Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has admitted he will need to bring more silverware to the club in order to see out the new contract he signed on Friday.

Valverde has committed his future to the club for another season with an option for a further year, which would take him to four years in charge if he remains until the summer of 2021.

Barcelona go into Saturday’s game against Real Valladolid leading rivals Real Madrid by six points in LaLiga with 15 games to go, and Valverde knows his new deal does not reduce the pressure to keep delivering trophies.

Ernesto Valverde accepts that he must deliver more silverware to justify his contract

‘Intentions are always for the best but we know what football is like,’ he said. ‘The results matter. Everything is uncertain. I understand that the club sees the results and trusts more will arrive with me.

‘When we talk about the (contract length) it is because you’ve done well or you’re expected to do well. In any club it’s because things have gone well. In order to get to four years we are obliged to win, to collect titles.

‘It’s the only way to be able to continue, I am clear about that.’

Victory over Valladolid would be a welcome way to celebrate Valverde’s new contract, particularly given Barca have drawn their last two league games to lose momentum at a time when the Champions League round of 16 clash with Lyon and the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Real Madrid are looming.

The Barcelona boss has led Lionel Messi and Co impressively in his tenure so far

‘We have started an important sequence of matches,’ he said. ‘We haven’t forgotten we have drawn the last two games in the league, so now we have four important matches which can be the decisive part of our season.’

Valladolid travel to the Nou Camp just three points above the relegation zone. While few will give them much hope of taking anything from the game, coach Sergio Gonzalez has told his players to approach the game like they would any other.

‘We follow the same methodology, the same planning with the same desire as in other games, even knowing the circumstances and their importance,’ he said. ‘We want to play a good game even if we know its difficulty.’

Gonzalez joked that he would be happy to see Valverde make wholesale changes to his side given the run of fixtures Barca have on the horizon.

Valverde leads Barcelona against Real Valladolid and the hosts are heavy favourites

‘I hope Ernesto Valverde decides to rotate, though we must prepare to face his best players,’ he said.

‘When I was a player I wanted to face the best, but as a coach I would prefer it if they rested (Lionel) Messi.’

He seems unlikely to get his wish given Barcelona will be keen to keep Madrid and everybody else at arm’s length.

‘We have had the usual competitors,’ Valverde said. ‘Real Madrid, Atletico, Valencia, Sevilla…We are not afraid to go first.’

Growing up in a one-parent family and living largely off a diet of frozen food, veganism was the furthest thing from Chris Smalling’s mind.

Now 29-years-old, the Manchester United defender credits it for making him stronger and fitter than ever.

Smalling is the only vegan at United after being converted by his wife Sam, but he revealed that it hasn’t stopped some of his teammates taking his food in the canteen at Carrington.

Chris Smalling has credited his new vegan diet for making him stronger and fitter than ever

He admits it hasn’t stopped some of his colleagues taking his food in the canteen at Carrington

‘A couple of the options are for me and sometimes they’ll be like, “ooh, that looks nice”,’ said Smalling. ‘It might be Thai red curry or something like that. Sometimes half of it is gone.

‘In football, you’re used to everyone eating together off the buffet. I spoke with Mark (Ellison) the nutritionist and the chef (Mike Donnelly). Mike hadn’t cooked much vegan food so there’s a bit of influence from my wife, in terms of her recipes. It became quite easy.

‘I wish I was more educated in food when I was younger because of the importance of it not just in sport but in life.

‘I’m the exact same weight as I was three years ago. We do a lot of testing on our hamstrings and on the bike in the gym, and I’m constantly hitting a lot of personal bests. I know I’m getting stronger and fitter.’

Smalling was speaking at an event at Salford City Academy after becoming a patron of Football Beyond Borders, an education charity based in Brixton which uses the sport to inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Smalling knows from personal experience just how close he came to missing out on a professional career growing up in Chatham, Kent, with his mum Theresa and younger brother Jason after their dad Lloyd passed away when he was only five.

Smalling is the only vegan at Manchester United after being converted by his wife Sam (L)

‘I didn’t come the traditional route,’ said Smalling who was playing non-league football with Maidstone United before joining Fulham in 2008.

‘I’ve had many setbacks. It’s about kids having a dream and seeing a pathway to realise that. Hopefully I can relate to them all.’

The England centre-back is expected to be in the United line-up for Monday’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Chelsea after returning from two months out with a foot injury at Fulham last weekend.

Despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first defeat as caretaker manager at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, Smalling admits the mood around the club has been transformed.

‘You can see the confidence levels,’ he added. ‘There’s obviously more belief now as a team.

‘Even my own family and friends, and people who stop you in the street, there is that feel good factor. It’s going through the team and that translates to the fans.

‘Monday is a huge game. If we can win a trophy and get in that top-four, I think we can consider it an improvement considering how the first half of the season went.’

The England defender returned from two months out with a foot injury at Fulham last weekend

With Solskjaer in situ, the injury behind him and a new three-year contract signed in December, Smalling’s club career is looking up.

However, his England prospects have faded since Gareth Southgate took over the national team and left him out of the World Cup squad last summer.

Smalling has only played twice under Southgate who claimed he has better ball-playing centre-backs at his disposal.

‘I was quite surprised,’ Smalling admitted. ‘I played a couple of games for Gareth before that happened and the feedback I got was very good.

‘Whether I agree or don’t, at the end of the day I play for one of the best clubs in Manchester United and generally when I’m fit I play. Now it’s a case of I keep playing for United and see what happens.’

Sri Lanka was 83-3 chasing 304 to win the first test after racing through South Africa to take five wickets for just eight runs on Friday.

That whirlwind period, when South Africa crashed from 251-5 to 259 all out in its second innings, gave an inexperienced Sri Lanka team a sight at a surprise victory when the Proteas appeared on course to set a far more daunting target.

But South Africa ensured a fast-moving, low-scoring test where bowlers have dominated continued in the same vein: Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, and Duanne Olivier all struck to dim Sri Lanka’s hopes before play ended early for bad light on the third day at Kingsmead in Durban.

Left-arm spinner Lasith Ambuldeniya, on debut for Sri Lanka, prompted South Africa’s collapse

Sri Lanka needs another 221 runs with seven wickets left at a ground where there have been only four previous fourth-innings totals in excess of 300 in nearly 100 years of test cricket.

The last time it happened at Kingsmead was a decade ago.

Left-arm spinner Lasith Ambuldeniya, on debut for Sri Lanka, prompted South Africa’s sudden collapse and finished with 5-66 in the second innings and six wickets in the match. Seamer Vishwa Fernando had 4-71 and eight in the match in just his fourth test.

They shared those five quick wickets after lunch as Sri Lanka threatened to end South Africa’s three-year winning run at home by taking a 1-0 lead in the short two-test series.

Kagiso Rabada (pictured), Vernon Philander, and Duanne Olivier all struck on day three

South Africa’s second-innings collapse also came after the ball was changed because of a white paint mark on it from hitting one of the crease lines, adding a tinge of controversy.

Ambuldeniya is one of two Sri Lankans on debut at Kingsmead. The tourists also have a new captain in Dimuth Karunaratne. Sri Lanka has lost its last three series while South Africa’s 3-0 sweep against Pakistan last month was its seventh straight series win at home and took it to No. 2 in the rankings behind India. Sri Lanka is ranked No. 6.

Sri Lanka has held its own, though, despite pre-series predictions of a one-sided contest.

Ambuldeniya started South Africa’s slump by bowling Philander for 18 soon after lunch. Fernando snared the crucial wicket of Faf du Plessis, lbw for 90 when the South Africa captain decided not to play at a ball that jagged back and hit him plumb in front of the stumps.

Fernando snared the crucial wicket of Faf du Plessis, lbw for 90 when he decided not to play

South Africa’s last four wickets went down in less than four overs.

Earlier, du Plessis and Quinton de Kock put on 96 for the fifth wicket as South Africa appeared to take control. Ambuldeniya broke that partnership as well.

Du Plessis then put on 60 with Philander and those two stands involving the skipper, who was returning from a one-test ban for over-rate offenses, looked likely to be the difference between the teams.