Arsenal

Arsenal Manuel Almunia was unhappy not to have saved more than one Roma penalty in the Champions League second-round shoot-out win over Roma on Wednesday night. The Gunners progressed 7-6 on penalties after losing the match 1-0. "My heart was nearly out (of my chest), but had high hopes in my team-mates," he said soon after the final whistle. "I was sorry because I couldn't save more than one penalty but at least now we go through to the next round. They took good penalties as well, Roma did. But my team-mates kept their nerves quiet and they showed great maturity. I am proud."

Aston Villa

Aston Villa Martin O'Neill believes Aston Villa's players will reap the benefits of their sunshine break as they prepare for the final push for a Champions League spot. Villa have returned from a five-day trip to Dubai to start the countdown in earnest to Sunday's home Barclays Premier League match with Tottenham Hotspur. The manager said: "When the team are together for more than an overnight stay for a game I think it is almost inevitable that the players bond and get on better. They are living together for a few days and I really think that experience helps the entire team. I felt it was important for us because we wanted to get prepared for this very tough run-in, mentally and physically. We have done some training and enjoyed some sun and the players now feel refreshed. It was vital to regroup, get ourselves together again and now we want to go out and win some games."

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers Midfielder Keith Andrews admitted he had been sad to see former manager Paul Ince ousted in the manner he was but said it had not created a problem. "I've been in football a long time and you see these things happen" he said. "Obviously I had a close affinity with the previous manager, but that's football - people come and go and you've got to dust yourself down and go again. A lot of people might have said it was quite harsh letting the manager go but the chairman made his decision and we have to get on with it." Andrews added: "I certainly hope (I'm making my mark), it's not through lack of effort. I'm totally enjoying it, every minute of it, even though we are down there. But hopefully I can make a few more marks between now and the end of the season."

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers Gretar Steinsson says Bolton Wanderers have to make the most of their remaining five matches at the Reebok Stadium. That starts on Saturday against Fulham, one place and one point above them, and Steinsson said: "It's a long season and the further you go, the harder it gets. Every game is really competitive and when you are playing at home it helps you find that little bit extra. It keeps you going when thousands are cheering for you and we need that from our fans and hopefully they will be there on Saturday."

Chelsea

Chelsea Petr Cech's agent has dismissed reports linking the Chelsea goalkeeper with a summer move to Barcelona. According to Pavel Zika, the club are interested in Cech but he insists the Czech Republic international has no interest in leaving Stamford Bridge for the Nou Camp. "We are aware of the interest from Barca but Petr is very happy at Chelsea and has one of the best contracts possible here," Zika said. "He and his wife are expecting their second child, they really like London and Chelsea wouldn't let him leave easily."

Everton

Everton Louis Saha cannot wait to face his former side Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals. Saha said: "It will be tough. But we can bring quality to the match, we will have chances to go through to the final. But we will have to play hard against a team of United's quality. We will be underdogs against a great team of quality and belief. They do not seem to lose many semi-finals, so it will be one of our hardest games of the season, we all know that. But that is why there is such magic in football. We can do it, we can get to the final even against the best team in the country. It is special and everything is possible. That is why people pay so much money to see such games between the big clubs. We too have the quality and belief to achieve our ambitions, this team knows they are capable of reaching the final."

Fulham

Fulham Roy Hodgson felt Blackburn deserved their 2-1 win over his side on Wednesday evening. "I've got to say I thought Blackburn played with a lot of energy. We were struggling to match that energy," said Hodgson. "There have been a lot of games for us recently and players are beginning to look tired. They've played the long-ball game very well and forced us back. I can't say they didn't deserve to win the game, I can't say that we did enough to win it. We lacked a bit of energy but the lads put up a brave performance. We simply met a Blackburn team with more energy than us, more strength than us and as a result they were able to get the three points which were so vital for them. We'll just have to wait for ours."

Hull City

Hull City Chairman Paul Duffen reckons two wins from the last 10 matches will be enough to secure their Barclays Premier League status. He said: "The win at Fulham took us another step closer to guaranteeing Premier League football next season, and I think 38 points will be enough for us. Two wins and we will be there so, by definition, Newcastle is a massive game for us because it is an opportunity to get half of the points we need."

Liverpool

Liverpool Dirk Kuyt believes the team can draw on their performances against Real Madrid to re-ignite their Barclays Premier League title challenge against leaders Manchester United on Saturday. The foundation for a 5-0 aggregate Champions League last-16 victory over the nine-time European champions was set up by Yossi Benayoun's solitary goal in the Bernabeu a fortnight ago. "This was a great result and performance in the Champions League, but it's also great going into our next game on Saturday," said the Dutchman after the club's 4-0 demolition of Real at Anfield on Tuesday night. "It gives us confidence and we're really looking forward to the weekend now. Man Utd are playing very well - they've had some great results - but we'll see what we can do on Saturday. Of course Liverpool have to win every game but it will be very difficult against a side like Manchester United. It was the same for us when we played Madrid two weeks ago. We will give it a try."

Manchester City

Manchester City Mark Hughes is not convinced the scrutiny on him as Manchester City manager would reduce even if he ended the Blues' 33-year trophy drought by winning the UEFA Cup this season. City entertain Aalborg at Eastlands on Thursday night, their third Danish opponents in a competition they entered as Fair Play winners in the first qualifying round back in July. Victory would see City claim a quarter-final berth, leaving them just a couple of rounds away from a place in Istanbul on 20th May. "I don't see the scrutiny we are under lessening anytime soon," said Hughes. "We must get used to that. "It is about dealing with that pressure and those expectations. As I keep stressing, the expectations some people have for us are a little bit unrealistic. First, we need to become a team that is solid and understands how to win games. We can compete in this league. What we have to do is compete consistently."

Manchester United

Manchester United Nemanja Vidic felt nerves played a part in Manchester United's unconvincing 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League second-round, even though his early goal should have settled the team. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second after half-time, but the Italians had their chances. "We started well and played well until I scored my goal, and then after we looked a little bit nervous," said Vidic. "I agree we played better in Milan without getting the win than we did in this game which we won. Inter had two good chances to score in the first half, which they didn't take, so for the second half we knew we had to play better. The manager told us before the game not to play defensively, to go out and score goals, and we did that. We knew if we conceded then it would have been difficult because Italian teams play tactically very well and it becomes hard to score against them."

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough Gareth Southgate is keeping his fingers crossed over utility man Matthew Bates as he prepares for Saturday's must-win match with Portsmouth. The 22-year-old, a defender by trade, has been a revelation in central midfield in recent weeks. However, he could be needed at the back this weekend with Southgate having been presented with yet more injury problems in the wake of Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Everton. Southgate said: "Matthew is an intelligent footballer and he reads the game well. He is more comfortable in possession than a lot of defenders in terms of receiving the ball. There's a lot to work on and it is very early stages, but certainly, it gives you somebody with a bit more of a defensive mind in there, and that gives a player like Julio Arca a bit more freedom to attack."

Newcastle United

Newcastle United Steve Harper will run out for the biggest match of his Newcastle United career at Hull City on Saturday. The 33-year-old believes the trip to the KC Stadium is more important than anything he has experienced previously in the club's colours. Harper said: "We know how big this game is. Make no mistake, this really is a relegation six-pointer. I said last year before the game against Birmingham at exactly the same stage of the season that it was the biggest game in the club's recent history. Thankfully, that night we got a draw, which kickstarted a run of seven games unbeaten, which ultimately kept us up. And I have got no problem about saying this game at Hull is just as big."

Portsmouth

Portsmouth Peter Crouch will not care about his recent goal drought - as long as the club stay in the Barclays Premier League this season. The 28-year-old England international has not scored in the league since before Christmas but feels the defensive side of his game has helped Pompey earn four points from two matches before losing to Chelsea last week. "I have to get back and make sure we defend from the front. I don't mind doing that," he said. "I'm always confident if I get chances I'll score goals. If we create and I get chances, I can do that. But as long as we win games and stay up I do not mind."

Stoke City

Stoke City Tony Pulis insists his tactics and formation did not lead to the exit of Dave Kitson. The 29-year-old has re-joined former club Reading on loan just eight months after arriving at the Britannia Stadium for a club-record fee of £5.5m. Kitson was often used in a withdrawn role at Stoke, rather than as a main striker, but Pulis said: "Dave's never come to me and spoke about that. He's always been good, he's trained well and done all we've asked of him. We try and make this football club as warm and welcoming as we can, we've worked very hard to do that for Dave."

Sunderland

Sunderland Ricky Sbragia has told Craig Gordon to remain patient as he seeks to regain his place as the club's number one. The 26-year-old Scotland international currently finds himself displaced from the first-team by Hungarian Marton Fulop. Sbragia said: "I would hope it would make Craig mentally strong. I know he is disappointed, and I would expect him to be disappointed." Gordon had earlier said: "I know Marton was very frustrated in the summer when he hadn't had a look-in last season, and now I know how he felt. It's not nice. There is a situation here in that we both want to play, and there is nothing wrong with that. All I can do is focus on doing my job and hopefully I will get my place back as quickly as possible."

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Kevin-Prince Boateng could be forced to return to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season unless they lower their asking price for Borussia Dortmund to buy him. The 22-year-old German midfielder, who was not given a squad number at Spurs at the start of the season, is on loan at the Bundesliga club and has a knee injury that could rule him out for at least a month. "We had wanted to wait until the end of the season to see how things went with Kevin," Dortmund general manager Michael Zorc said. "He is overpriced. He will not be able to show what he can do in the Bundesliga now, so perhaps that will make him cheaper."

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion James Morrison admits West Brom must learn to grind out results and stop conceding stupid goals if they are to have any chance of Barclays Premier League survival. The Scotland midfielder revealed the players and coaching staff had a "frank exchange of views" after watching a video re-run of the 3-1 home reversal by Arsenal. Albion are six points adrift of the safety zone and that gap could be increased over the weekend before they return at West Ham next Monday. Morrison said: "We spent almost two hours going over the Arsenal game to see exactly where we went wrong and how we can put it right. As always, there was a healthy and frank exchange of words, with both the coaching staff and players chipping in. We did a lot of defensive work when we were out in Spain recently but, if you don't take it into the matches, it doesn't count for much. To be fair, we've been working on it for months because it's been our biggest problem this year. I'm sick of talking about it. That's why we're bottom."

West Ham United

West Ham United Gianfranco Zola's men, who are in the hunt for Europa League qualification, were last in action a week ago and their next match is not until Monday, when they host West Bromwich Albion. Centre-back Matthew Upson said: "We are going to recharge the batteries. We have a lot of players who have played nearly every match this season, so it is a good rest and we have a couple of fixtures coming up where we can pick up points."

Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic Former Heerenveen defender Erik Edman has returned money awarded to him as part of his move to Tottenham in 2004 after admitting he made a mistake. The 30-year-old Swede, who currently plays for the Latics, believed he was entitled to a portion of his transfer fee and was granted the money by a court after the Eredivisie club contested the claim. However, he discovered two months ago the club had been right and has now given back the money. Edman, who played for Heerenveen for three years, said: "I was wrong. I was misguided. At that time I didn't know what kind of games are played in the football world. I have made a big mistake and I want to make up for that as much as possible."

Fan Football - by Ross Carpenter

Previous Page (1-20) | Next Page (41-60)