FA Cup Fifth Round: Blackburn Rovers 4 Stoke City 1: Blessed with a proud striking heritage featuring the likes of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, Blackburn supporters can now heap their adoration upon Norwegian international Josh King after an extraordinary 19-minute hat-trick.

The public utterances of Giovanni Trapattoni might have had us all scratching our heads from time to time but there was always at least one moment of piercing clarity to his eve of match press conferences, with the Italian happy to name his team a good 24 hours before kick-off.

So it's official. Two men from opposite ends of Ireland have been tasked with working together to deliver Irish soccer to new heights. In this article Kieran Shannon asks if the Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane combination is destined for success.

Stoke 1 Southampton 1

Former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson does not rule out the possibility of the Hoops reaching the last 16 of the Champions League again this season.

Liverpool XI 0 Glasgow Celtic XI 1

When, and not if, the offer of managing in England is dangled in front of Neil Lennon, it’s the darker days of his first season in the Celtic hot seat he’ll take into account.

Celtic will seek “clarification” from UEFA over referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco’s performance in the 3-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus at Parkhead on Tuesday night, manager Neil Lennon has revealed.

Neil Lennon has to rally his troops for a “miracle” trip to Turin following Celtic’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus at Parkhead last night.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is savouring the prospect of another two classic encounters against Juventus after being paired with the Italian champions and Serie A leaders in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon savoured the prospect of another two classic encounters against Juventus after being paired with the Italian champions and Serie A leaders in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Last summer at a sports conference in Liverpool’s John Moores University, Chelsea’s director of football operations, Mike Forde, recounted a conversation he had with Billy Beane of Moneyball fame.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson described today’s 6-1 home rout at the hands of Manchester City as “our worst ever day”.

Neil Lennon claims a report linking him to Motherwell striker John Sutton was “speculation”.

FERNANDO TORRES may have played only two games for Chelsea since a £50m (€58m) transfer from Liverpool but such is modern football’s insatiable desire for instant gratification that already the dreaded words ‘Andriy Shevchenko’ are being whispered nervously around Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool’s decision to hand club legend Kenny Dalglish the reins until the end of the season following Roy Hodgson’s exit brings the Scot into direct combat with Alex Ferguson as the Reds travel to face Manchester United in the FA Cup tomorrow.

THERE’S a moment every summer holiday when the brain snaps off and, like Tennyson’s Lotos Eaters, leaves you isolated in “a land in which it always seems afternoon... where all things always seem the same.”

The Football Association of Ireland must do the decent thing and allow former Derry City player James McClean to sign for Lincoln City immediately, according to top Irish agent Gerry Carlile.

ROY KEANE remains gloomier than a month of wet Sundays. The Sunderland manager had caused ripples of anxiety to spread through Wearside last week when lamenting his team’s winning, if unconvincing, performance in the Carling Cup against Northampton and this frustrating defeat drew another barrage of moans.

Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz has been named Barclays Player of the Month for December, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger handed the manager’s accolade.

Injury-plagued Aston Villa striker Chris Sutton will delay deciding whether to retire until later this summer.

Gordon Strachan has assured Celtic fans performances will improve as his players adapt to the pressures of playing for the club.

Henrik Larsson may have played for some of the best clubs in the world but he insists Celtic are the team who will always hold a special place in his heart.

Martin O’Neill has insisted Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner is “not expecting overnight miracles” as he pledged an improvement in the club’s fortunes next season.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will delay any discussions with Chris Sutton on his future until the end of the season as the striker struggles to recover from blurred vision.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has insisted Arsenal’s season has “not been a failure” despite them suffering treble cup agony in the past fortnight.

Aston Villa striker Chris Sutton should know the extent of his eye problem in the next few days after undergoing a third and final set of tests.

Henrik Larsson claims the current Manchester United team cannot be classed as a great side until they start landing the game’s biggest prizes.

Chris Sutton’s hopes of returning to action in the immediate future have been dashed, with the Aston Villa striker showing no improvement to his blurred vision.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has played down speculation that striker Chris Sutton’s career could be in jeopardy because of his current eye problem.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill completed his fourth transaction during the January transfer window with a couple of minutes to spare when he signed Celtic striker Shaun Maloney in a £1m (€1.5m) deal.

Watford striker Ashley Young has sealed his £9.65m (€15m) move to Aston Villa.

Watford forward Ashley Young will today finally seal his £9.65m (€14.7m) move to Aston Villa.

Martin O’Neill believes he has “earned the right” to make big-money signings as Watford striker Ashley Young prepares to become Aston Villa’s record signing today.

CELTIC midfielder, Aiden McGeady admits he was relieved manager, Gordon Strachan allowed him to stay on long enough in Celtic’s 5-1 Bank of Scotland Premier League win over St Mirren on Saturday to grab a goal.

Aston Villa striker Chris Sutton will be sidelined for six weeks with concussion and blurred vision.

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will assess the fitness of key midfielder Gavin McCann before choosing his side for the St Stephen's Day clash at White Hart Lane.

Two-goal Cristiano Ronaldo's virtuoso performance and a superb strike from Paul Scholes helped put Manchester United's Barclays Premiership title challenge back on track against Aston Villa.

Aston Villa 0 Bolton 1

The Football Association will study video footage of last night’s match between Sheffield United and Aston Villa at Bramall Lane after striker Juan Pablo Angel appeared to elbow Blades captain Chris Morgan.

Sheffield United 2 Aston Villa 2

Sheffield United 2 Aston Villa 2