Preston fans booed Craig Brown after their 1-0 defeat in the Championship against Sheffield United on Friday night. Brown looked visibly shaken as he left the dug-out to chants of 'Brown Out, Brown Out'. Pressure is mounting as the Lillywhites have taken only four points from their first four games, and sold leading striker Ricardo Fuller to Portsmouth last week. ‘I heard the displeasure,’ confessed Brown. ‘The reaction is because they are desperately disappointed. I ’m as frustrated as them’
Northern Ireland count on Premierleague duo
Motherwell’s Stephen Craigan and Colin Murdock of Hibernian are set to be included in Northern Ireland's squad for their opening World Cup qualifier against Poland next month. Both featured against Switzerland in Zurich in midweek, and manager Lawrie Sanchez is likely to keep faith with a squad that has reversed fortunes, having gone unbeaten in their last six matches. ‘Confidence is a big thing and the players are getting it together, believing they can win,’ said Sanchez.
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‘Everyone wants to be involved in the World Cup campaign,’ said Craigan who should feature against Poland on September 4 and Wales at the Millenium Stadium on September 8
Nacho will not be goal greedy
Nacho Novo scored what might be a vital away goal in Rangers' 2-1 first-leg defeat against CSKA Moscow. But as much as he would like to be the hero in the return leg at Ibrox on Wednesday night, he is happy to put the team ahead of personal glory in this week’s return leg.
‘Any goal would be good if it is a winner for us,’ he says. ‘If I scored it, it would be my best goal, the most important goal of my career. But if I don't score, I'll be happy if it's Dado (Prso) or Stefan (Klos). The important thing is to win the match and get into the Champions League. That would be good for the club, for the supporters and for me personally’
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Talents rub off on Quashie Nigel
Quashie says playing with England stars Paul Merson and Teddy Sheringham at Portsmouth inspired him to become a Scotland international. The 26-year-old midfielder won his third cap against Hungary and was one of the few Scotland players to emerge with credit. ‘I have got nothing but admiration for Paul Merson,’ said Quashie. ‘He was a fantastic guy, he would do anything for you. Teddy Sheringham was fantastic, too. I had to adjust my game to suit these sort of players because they are the sort you would do anything for on the field knowing they have got that ability’
Williamson leads Plymouth to second spot
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Bobby Williamson was happy as Plymouth Argyle defeated Sunderland 2-1 at Home Park to maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Paul Wotton, the Plymouth captain, opened the scoring after 53 seconds with a free kick from an acute angle, and Stevie Crawford, the former Dunfermline striker, made it 2-0 before half-time. Marcus Stewart pulled one back for Sunderland, but the result moves Plymouth level with Wigan at the top of the Championship table, with goal difference separating the sides. Wigan beat Brighton 3-0 at home, with Nathan Ellington scoring twice. Pre-season favourites Leicester City were jeered off after a 1-0 defeat at home to Watford, their second successive defeat. QPR lost 2-0 at home to Derby County, despite news that Dunga, Brazil’s World Cup-winning captain of 1994, is among a consortium buying a stake in the club
Warnock backs striker to end Berti’s blues
Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock has called on Berti Vogts to give Andy Gray a chance ahead of what he sees as a lacklustre Scottish strike force. Gray scored the only goal of United’s 1-0 defeat of Preston on Friday night, just 48 hours after warming the bench during Scotland’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Hungary.
‘I thought the Scotland strikers were quite disappointing (against Hungary),’ said Warnock. ‘If Berti Vogts was watching the game at Preston, then Andy has got to have an opportunity soon with Scotland’
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Juanjo to remain grounded
Having scored his first goal for his new club, Inverness, last weekend, Juanjo launched into his customary somersault routine to the delight of the 'home' fans at Pittodrie. But there is one team the Spaniard will not be unleashing his famous gymnastics against. ‘I won't do them against Hearts,’ he says. ‘I really enjoyed my time there and it wouldn't be right to do that in front of all the people who used to support me’
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Stan feared he wouldn’t be the man
Stan Varga admits he wondered if he had blown his chance at Celtic when they lost 1-0 to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup on his debut last year. ‘I don’t want the same result as the last time,’ said the Slovakian ahead of Celtic’s trip to Pittodrie today. ‘I had a great debut (for Sunderland) against Arsenal and then everything went wrong. In Scotland, I had a bad debut but after that it has gone the other way. It was in my mind that my chance had gone that night though’