CLAUDIO RANIERI’S future as Chelsea manager looks considerably brighter after the Italian held a “very good meeting” with the club’s officials.

MANCHESTER CITY defender Richard Dunne has been added to the Republic of Ireland squad to face Canada on Tuesday following the withdrawals of Newcastle United’s Andy O’Brien, Sunderland’s Gary Breen and Liverpool’s Steve Finnan.

LIVERPOOL chief executive Rick Parry has slammed reports linking the club with a move for Porto coach Jose Mourinho.

Tottenham 1 West Ham 1

RIO FERDINAND is set to argue he was denied an opportunity to take a drugs test when he launches his defence against an FA misconduct charge in Bolton next week.

BLACKBURN ROVERS’ midfielder, Steven Reid, last night emphasised the important role that Ireland’s top internationals Roy Keane and Damien Duff can play in the development of the many young players now being introduced to international football.

THE Premiership title race has not even reached its halfway stage and already the mind games have begun.

PAUL SCHOLES is out of Manchester United's next three games just as Alex Ferguson is able to name his first-choice strike force again.

CHELSEA striker Eidur Gudjohnsen insisted that Arsenal will again be his side's main title rivals this season, following their opening victory against Manchester United.

SVEN-Goran Eriksson argued his innocence yesterday as he gave evidence to the legal team investigating the controversy which has rocked the English Football Association.

LIVERPOOL yesterday won the right to defend their Champions League trophy next season but UEFA’s decision to make Rafael Benitez’s side play six qualifying matches led to accusations that they are treating the Reds with “contempt.”

MANCHESTER UNITED begin the defence of their Premiership title with a home game against Bolton on the opening day of the new season.

PETER KENYON’S imminent boardroom transfer to Chelsea has been read as a signal that Roman Abramovich is intent on challenging Manchester United’s supremacy on the commercial front as well as on the pitch.

RIO FERDINAND last night spoke of his devastation at being left out of the England squad to face Turkey on Saturday – a repercussion of the Manchester United defender’s failure to attend a drugs test.

NEWCASTLE boss Bobby Robson yesterday launched a fightback after chairman Freddy Shepherd’s criticism of the under-achieving Magpies players.

BRIAN MCBRIDE, Barry Hayles and Luis Boa Morte booked Fulham a trip to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals with the goals which sunk West Ham in the fifth round replay at Upton Park.

FC PORTO lived up to their billing as potential Champions League winners with a convincing win over French champions Lyon in the first leg of their quarter-final last night.

THEO PAPHITIS insists tomorrow’s FA Cup final is a chance for Millwall to reinvent themselves in a new image and leave the days of football violence well and truly behind.