Sportsday - Friday 23 November as it happened

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sportsday live.

Today, we will be bringing you all the press conferences and team news ahead of another exciting weekend of Premier League action, plus updates from the first day of the second Test between India and England, opening practices of the Formula 1 season finale in Brazil as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel fight for the title and second day's play at the Dubai World Tour golf event.

For both quick browsers and leisurely readers, here is a selection of the top stories on the BBC Sport website:

Referees' union Prospect has demanded that Chelsea apologise to Mark Clattenburg after he was cleared of making a racist remark, F1 title underdog Fernando Alonso says he has "nothing to lose" as he battles Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, BBC Sport pundit Jeremy Guscott says quick ball will help England beat South Africa, and you can also check out Mark Lawrenson's latest batch of Premier League predictions.

Ricky Hatton's trainer Bob Shannon on his charge's comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 live: "Ricky is a different man now; he has learnt by experience. He hit the big time as a big name in the media, and of course, he got in with the wrong people, but he's a family man now and has learnt by his mistakes. He wants to redeem himself and is ashamed in himself for drinking too much.

"He has got an ex-world champion to come back to, but that is the man he is. He wants to prove to everyone he is back by beating a proper opponent.

"In my opinion, he has redeemed himself. He does not drink anymore, is a proper family man and he will get through it as he is a legend."

You can hear live commentary of the bout from 2200 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live.

BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson believes "two of the greatest drivers in F1 history" are going head-to-head in Brazil this weekend for the F1 title. Read his take on Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso's championship deciding final grand prix of the season on the BBC Sport website.

BBC Sport will be presenting live coverage throughout the weekend from Brazil. On Friday on the red button, you can catch the first practice from 11:55-13:30 GMT and second practice from 15:55-17:30.

Saturday's events begin on the red button from 12:55-14:00 for third practice before you can watch qualifying on BBC One from 15:00-17:30.

BBC One is the place to watch the main event on Sunday as Vettel and Alonso fight for the title from 15:00-18:15.

BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra will also be covering each session.

Stoke and Fulham play this weekend at the Britannia Stadium, and the hosts could be without Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson, but midfielder Dean Whitehead is available after being suspended for the match against West Ham.

Striker Michael Owen is not expected to be ready to make his return from a hamstring complaint, while midfielder Rory Delap (hernia) and defender Marc Wilson (broken leg) remain sidelined.

Fulham manager Martin Jol is still missing a number of key players, with winger Alex Kacaniklic, midfielder Mickael Tavares, utility man Kieran Richardson and playmaker Bryan Ruiz out with hamstring strains. Captain Brade Hangeland is suspended and Simon Davies has a hip injury.

In better news, battling midfielder Mahamadou Diarra is back from a long-term knee injury and Chris Baird returns from a ban.

Sunderland host West Brom on Saturday, and Black Cats manager Martin O'Neill welcomes utility man Craig Gardner back from suspension.

For the visiting side, central defender Gareth McAuley and on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku return to the macthday squad, but a hamstring injury rules out midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu while goalkeeper Ben Foster is absent for a third successive game with a groin problem.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reveals in his news conference for Saturday's game against QPR that striker Wayne Rooney is fit following a bout of tonsillitis.

The Brazil Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton's final race as a McLaren driver and Sir Stirling Moss tells BBC Radio 5 live he expects a tough weekend for the Mercedes signing.

He says: "I think he will find it difficult because there is no doubt McLaren have lost a quality driver, and from his point of view, people are wondering why he did it."

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha wins the Football League Young Player of the Month award for October. The 20-year-old, who made his England debut in the recent friendly against Sweden, scored four goals in as many games in October.

"I'm delighted and honoured to get the trophy," Zaha says.

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty on Twitter: "Normal service is resumed. Sir Alex Ferguson already delivering a few heavy jabs in Rafael Benitez's direction."

Winger Theo Walcott (shoulder), left-back Andre Santos (stomach muscle), defensive midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) and midfielder Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) all miss Arsenal's trip to Aston Villa.

In better news for manager Arsene Wenger, forward Gervinho and defender Kieran Gibbs are available again for Premier League action.

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is back in contention after a three-game absence due to an ankle injury. Left-back Eric Lichaj also returns after a leg muscle strain but Joe Bennett, Chris Herd, Charles N'Zogbia (all knee) and Richard Dunne (groin) remain sidelined.

Here is some more from a very entertaining news conference from Sir Alex Ferguson. This time, he is talking about the decision to clear referee Mark Clattenburg of allegations he made racists remarks to Chelsea players during their 3-2 defeat to the Scot's side in October:

He says: "I did not believe it anyway. The unfortunate thing for Mark is that he has had to carry that stain for the last few weeks.

"Everyone in the game is pleased for him now - apart from Chelsea."

BBC Radio Manchester are reporting from Roberto Mancini's news conference and the Manchester City manager says the knee injury captain Vincent Kompany picked up against Real Madrid will be assessed again before a decision is made on whether he will feature on Sunday against Chelsea.

You can hear commentary on the game, which kicks off at 1600 GMT, on BBC Radio 5 live.

Reading could welcome Jimmy Kebe back into their team for the trip to Wigan after the winger returned to training following a groin complaint.

The game at the DW Stadium, however, has come too soon for goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and midfielders Danny Guthrie and Jem Karacan.

Wigan could be without seven players as Ben Watson (broken leg), Gary Caldwell (hamstring), Ryo Miyaichi (ankle) and Franco Di Santo (leg) all suffered injuries in last weekend's 3-0 defeat by Liverpool, although Miyaichi and Di Santo could feature.

Midfielder James McArthur (dead leg), winger Albert Crusat (knee) and defender Antolin Alcaraz (groin) are definitely still out.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith makes an unbeaten 111 as his team close on day two of the second Test in Adelaide 333 runs behind Australia on 217-2.

India's Cheteshwar Pujara again defied England with an elegant century on day one of the second Test in Mumbai.

Pujara, who scored 247 runs without being dismissed in the first Test, made 114 not out to take the hosts to 266-6.

Recalled England spinner Monty Panesar had taken four wickets to help reduce the home side to 169-6.

But, on a wicket already turning, Pujara shared 97 with Ravichandran Ashwin to put India into what could prove to be a strong position

Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy looks set to make the trip to his former club after making good progress with the knee injury he suffered in the victory Manchester United last weekend.

Full-back Russell Martin is back in training after recovering from his back injury, but centre-back Michael Turner, however, is a doubt with a shoulder problem.

Sauber have confirmed Esteban Gutierrez as their second driver for next season.

Gutierrez has long been touted as a possible Sauber recruit due to his role as the team's test driver, and fellow Mexican Sergio Perez - who is on his way to McLaren from the Swiss outfit - revealed on Thursday that the 21-year-old had got the nod.

Gutierrez replaces Kamui Kobayashi and from next season will partner Nico Hulkenberg, who is leaving Force India.

Arsenal have extended their shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates Airlines in a £150m agreement which lasts until the end of the 2018-19 season.

As part of the new package, Emirates will continue with naming rights on the Gunners' 60,000-seater stadium at Ashburton Grove until 2028.

The £30m-a-year contract represents a significant increase in additional revenue for the Barclays Premier League club.

Referee Mark Clattenburg will return to action this Sunday for the London derby between Tottenham and West Ham at White Hart Lane.

Less than 24 hours after being cleared by the Football Association of making a racist comment to Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, the Premier League confirmed Clattenburg has been appointed as fourth official on Sunday.

The 37-year-old from Gosforth will also referee Southampton's match against Norwich on Wednesday.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany (knee) will be given a fitness test ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Chelsea after suffering an injury late in the midweek clash with Real Madrid.

Striker Mario Balotelli, dropped for the defeat of Tottenham a fortnight ago, has been training after being forced out of the last two games by a back injury.

Spinner Monty Panesar - who ended the day with a four-wicket haul - hopes England can restrict India to a manageable first-innings total when play resumes in the second Test on Saturday.

"Tomorrow we have to look to restrict them to maybe 100 runs and then we can see how things go for us," Panesar told Sky Sports after India closed on 266-6.

"There is a bit more bounce and turn in the wicket, enough to keep the seamers and the spinners interested.

"For me it was about trying to get my action in order and get the ball in the right place. From there I pushed on.

"With the way the pitch is there is a chance to get turn and bounce and to get two world-class players, I needed the pitch to do that. It was nice to take scalps like that."

Roberto Mancini expects Manchester City to face a tougher task against Chelsea on Sunday after the London club sacked Roberto Di Matteo and replaced him with Rafael Benitez.

"Usually when one team changes a manager, the game after for the opponents is very difficult," said the Italian.

"For us, I think it is more difficult. Chelsea are one of the best teams in England, in Europe. They have won everything in the last 10 years.

"Playing against them in London is always a good game. To win there would be important for us. Chelsea is a good team with Di Matteo and will be a good team for Benitez. They have good players."

Here's Mark Hughes's record during his unsuccessful 10-month tenure as QPR manager:

OVERALL: Played: 34 Won: 8 Drawn: 6 Lost: 20

LEAGUE: Played: 30 Won: 6 Drawn: 6 Lost: 18

FA CUP: Played: 2 Won: 1 Drawn: 0 Lost: 1

LEAGUE CUP: Played: 2 Won: 1 Drawn: 0 Lost: 1

World number one Rory McIlroy has one hole to play in round two of the Tour Championship in Dubai and shares the lead at 11 under with Scotsman Marc Warren. Overnight leader Luke Donald is one shot back with three to play.

Marlon Samuels rode his luck to score his maiden double century as West Indies seized control of the second test against Bangladesh in Khulna on Friday.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 109 as the visitors reached 564 for four wickets at the close of the third day, a lead of 177 runs.

Samuels, who resumed on 109, was the last man out in the final session and added 326 runs for the third wicket with Darren Bravo (127).

Newcastle playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa could be back in action within a fortnight after manager Alan Pardew was handed some rare welcome injury news.

The France international limped out of Thursday night's 1-1 Europa League draw with Maritimo with a damaged hamstring.

Pardew said: "It's not as bad as we feared, so I think a couple of weeks, but no more than that, hopefully."

England's men are warming up for next month's elite Champions Trophy in Melbourne with a first taste of nine-a-side hockey. Smaller teams play on a full-size pitch, with goals that are one metre wider, across two halves of just 20 minutes. The idea is to create more goal-scoring opportunities, and England have been obliging in Perth. After a 2-1 win over India on Thursday, England beat Pakistan 4-2 on Friday. Their final group game is against hosts Australia on Saturday.

Practice one for the Brazilian Grand Prix is under way so don't forget you can watch live coverage on this website (but only if you dwell in the UK).

World number one Rory McIlroy cards a 67 in the second round of the Tour Championship in Dubai for an 11-under-par halfway total. Co-leader Marc Warren still has the 18th to play.

Luke Donald birdies the last for a round of 68 and joins Rory McIlroy and Marc Warren at 11 under after two rounds of the Tour Championship at the Earth Course, Juremiah Golf Estates in Dubai.

QPR captain Park Ji-sung remains a doubt for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with his former club Manchester United.

Park has been suffering from a knee problem and, despite returning to training, is likely to miss out for managerless Rangers at Old Trafford.

Stephane Mbia is back after serving a three-match ban but strikers Bobby Zamora (hip) and Andrew Johnson (knee) are out and on-loan defender Fabio cannot feature against his parent club.

All Blacks star Conrad Smith expects to encounter a Wales team laden with "steely resolve" at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Wales' rugby failures against New Zealand are well-chronicled - 24 successive defeats since a 13-8 triumph in Cardiff 59 years ago.

Smith said: "We would all much rather they won their last two games. Whether it is at domestic or Test level, we've all been in teams that don't get the results you want.

"It creates a steely resolve, and they (Wales) will play well - I know they will. We've just got to make sure we play better."

Sir Alex Ferguson believes the problems at QPR can be attributed to a summer of upheaval at Loftus Road - and claimed their woes should be a lesson to everyone.

Mark Hughes finally paid the price this morning for a run of results that leaves the Londoners adrift at the foot of the Premier League when he was sacked as manager.

The Manchester United manager said: " "If you analyse things a little bit more closely it's probably a lesson to everyone that changing a team and bringing 11 new players in to the Premier League is not easy. But I am surprised they've only got four points.

"I didn't expect them to immediately set a blazing trail or be up at the top of the league or anything like that with 11 new players to bed in, but they've only four points and of course that creates its own headlines."

Fulham winger Ashkan Dejagah believes the Londoners need to forget their free-flowing football and show some fight at Stoke on Saturday.

The Cottagers have been one of the most entertaining teams in the Barclays Premier League this season, scoring 25 goals in their opening 12 matches.

But Dejagah told the club's official website: "The players tell me that Stoke are very direct and it's not easy to play at their ground.

"They have some big players and they like to play long balls. We must fight in this game - it's not a match to play football. If we fight for each other we can win this game."

Olympic bronze medallist Daniel Purvis has been added to the line-up for next month's Glasgow World Cup.

Purvis, who won team bronze for Great Britain alongside Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Sam Oldham and Kristian Thomas at London 2012, has been called up as replacement for Brazilian gymnast Sergio Sasaki Junior.

Purvis said: "The Olympics was the most incredible experience of my life and a huge part of that was down to the support of the home fans and I know it will be the same at the World Cup."

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor has warned Tottenham their season will be as good as over unless they start to improve quickly.

Should Tottenham lose to West Ham on Sunday they will have lost four successive league games for the first time in eight years.

"We're all frustrated about the way things are going," he said. "I don't know what's not clicking. Hopefully it will start clicking as soon as possible otherwise, trust me, we will find ourselves in difficulty.

"At the moment things are looking bad, but we just have to find a way to get through this. We have to improve because we're not playing the best game at the moment."

Assistant coach Graham Rowntree delivered a passionate rallying cry ahead of England's showdown with South Africa at Twickenham and vowed: "We are out to put a few things right".

England have not beaten the Springboks in 10 Tests, dating back to the autumn of 2006, and the current national team go into this encounter fuelled by the hurt of two near misses against South Africa.

"We are still hurting from last week. We lost and we are not happy about it," said Rowntree of the defeat by Australia. "It was a game we should have won.

"That last game in Port Elizabeth [in the summer tour against South Africa] was a game we should have won. We had lost two games on that tour. We had shown some glimpses but we had given ourselves a mountain to climb by conceding tries.

"I want to see the same as we saw in Port Elizabeth, that pure desire for it not to be a defeat again."

Golf's most famous sand trap - the Road Hole Bunker at St Andrews - is being changed for the 2015 Open Championship.

It is to be widened by half a metre to the right and the green recontoured so that more balls are likely to be gathered in.

India's Ravichandran Ashwin after his team finished 266-6 on the first day of the second Test against England: "I thought we stuck at it really well out there. We put a lot of pressure on the Indian batters early doors, which is something they probably didn't expect.

"They won the toss, looked to have a bat and probably thought maybe they'd only have a few wickets down for 200-plus.

"But we applied a lot of pressure to them and having five wickets down really early was a testament to how we did that."

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis maintains the club's £150m extension of their sponsorship deal with Emirates airline is "all about football".

He said: "The deal is all about football. It is all about giving us the resources in what we believe is a responsible and well managed way, to be able to invest in what we put onto the pitch for our fans.

"We have been able to talk to Emirates about the payment terms and bring some of them forwards, so that we will have additional money in this financial year which will be able to invest in the summer.

"Those decisions on investment are made by our manager, and he has done an outstanding job of managing the resources of the club over time, and we expect that to continue, but he will have more resources available."

Lewis Hamilton edged a four-driver scrap involving the McLaren and Red Bull pairings in first practice for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on

The leading quartet were covered by less than a tenth of a second, an astonishing achievement around the undulating 4.3km Interlagos track, with Sao Paulo serving as a backdrop in the distance.

First Practice top 10

1. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren 1:14.131

2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull +0.009

3. Mark Webber - Red Bull +0.067

4. Jenson Button - McLaren +0.086

5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari +0.261

6. Felipe Massa - Ferrari +0.585

7. Romain Grosjean - Lotus +0.588

8. Paul di Resta - Force India +0.607

9. Pastor Maldonado - Williams +0.884

10. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India +0.919

Midfielder Cheick Tiote returns to the Newcastle squad for Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip to Southampton after missing out in Europe through suspension.

However, skipper Fabricio Coloccini, who played in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Maritimo, completes his three-match domestic ban and will join winger Hatem Ben Arfa (hamstring) and midfielder Yohan Cabaye (groin) on the sidelines, while striker Shola Ameobi (also groin) and midfielder Gabriel Obertan (toe) remain doubts.

Winger Jonas Gutierrez (knee) and utility man James Perch (thigh) are available, while striker Papiss Cisse has a chance despite picking up a kick on the thigh, and fellow frontman Nile Ranger has been added to the squad.

At Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson's statue is to be unveiled by his wife, Lady Cathy. Manchester United chief executive David Gill said: "She is Sir Alex's greatest supporter. And I think he's a bit scared of her."

Reaction from Sir Alex as his statue is unveiled outside Old Trafford: "This is a very proud moment. People normally die before they see their statue so I'm outliving death.

"As part of my incredible journey, I've had so many great players, some of whom are here today, that I've managed through the years. They should build a statue to them. I've been privileged to work with them from 1986 until now."

Acting Birmingham chairman Peter Pannu says the Championship club are in talks with two Hong Kong groups and one from the UK over ownership, the Birmingham Mail reports.

Swansea City defender Ben Davies signs a new three-and-a-half year contract with the club.

Ryan Fraser, Clark Robertson and Gavin Rae will have fitness tests tomorrow but are considered doubtful for Aberdeen's match at Hibernian.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew calls on supporters to back referee Mark Clattenburg when he returns to the Premier League as fourth official on Sunday.

"It's time for the football community to back people when they are found not guilty, which he has been, and give him some support, which I do today and I hope fans do up and down the country."

Alan Pardew also gives his views on the sacking of Mark Hughes at QPR: "The new TV contract that's coming in, the extra funds for next year, I think is putting extra pressure on boards and they are reacting.

"You can't afford not to be in the Premier League this year and Mark might not be the only one (to be sacked)."

Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell is poised to officially join the Sale coaching team, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Kevin Mirallas and Darron Gibson could return from injury for Everton against Norwich at Goodison tomorrow. Phil Neville has had knee surgery and is unlikely to play again this year, and Marouane Fellaini is suspended.

Ki Sung-yueng and Kyle Bartley return to the Swansea squad following injury for Sunday's home match against Liverpool. Danny Graham, Ben Davies and Luke Moore are struggling with illness but should be available.

Meanwhile, former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers expects Andre Wisdom to be fit for the game at the Liberty Stadium after the 19-year-old was taken off in the first half of Liverpool's Europa League draw with Young Boys with a knee injury.

Lucas Leiva played 45 minutes for the under-21s after three months out with a thigh injury but will not feature this weekend.

A spokesman for Harry Redknapp says: "talks will be beginning shortly" over the vacant managerial position at QPR.

Winger Matt Jarvis returns to the West Ham squad for Sunday's trip to Tottenham, having recovered from the shin injury that kept him out of Monday's 1-1 draw with Stoke.

Yossi Benayoun is still not available as he looks to overcome a thigh problem with Jack Collison (knee) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) also ruled out.

Liam Kelly misses Kilmarnock's match against St Johnstone at Rugby Park tomorrow because of a shoulder injury but Danny Racchi is back in contention following his recovery from a knee problem.

Huddersfield Town boss Simon Grayson says Adam Hammill has been like a new player since the conclusion of his court case on Tuesday. Hamill was sentenced to 12 week's imprisonment suspended for 12 months at Liverpool Magistrates Court for assaulting two paramedics while on a night out.

Grayson told BBC Radio Leeds: "He was first to admit that it had affected him, which is natural. He's been like a new player in training." Meanwhile, the Terriers have confirmed that Reading striker Simon Church has extended his loan spell with the club until 31 December.

St Johnstone's Paddy Cregg is in contention to return against Kilmarnock tomorrow after more than a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Britain's Hannah Miley has won her second silver medal in as many days in the 800m freestyle at the European Short Course Championships in Chartres, France. The 23-year-old set a Scottish record of eight minutes 15.66 seconds, with GB team-mate Aimee Willmott in third place.

Follow the latest updates with British Swimming on Twitter.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis salutes Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov ahead of the meeting between the team at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

"Berbatov is one of the outstanding players in the Premier League this year. It is worth the admission fee just to see him play."

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup hopes predecessor Brendan Rodgers will receive a good reception when he returns to the Liberty Stadium as manager of Liverpool on Sunday: "Football is about strong emotions and I think it is up to each fan who comes to the stadium to do what he or she wants to.

"He did great here, like Roberto Martinez and Paolo Sousa. We can't say how other people should react but if you ask me what I would do then I would applaud him."

Six-times world champion Steve Davis qualifies for the UK Championship, beating Jamie Burnett 6-2 in the fourth qualifying round.

Frazer Richardson and Richard Chaplow remain Southampton's only injury absentees for Sunday's league game with Newcastle at St Mary's.

Motherwell boss Stuart McCall has named an unchanged squad for tomorrow's match with Hearts at Fir Park. Defender Simon Ramsden is still struggling with a calf problem and Scotland cap Steven Saunders remains on the sidelines as he recovers from knee trouble.

From BBC Sport's Alastair Eykyn: "New Zealand's star fly half Dan Carter seems certain to miss tomorrow's international with Wales.

"He has just tweeted a photograph of the All Blacks huddled together inside the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and written underneath it: "Gutted not to be playing with these boys in this stadium tomorrow."

"Carter injured his leg in training yesterday. Aaron Cruden is expected to start in his place."

Ally McCoist may have been confident that Rangers would win the 'big tax case' but he believes the club was already written off as guilty by some elements of Scottish football.

"I always felt confident, without being over-confident, that the result would go our way," he said. "I'm not a lawyer but, with the information that was passed to me, I was confident the club had a very strong case. Thankfully that proved to be correct."

The Europa League match between Hapoel Kiryat Shmona and Athletic Bilbao, which was postponed this week due to security concerns in Israel, will be played next Wednesday, Uefa have announced.

The Group I match was scheduled to take place in Haifa on Thursday night but was called off on Wednesday after the Spanish side reportedly revealed their concerns in making the trip to the strife-torn region.

"It's all set up for a glorious comeback for Ricky Hatton but I'm surprised he picked a difficult opponent like Vyacheslav Senchenko after three years out of the ring," says Paulie Malignaggi.

Read what the WBA welterweight champion has told BBC Sport about Hatton's upcoming fight on our boxing page.

Marseille defender Nicolas Nkoulou insists public perceptions of Joey Barton, who is set to make his first Ligue 1 appearance after suspension this weekend, are all wrong.

"He is a very different guy compared to the image that has been pinned to him," the Cameroon defender said. "On and off the pitch, the image of the guy who throws punches and does absolute nonsense is completely false."

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew says he felt "harshly treated" by Sunday's opponents Southampton when dismissed by the club in August 2010.

Pardew was sacked by Nicola Cortese weeks into a second season at St Mary's, having led Saints to a Wembley success in his first campaign.

"Me and the chairman didn't see eye to eye," Pardew told BBC Newcastle. "I was fortunate to get this position [at Newcastle], but did think I had been harshly treated."

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins does not feels he owes predecessor Alan Pardew a debt of gratitude for the work done before his arrival at the south coast club.

Adkins said: "Whatever situation arose, he moved on. I am the manager of Southampton Football Club. We've just had back-to-back promotions, we're doing ever so well in our forward progression."

Rory Fallon believes Aberdeen are genuine Scottish Premier League title contenders and the New Zealand international reckons the Dons are better equipped than Hibs to push Celtic all the way.

"Some people are happy for Celtic to run off and win it, but I'm one of those guys that believe we can win it," said Fallon. "If we don't believe we can do well and push up higher, then what's the point of even playing?"

Former manager Neale Cooper, who left Hartlepool in October, has returned to Ross County as assistant boss to Derek Adams.

Ireland assistant coach Les Kiss believes Argentina have been strengthened by their exposure to the Rugby Championship.

"They beat Wales well two weeks ago and have benefited from playing in the Rugby Championship," Kiss said. "You can't afford to disregard what they've learned from being involved in it."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon plans to hold signing talks with United States international striker Juan Agudelo.

The 20-year-old Chivas USA goalscorer, who has won 16 caps, has been training with Celtic during the Major League Soccer close season as he tries to secure a move to a European club.

Lennon said: "He has looked very good, we have been very impressed with him. We are hoping he will stay around for a few more days and we can talk with his representatives."

Rangers' Scottish third division trip to Elgin City on Sunday has been called off on safety grounds.

Britain's Hannah Miley won her second silver medal in as many days in the 800m freestyle at the European Short Course Championships.

The 23-year-old set a Scottish record of eight minutes 15.66 seconds in Chartres, France, after taking silver in the 200m medley on Thursday.

QPR owner Tony Fernandes on Twitter: "Though we have a change the long term vision of the club remains and much good work has already been done and will continue."

More from QPR owner Tony Fernandes on Twitter: "This is a club where the chairman and shareholders look at all things in a long term view. But also take the views of the fans who are the most important constituents of the club. To us fans come first."

Rotherham defender Craig Morgan has signed an 18-month contract extension with the League Two side.

The 27-year-old joined the Millers on a short-term deal in September and has made 14 appearances.

Joe Allen believes Ashley Williams' scathing attack on Liverpool striker Luis Suarez will backfire on Swansea in Sunday's Premier League meeting.

In his new autobiography, Swans captain Williams said he wanted to "knock out" Suarez during last season's game at Anfield and accused him of diving.

Allen said: "It will give Luis some extra motivation, which is dangerous from Swansea's point of view."

Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his own brutal departure from Manchester United underlines why Sir Alex Ferguson has spent so long at the top.

Ferguson decided to pick Giuseppe Rossi ahead of Van Nistelrooy for the final game of the season against Charlton in 2006 and the unveiling of the Scot's statue was the first time he had returned to Old Trafford.

"When he is building new teams he is willing to do things like that," said Van Nistelrooy. "That is all credit to him. In his mind, the club is the most important thing. That is what he always said. It is his most-repeated sentence."

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton beat Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to set fastest time in Friday practice at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was third from Ferrari's Felipe Massa, with Fernando Alonso of Ferrari fifth.

Italian FA president Giancarlo Abete has sent an official letter to Football Association chairman David Bernstein to condemn the "disgraceful attack" on Tottenham fans in Rome and apologise on behalf of "the whole Italian football family".

Ricky Hatton returns to the ring on Saturday to face Ukrainian Vyacheslav Senchenko after an absence of more than three years and says he is looking forward to "shocking the world again". You can watch a preview with Hatton on our boxing page.

Shortly you will be able to view today's edition of Sportsday Live in the panel above.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon believes Friday night football could help his side's Champions League campaign but stopped short of calling for its introduction in case the concession was viewed as unfair.

Lennon said: "I think Friday night football is a good idea. I think our players will like it because they get a free weekend - unless they get beat. I'm not averse to that, I used to do it quite a lot in my Crewe days.

"I don't think it's a bad idea at all and for European games it might be beneficial to us in the long run."

Wayne Rooney has no problem passing on the goal-scoring responsibilities at Manchester United.

"With Robin (van Persie) coming in and the former Javier (Hernandez) has been in, I have been playing a different role," said Rooney.

"Of course I want to score goals but if you play in midfield you're obviously not expected to get all of them."

Brazil coach Mano Menezes has been sacked according to reports.

Espanyol's Ghanaian midfielder Mubarak Wakaso has accused Spanish referees of booking him because of the colour of his skin.

"Sometimes, I don't think it should be a card. They just give the card, excuse me to say this, because of the colour of the person," the 22-year-old said.

A five-man shortlist for the 2012 African player of the year has been announced, with four of the nominees plying their trade in the Barclays Premier League last season.

The Confederation of African Football has named Ivorian pair Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, Cameroon's Alex Song, Senegalese striker Demba Ba and Ghanaian Andre Ayew as the final contenders for the prize having pruned a 10-man longlist.

MOTD's Gary Lineker on Twitter: "If Harry takes the QPR job I rather doubt he'll take control of the side at Old Trafford tomorrow. He isn't daft."

And that is your lot for Sportsday for another week. Thank you for all of your contributions. We will see you again from 0800 GMT on Monday for another busy week of sport.