News

Zoe Atkin secured a second British World Cup podium of the weekend with a silver medal in the freeski halfpipe event at the US Grand Prix in Aspen.

The 22-year-old halfpipe world champion was top of the standings in qualification but finished 0.25 points behind winner China’s Li Fanghui in the finals on Saturday to place second.

Li scored 93.00, Atkin achieved a score of 92.75 and third-placed Kexin Zhang of China finished with 88.75.

Atkin said she was “really happy” to secure a podium at the last World Cup event before the Winter Olympics get under way next month.

The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo take place from 6-22 February.

On Friday, Britain’s Kirsty Muir claimed a third World Cup victory of her career by winning the freeski slopestyle event.

No matter who is appointed Manchester United caretaker manager until the end of the season, Darren Fletcher has emerged as one of the big winners from a week of turmoil at Old Trafford.

Fletcher stepped up from his day-to-day role as United’s under-18s coach to replace Ruben Amorim for the games against Burnley and Brighton.

The former United and Scotland midfielder is adamant he has looked no further than that and is relaxed about what comes next.

However, Fletcher has made a hugely positive impression on United’s powerbrokers.

It maybe should not be a surprise because that is exactly what happened when he came back to the club in October 2020, and then joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team coaching set-up in January 2021.

“I was surprised I got offered the two games because I wasn’t expecting it,” he said.

“I don’t think like that. I think about the job that I’ve got in hand, so it wasn’t something that was on my radar at all.

“But I know that I can do it and I’m comfortable doing it.

“I know the environment, and I believe in myself. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the five years I’ve been here.

“I’ve had great experiences as a player, took my time to develop and learn as a coach and other parts of things off the field, which I’m glad I’ve done because I think it’s put me in a great position now.”

Fletcher has done a variety of jobs since his return to Old Trafford. He initially coached the under-16s before Solskjaer called on him, believing his “winning mentality, commitment and hard work” would be valuable in the culture he was trying to create.

Only two months later he was appointed United’s first technical director, underlining the impact he was making.

A senior United figure at the time said that limited period proved to be a “good advert” for Fletcher, as officials gained a greater understanding of his “intelligence”.

They saw first-hand what they felt were key elements – a hunger, tremendous work ethic and thirst for knowledge.

One story told about Fletcher from that time relates to a game at Liverpool, two weeks after joining Solskjaer’s team.

Fletcher went into the directors’ area before the game for the first time and “everyone just thronged around him”.

“He kept the room listening to his stories for 15 minutes,” said a source who was there.

“Humble” is a word used to describe Fletcher at the time.

Fittingly, it was a trait Fletcher mentioned when talking about the youngsters in United’s academy on Friday.

Following Jason Wilcox’s arrival at the club in the spring of 2024, Fletcher reverted to a role as first-team coach under Erik ten Hag but Amorim decided he did not need the Scot, which many believe was a mistake.

Fletcher then assumed the under-18s role, waiting until twin sons Jack and Tyler had moved beyond that age group before taking over in the summer.

Though not one of the standout stars of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, the legendary Scottish boss loved his fellow countryman for the understated way he went about his job.

Some feel the absence of Fletcher through suspension after he was sent off in the semi-final against Arsenal was a significant factor in United being beaten by Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final, when they had no answer to the metronomic passing game of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Fletcher, father of younger twin girls, in addition to Jack and Tyler who were both brought into the first-team squad by Amorim in recent weeks, is privately relaxed about what comes next.

Publicly, the 41-year-old says he is happy to revert to his role with the under-18s, where he has been helping to develop promising youngsters, including England youth international JJ Gabriel and Jim Thwaites, who has earned rave reviews in a variety of midfield positions.

“I’ve tried to prepare myself to be a manager,” said Fletcher.

“It is something I always thought I might be quite good at or that I’d enjoy doing and enjoy the challenge of.

“But at the same time I wanted to be really careful and make sure I was ready for when that moment came.

“It’s not something I’m desperate to do – circumstances in life dictate that, and I’ve experienced how intense it has been as a manager for less than a week. There’s not much time for much outside football.

Fletcher has ruled out the prospect of 15-year-old Gabriel being called into the United first-team squad for the Brighton game.

While Premier League rules prevent Gabriel being involved in their competition because he was 14 when the season began, the same regulation is not in place for FA Cup ties.

Gabriel trained with United’s senior players under Amorim and did the same on Monday, when those who started the draw at Leeds were on a warm-down session.

However, Fletcher, who moved Gabriel into the false nine role with huge success at the start of this season with United’s under-18s, says it is too soon for the youngster.

“JJ is a fantastic talent and I’ve enjoyed working with him immensely,” said Fletcher.

“There’s a lot of noise around him and deservedly so because he’s a really talented kid who works hard and loves his football.

“He makes fantastic decisions and has got an enthusiasm for the game that’s just amazing. I’m super excited by his talent and he has a bright future ahead of him.

“But the most important thing is that he keeps developing as he’s still got lots to learn.

“His time will come in due course, but for now it’s a little bit early I think and a lot of people would agree with me.

“But I couldn’t speak highly enough of JJ. He’s got an amazing family and amazing support around him and he’s somebody we’re delighted to have at the club.

Tottenham Hotspur‘s belated show of spirit may keep the wolf from head coach Thomas Frank’s door a little longer, but a damaging FA Cup defeat reaffirms the lingering belief his time in charge is only heading one way.

If there is scant consolation for Frank after Spurs slumped to a 2-1 third-round loss at home to Aston Villa, it is that the mood at the end was nowhere near as ugly as it threatened to be at half-time.

Dig beneath that and – barring a trip to Fantasyland in which Spurs win the Champions League – the rest of this season is now a quest for respectability, and for Frank, survival.

Spurs supporters sent their team off at the interval with deafening jeers ringing in their ears after they were brushed aside by a vastly superior Villa, who established a fully deserved 2-0 advantage.

Such was the lack of hope that thousands of seats inside the vast Tottenham Hotspur Stadium remained empty for even longer than usual at the start of the second half, fans resigned to Spurs’ fate after a dismal first 45 minutes in which they conceded goals to Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers.

It was deeply uncomfortable for Frank, who not only felt the full fury of the Spurs fans he is failing to convince, but also the taunts of thousands of travelling Villa supporters revelling in his misery.

As well as the time-honoured “You’re getting sacked in the morning”, he heard chants of “Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan” after he was inadvertently pictured drinking from a Gunners-branded coffee cup before the Premier League defeat at Bournemouth.

Helped by complacency from Villa, who came out for the second half looking like their work was done, Spurs at least competed and poured forward, with Wilson Odobert’s 54th-minute goal offering a lifeline.

Frank clutched at what was offered by that improvement, telling BBC Match of the Day: “The second half is the one we take away going forward. It’s what we would like to be. The energy, intensity, playing forward, being aggressive. We were dominating and created chances.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t score the second goal which would have given us an extra opportunity in the extra time. It’s always about trying to put two good halves together – that’s the aim.”

In the wider context, though, this was another bad day for Frank and Spurs, a club that always has big aspirations in the FA Cup.

Spurs are 14th in the Premier League and now out of this competition. Frank does not have the belief or support of many fans, meaning this was the latest day of disappointment for the head coach.

The reaction at half-time was highly toxic. The second half at least spared Frank a repeat at the end. It was more sweat than style, but still not enough to make up for the glaring inferiority and inadequacies of the first half.

A melee involving both sides’ players and staff drew attention from the home support’s disappointed reaction – Spurs were unhappy with Villa’s celebrations in front of their elated fans, especially Ollie Watkins in close proximity to Joao Palhinha, who then clashed with Rogers.

“I think it’s good passion. But we shouldn’t be bringing this passion only when we are behind,” said Spurs defender Micky van de Ven.

“If we start a game like this, it will be a whole different game. We were nowhere near in the first half like what we did in the second. We need to do this for the full 90 minutes. Then we will be a totally different team.

“We have had too many ups and downs. We have too many games that we play at a good level and then there are games where we are way below our level. That’s what we need to work on and be more consistent.”

Frank has not been blessed with much good fortune aside from his own difficulties, with striker Richarlison suffering a hamstring injury as he chased with Villa defender Ezri Konsa in the first half.

In the past week, Spurs have also lost Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur to muscle problems.

The Danish manager told Match of the Day: “I under the frustrations. The fans were amazing in the second half. That unity together – the fans and players – everyone was full of energy and feeding off each other.

“We need to think how can we come out aggressive enough and with passion and how can the fans push us forward in spells when we are a little bit down, which will come in every football match.

Frank’s problem is that he has been unable to inspire his players into producing complete performances, meaning his hold on his job is loosened with every loss.

He believes he still has the club’s backing, saying: “Completely feel the support. No doubt about that. Of course we are disappointed by the result and the fact that we don’t have better results. We need to put more and better performances together and keep pushing forward.”

Commendable optimism, but reality dictates that Frank needs wins and needs them fast, with currently little enthusiasm for his methods among the Spurs fanbase, a disconnect that undermines any head coach.

Frank now has four games which will surely shape his future – at home to struggling West Ham and at Burnley in the Premier League, plus hosting Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and testing trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.

European Champions Cup Pool 4

Scarlets (24) 38

Tries: Macleod 2, Hughes, Plumtree, Hawkins Cons: Hawkins 2 Pen: Hawkins

Pau (26) 47

Pau survived Scarlets’ second half comeback to come out on top of a thrilling Champions Cup contest in Llanelli.

The Top 14 side stormed into the lead with four tries inside the first half an hour, with Dwayne Peel’s men staring down the barrel of another sobering loss.

Explosive wing Toshi Butlin twice went over before Clement Mondinat’s effort, with Carywn Tuipulotu bagging the bonus-point against his former side.

Josh Macleod twice crossed to drag Scarlets back into the contest, with Archie Hughes’ effort bringing them back to within two points.

Taine Plumtree and Joe Hawkins burst over after the break to give Scarlets’ fans hope, only for Pau to show their pedigree with three unanswered tries from Remi Seneca, Theo Attissogbe and Siate Tokolahi.

Scarlets must beat Northampton Saints away next Sunday to keep slim hopes of finishing in the pool’s top four alive, while Pau play Bulls on Friday.

Scarlets enjoyed an early spell of pressure but after having two driving mauls repelled, they settled for a Hawkins penalty.

But they switched off when a quick-tap penalty by full-back Attissogbe released Butlin who showed a good turn of pace down his wing.

Butlin’s European debut became even more impressive five minutes later when he latched onto a looping pass from Desperes to saunter over for a second.

A third Pau try came inside a devastating eight minute period, Attisogbe broke the line before giving the scoring pass to replacement Mondinat.

Just as the game looked to be getting away, Scarlets hit back when a superb Hawkins touch finder provided a promising platform. Ryan Elias found his target at the lineout and Macleod touched down from the maul.

But Pau once again silenced the sparse crowd with Tuipulotu crashing over and leaving his former side a mountain to climb.

Scarlets recovered from the disappointment of having a Henry Thomas try disallowed with another powerful maul, and there was no stopping Macleod once he got a sniff of a second.

Still a man up after the break, Kemsley Mathias’ outrageous step looked to have set up a try, but a TMO intervention showed the loose-head had been held up.

Scarlets kept coming and a powerful run by Plumtree broke the defensive line, and while he also looked to have been held up, the in-form flanker managed to wriggle free to ground the ball as Scarlets took the lead for the first time since the eighth minute.

With the crowd now behind them, Pau’s discipline started to crumble and Hawkins finished off after the driving maul had done most of the damage.

Nathan Decron headed to the sin bin for an infringement, but Scarlets failed to take advantage as Pau demonstrated why they are currently the second best team in the Top 14.

They brought on their replacement forwards who made an instant impact, with prop Seneca taking advantage of some mis-communication in the defence to bust through.

A careless Sam Lousi penalry gifted Pau a five metre lineout, with Attissogbe finding a gap to give his side the lead once more.

Fletcher Anderson looked to have come up with what could have been a winning try after Eddie James’ pressure had won back possession, but the Scarlets number eight was stripped of the ball moments before grounding.

Scarlets: Murray; Rogers, Roberts, James, Mee; Hawkins, Hughes; Mathias, Elias, Thomas, Lousi, Ball, Plumtree, Macleod (capt), Anderson.

Replacements: Van der Merwe, Hepburn, O’Connor, Price, Davis, Blacker, Leggatt-Jones, Nicholas.

Pau: Attissogbe; Arfeuil, Decron, Valentino, Butlin; Desperes, Daubagna (capt); Etchebehere, Delhommel,Arrieta, Jolmes, Capelli, Zegueur, Hewat, Tuipulotu.

Replacements: Rey, Seneca, Tokolahi, Liufau, Iosefo, Pelesasa, Robson, Mondinat.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)

Assistants: Ian Kenny (Sco), Finlay Brown (Sco)

TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)