ten Hag believes his Manchester United players are still with himCredit: Reuters
United slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on SaturdayCredit: Reuters
So are the players really behind him?
Ten Hag said: “Oh yes, I am sure.
“You can see for instance the comeback against Brentford, the Burnley game, the Fulham game, every time the team is there and have shown great character, great determination, resilience so we are together.
“You can see you can’t play such great football as we did recently without unity.
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“We had a week of two good performances and one bad performance so from there we carry on, the team is in a good direction.
“We played very good football and scored very good goals against Galatasaray and Everton.
“Against Newcastle, we didn’t play great, we knew that, we were not happy with that performance, but we stayed in the game and had two good opportunities to get a point.
“But we are not robots, if you play three games in six days, tough games and by the end the fatigue can be an issue.”
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The body language of some players at St James’ was also an issue, pointing to a sense of disunity.
There are also those not in the team who will be unhappy.
But Ten Hag, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s home clash with Chelsea, said it was normal.
He said: “Of course there are always in every team players who are not playing, who are not as happy.
“That is normal, you have to wait for the chance and that can come but there are no issues.”
Ten Hag says that he has an open dialogue with all his players and some have challenged him over how the team plays and selections.
He said: “Maybe one or two. If the players have a different opinion of course I will listen.
“I listen always to my players and I give them always opportunities to speak.
“But the majority want to play like this: proactive, dynamic, brave, that is what they want.
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“You can see the players are behind it because of the performances against Everton and Galatasaray, we are really improving.
“We are on a journey, a route, we know we are in transition but we are in the right direction, we construct a team, develop it, the team is progressing, young players coming in and you see the potential how they can contribute to a successful Manchester United team for the future.”
The Dutchman is feeling the heat after a poor start to the seasonCredit: EPA
Ten Hag pointed to good goals at Everton and Galatasaray to suggest the team are unitedCredit: AP More