Under-pressure Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce has pleaded with the club’s long-suffering fans to get behind his team.

Newport Gwent Dragons 22 Leinster 23

Michael Owen will not be rushed back from injury to resurrect England’s faltering Euro 2008 qualification campaign.

Pakistan cricketers at the centre of the Bob Woolmer murder mystery continued their brief stay in London today.

David Beckham’s ankle injury is threatening to cast a shadow over what should be a fairytale ending to the former England captain’s Real Madrid career.

Celtic will face a nervous few days before they find out if they have a case to answer following the controversial ending to their Champions League win over AC Milan at Parkhead on Wednesday night.

Jose Mourinho admits he will never be close friends with Rafael Benitez but claims their feud is over.

Newcastle claimed a fine 1-0 win in Palermo to move to within touching distance of a place in the third round of the UEFA Cup.

Bob Geldof and U2 frontman Bono are among a near-record 191 nominations for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

Fulham 2 Blackburn 1

Arsene Wenger insisted his public feud with Jose Mourinho was in the past as he revealed he would shake the Chelsea manager’s hand after their clash at Highbury this weekend.

Leinster 17 Munster 7

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has denied he is a “diver” after being accused of feigning a foul during the 2-0 victory over Portsmouth on Saturday.

Alex McLeish refused to concede he has taken charge of his final Bank of Scotland Premier League game as manager of Rangers as the club slipped further into crisis.

Birmingham regained their pride and picked up a precious point in their bid to stay in the Barclays Premiership against the champions elect at St Andrews.

Turkey’s sports minister accused FIFA of leaning too heavily on president Sepp Blatter’s version of events and vowed to challenge the severe punishment doled out after violence marred November’s World Cup play-off against Switzerland.

French President Jacques Chirac today urged immediate negotiations between the government and students and unions to defuse escalating anger over a new labour law that sparked nationwide marches and clashes with police.

Villarreal 2 Everton 1 (Villarreal win 4-2 on aggregate)

Chelsea 4 West Brom 0

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden has been filled with “so much confidence” in his team by their reaction to Saturday’s Twickenham humbling.