MANAGER Rafael Benitez may be turning his attention to winning the Champions League for a second time in three seasons, but he is intent on making sure Liverpool are genuine Premiership contenders next term.

SOFT furnishings from Brown Thomas; €2,116, a swanky new conservatory: €12,000; a sympathy surge after a sad-eyed statement when you’re sliding in the polls: Priceless.

MICHAEL OWEN should be fit to play in England’s B international against Albania on May 25 despite suffering mild concussion in Newcastle’s 1-1 draw at Watford.

MARTIN JOL believes the fifth-placed finish in the Premiership is the best season for the club in 20 years – but has targeted more improvement next season.

AIRLINES have pushed up the price of flights between Ireland and England by up to 290% in the days after the Premiership football fixtures were unveiled.

CARLOS TEVEZ will fly to Britain on Tuesday to undergo a medical at Old Trafford with a view to completing his transfer to Manchester United.

THE Premiership is set to test Hawk-eye technology in football with a view to remove doubts over goal-line decisions, the chief of the company that makes the product has said.

PORTUGAL winger Nani has passed a medical at Manchester United and now just needs international clearance before joining the Premiership champions.

BY the time you read this, David Beckham should have made his much-hyped comeback for England against Brazil at Wembley last night and you will know whether it was (a) the greatest resurrection since Lazarus or (b) the most pointless second coming since The Eagles got back together.

PLAYERS’ wages in the Premiership spiralled by 9% last year and finance experts predict the bumper new TV rights package will see the first £200,000 (€294,000) a week footballer within three years.

TOTTENHAM still appear to be winning the race to sign Wales left-back Gareth Bale from Southampton.

CLAUDE MAKELELE believes Chelsea still have a squad capable of winning the Champions League – though whether he will be around to part of that success remains to be seen.

FRESH doubt has been cast over Manchester United’s pre-season visit to Malaysia following the discovery of “new information” which prevents the Red Devils playing in the country without official approval from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

BRYAN ROBSON will make banishing the pain of relegation his top priority as he gets to grips with the challenge of immediately returning Sheffield United to the top flight.

CHELSEA have confirmed that midfielder Steve Sidwell has agreed to join the club on a free transfer from July 1.

STEVEN GERRARD has challenged motor-mouth AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso to “‘stop me if you can”.

AC MILAN talisman Kaka is considered by many to be the world’s best player but the Brazil international believes Liverpool striker Peter Crouch could be the dangerman in tomorrow’s Champions League final in Athens.

MANCHESTER UNITED last night appeared to be closing in on a deal to sign Owen Hargreaves after Bayern Munich admitted the England midfielder was leaving them.

CHELSEA remain on course with the long-term plans of Roman Abramovich, but chief executive Peter Kenyon admits conquering the Champions League is essential to reaching the next level.

Sunderland striker Dwight Yorke has backed Roy Keane to make a splash in the Barclays Premier League as he prepares for his second season in management.