England defensive coach and former All Blacks boss John Mitchell eyes Eddie Jones’ job after the World Cup

• The Kiwi was heralded as the brains behind England’s 32-20 win in Ireland
• The RFU are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to succeed Eddie Jones
• Mitchell, 54, previously sent in his c.v. for the head coach role in 2015 

By

Nik Simon for the Daily Mail

Published:
17:32 EST, 6 February 2019

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Updated:
17:40 EST, 6 February 2019

Defence guru John Mitchell has opened the possibility of extending his contract with England beyond the World Cup.

The Kiwi was heralded as the brains behind England’s defensive dominance in Saturday’s 32-20 win in Dublin. 

The RFU are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to succeed Eddie Jones and Mitchell, 54, previously sent in his c.v. for the head coach role in 2015.

Defence guru John Mitchell was heralded as the brains behind England’s 32-20 win in Ireland

Asked if he would like to stay on at Twickenham, the former All Blacks coach said: ‘What you are saying is a nice thing to think about and clearly I have to think about my family. 

‘At this moment in time I am just really enjoying playing a part and making sure that I am doing my job. That is my most critical focus.

‘There is an ultimate goal at the end of the year. I am sure that if I do my job all those other things will take care of themselves.’

Spirits are high in the Mitchell family. Four days on from England’s famous victory in Dublin, Mitchell’s son, Daryl, made yesterday his debut for New Zealand’s cricket team in their victory over India.

‘It has been seven years of work for the young fella,’ said a teary-eyed Mitchell.

RFU are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to succeed England head coach Eddie Jones

‘My son still thinks I’m a bit of a coach when I talk to him. I think it’s the back-lawn cricket that he probably he still remembers when I changed the rules all the time. Just seeing the helmet on his head with the fern. I think that was the signal that he has finally got the opportunity of playing international cricket. It’s pretty good.’

Mitchell’s focus has now turned to Sunday’s Test against France at Twickenham, where England will aim to build on their defensive display.

The secret behind the defensive cohesion, Mitchell claimed, stems from a concerted effort to build relationships between the players.

‘It makes you more accountable because you won’t want to let your mates down,’ he said. ‘It’s physical. It suits us as English and can be infectious when you get it right. We like to be physical and enjoy being physical. That’s the benchmark and the standard.. The camp in Portugal is a place that creates patience and resilience because it’s not five-star. It is a good environment for connection.’

The squad spent eight days in Vilamoura before the start of the Six Nations – and also enjoyed a team social at the ‘Flightclub’ darts bar in London before their flight.

‘We’ve had ‘We’ve had a real emphasis on being together on and off the field, getting together in little groups off the field and having a good time,’ said centre Henry Slade. ‘We didn’t tend to do that as much before.

‘We had a room, played some darts, a couple of drinks and had a real good time. I checked out with three doubles – I shocked myself! You feel closer to the bloke next to you because you’ve shared experiences off the field. It’s not purely business and work; you’re playing with your mates. It feels like your back at school playing with your mates, who you genuinely want to do well for.’

No 8 Nathan Hughes revealed that 6ft7in Courtney Lawes was the star performer in the darts tournament, saying: ‘He has that long reach… just places the dart on the board!’

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Dele Alli steps up recovery from hamstring injury as Tottenham midfielder begins ball work in Dubai

• Dele Alli has not played for Tottenham since injuring his hamstring on January 20
• He began ball work during his warm weather training camp in Dubai this week
• Alli was expected to be out until March but could return ahead of schedule

By

Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail

Published:
17:30 EST, 6 February 2019

|
Updated:
17:37 EST, 6 February 2019

Dele Alli has taken a significant step towards fully recovering from a hamstring injury after starting ball work during his warm weather training camp in Dubai.

The midfielder has handed Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino a key boost by completing football drills this week in the UAE.

Alli suffered the injury against Fulham last month and it was initially feared he would not return to full training until the start of March.

Spurs star Dele Alli began ball work during his warm weather training camp in Dubai this week

Alli dribbled in between training poles and looked in good shape a fortnight after his last game

But the fact that Alli is kicking a football again will raise hopes that the England international, who has scored seven goals this season, could come back sooner than expected.

He will return to England in the next few days.

With Harry Kane also injured, Tottenham are short of options up front. Son Heung-min has stepped up with some vital goals but Spurs are desperate for their forward duo to return as soon as possible.

Alli arrived in Dubai on Monday with a specially-devised training schedule.

He is accompanied in the Middle East by first-team physio Stephen McAleer and a fitness coach.

Tottenham sent 22-year-old Alli to the Middle East along with two members of fitness staff

Alli was expected to be out until March with a hamstring issue but he may return before then

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Sir Alastair Cook is thinking back to that golden day last summer when he made a century against India in his last Test innings. 

When the Oval crowd rose to him for a prolonged ovation in one of the most emotional and memorable farewells any cricketer can have experienced.

‘All my friends and family were there that day,’ said cricket’s latest knight of the realm.

Sir Alatair Cook says he is enjoying life after retiring from international cricket at the age of 34

Cook retired from international cricket after amassing almost 12,500 runs in 161 Tests

‘They hadn’t come on the first day. Mum and dad, people from my childhood, farmers. You can’t describe it. It was like someone was looking after me.

‘I’m sure the cricketing gods will have payback at some stage but for five days, with Jimmy Anderson getting his record wicket to complete the win, it was perfect.

‘You could say I might have taken that last catch off Jimmy for it to be even more perfect, but I’d have probably dropped it anyway!

‘I look back now and I still can’t really believe it happened, especially as everyone knew that was my last Test. To produce an innings like that and to go out with people thinking you’re a better player than you are is a wonderful goodbye.’

Joe Root chats with his predecessor Cook (right) during a break from Test action last month

He was a player good enough to score almost 12,500 runs in his 161 Tests, with 33 hundreds, and is now having breakfast in St Lucia with Sportsmail. Cook is finally on the other side of the fence, having dipped his toe in the media waters with BBC Radio and The Sunday Times.

‘I was in the press box in Antigua and it struck me how detached I felt from the game,’ said Cook. ‘That was really strange, but in one way you need to be because you have to say what you see without that tunnel vision you have as a player.

‘Jonathan Agnew is a good person to learn off because he’s a brilliant broadcaster and the calmness and clarity with which he does things is a real skill.

‘The challenge of learning this is great. The family farm plays such a big part in my life and I genuinely love going back there. In some ways I’d like to spend every day there, but there would be a big hole in my life if I didn’t stay involved in cricket.

‘I really don’t know what the future holds, but this has made me realise how much I enjoy talking about the game.’

It is a very relaxed Sir Alastair — ‘it feels a bit odd when people call me that’ — who is contemplating a new life with no regrets over the timing of his farewell, aged 33, at a time when he was still clearly good enough to dig deep.

‘It would have been nice to get through to this summer’s Ashes, but unfortunately I couldn’t get there,’ he said. ‘You can’t just hang on to do stuff. The commitment and desire you need to be at the top is extraordinary and I’d been hammered enough times to know this was the time to go.

Cook retired in September after achieving the sixth highest number of Test runs in history

Cook stresses that he doesn’t miss international Test cricket after watching England struggle

‘The India series wasn’t the only reason I retired. It was the culmination of 18 months where things had probably changed in my life. I’d started questioning that absolute dedication and desire, and I’m talking one or two per cent I always needed and had.

‘So it was time to look in the mirror and realise I’d had my lot. To stay at the top you have to be totally driven, but something had changed. It’s hard to pinpoint it, but it had.

‘In some ways it was sad because I was living the dream trying to win games of cricket for England. What better thing can there be than that, but no one plays for ever. I can sit back now and think, “What a way to go”.’

Two weeks after that game at the Oval, Cook’s third child, first son Jack, came along and then he learned of his knighthood. Now he is this year’s overwhelming winner of our Ian Wooldridge Award for sporting excellence and, most importantly, doing things the right way, with the Corinthian spirit the great Woolers always so admired.

Cook continued: ‘The Oval was the bookmark and then to receive a knighthood. I can’t even begin to try to put it in words. It’s such a huge honour to be bestowed on anyone, let alone a bloke from Essex, so I’m very proud. The Wooldridge award will probably be my last honour now!’

He has certainly been thrown in in at the media deep end, watching England’s Antigua horror show, and is hoping for something much better in Saturday’s final Test.

‘There was no desire to go out and bat, that’s for sure,’ he said of watching England suffer. ‘It’s something you forget very quickly.

‘I wouldn’t say it was an unplayable wicket, but it was tricky and there were some balls where you could get hit and you really needed to be up for that challenge. If I’d been there I’m not sure I’d have been 100 per cent on it and if that’s the case you can’t do it.

‘I’m talking about that extra desire, the little bit in the mind that separated me from a lot of people. In that last year or so, I was sneaking back into being a normal cricketer and whenever I tried to battle that I couldn’t find anything to help me.

Cook was rather critical of England’s lack of preparation before first Test with West Indies

The ex-England captain after scoring a century against West Indies in Bridgetown in 2009

‘One ball in the second innings reared at Rory Burns off Kemar Roach. He dropped his hands and played it beautifully and I remembered how much your heart would be going in those situations.

‘Put yourself in his position. He would have been thinking, “That was quick and it could have cleaned me up”. There’s a big difference being in that situation and being the person sat there watching with a cup of tea. You can forget very quickly.’

Cook found it easy to distance himself from former team-mates. ‘I wasn’t sure if it would be awkward with the players, but it wasn’t,’ he said.

‘On pure logistical terms, our hotel was an hour away from the team in Antigua, so I didn’t see much of them.

‘It’s a transition everyone goes through and it’s a nicer one when you’ve pretty much achieved everything you’d like.

‘Without sounding arrogant, I achieved a lot more than I thought I would do.’

He is backing England to hit back here and next summer. ‘The odds of winning 3-0 in Sri Lanka and then what has happened in the two Tests here would have been enormous,’ he said.

‘Of course I feel for Joe Root. As the leader of the team, the pressure when things aren’t going well can be tough. It’s part of the rich tapestry of captaincy, but the bottom line is if they win the Ashes this will be forgotten.

‘At the moment people are giving English cricket a slating, but in eight months they could have won the World Cup and Ashes and then it’s the greatest year ever.

‘West Indies have been far better than people thought they’d be. They’ve got a balanced attack for these conditions and they’ve found a way with the bat. That’s what Test cricket is all about.’

But he knows it is the top order and replacing a certain Alastair Cook that remains England’s biggest problem.

‘It hasn’t just been these two games,’ he said. ‘It has been a number of years now.

‘Certainly some of the pitches we’ve had for Tests in England have made batting in the top order incredibly hard. And whether it’s the balls, the pitches or the time of year matches are played, it’s a similar story in domestic cricket.

England have struggled for openers since Cook retired from international Test cricket

Cook celebrates with close friend Jimmy Anderson on the final day of his last Test last year

‘We’re seeing a generation of cricketers who’ve been brought up on Twenty20, so this perfect storm has developed and it’s a case of, “How do we get out of it?”

‘Players, coaches and administrators have to fight back because it’s becoming increasingly hard at the top and some very good English players want to drop down the order because that’s where you can score runs.

‘So Rory Burns deserves a chance because he has consistently scored runs in the championship as an opener and not just at the Oval, either. He looks the part to me.

‘But we are also in a time where instant success is demanded. You see Joe Denly getting one game on a dodgy wicket after all those years waiting and people say he’s not the man for the role. The selectors have obviously seen something in him, so give him a chance.’

Cook will continue playing for his beloved Essex this year to give something back and simply because he wants to experience county cricket again with his friends.

Let’s say he scores a mountain of runs while England’s top order continue to flounder without him. The clamour for his return for England in an Ashes summer would be intense.

He can see the question coming a mile off and smiles. ‘You can never say never on anything, but I can pretty much say never on this,’ he said. ‘Like anything, you don’t quite know, but at the moment being out of the side has made me a far better player than I ever was! Let’s leave it like that.’ 

‘I don’t want him to take on Neymar’s responsibilities’: PSG boss Thomas Tuchel wary of putting extra pressure on Kylian Mbappe during Brazilian’s injury lay-off

• Neymar will be sidelined until April after breaking a bone in his right foot
• Brazilian star will miss PSG’s Champions League tie with Manchester United
• Manager Thomas Tuchel is wary of piling pressure on Kylian Mbappe
• He says he does not expect 20-year-old to take on Neymar’s responsibilities 

By

Adam Shergold for MailOnline

Published:
01:42 EST, 6 February 2019

|
Updated:
17:06 EST, 6 February 2019

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel doesn’t expect Kylian Mbappe to take on Neymar‘s responsibilities during the Brazilian’s injury absence.

Neymar is likely to be sidelined until April after breaking a bone in his foot during a French Cup tie against Strasbourg last month.

It means the 27-year-old will miss both legs of PSG’s Champions League last-16 tie with Manchester United.

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel is wary of piling too much pressure on Kylian Mbappe during Neymar’s absence with a broken foot

Neymar injured a metatarsal in his right foot during PSG’s cup match against Strasbourg

PSG fixtures 

Ligue 1 unless stated

Wednesday Villefranche (A)

French Cup last-16

Saturday Bordeaux (H)

February 12 Manchester United (A)

Champions League last-16, first leg

February 17 St-Etienne (A)

February 20 Montpellier (H)

February 23 Nimes (H) 

In Neymar’s absence, PSG lost their first league match of the season, 2-1 to Lyon, on Sunday evening.

But Tuchel is wary of piling too much pressure on 20-year-old Mbappe, who has scored 22 goals in 25 matches this season, by changing his role.

‘I usually prefer Kylian to be the finisher – when he’s our last line of attack against the opposing defence,’ Tuchel said.

‘He’s incredibly dangerous because of his pace and his hunger to score goals.

‘I don’t want him to take on Neymar’s responsibilities of providing assists and keeping possession in the last few yards.

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel is wary of loading too much pressure onto 20-year-old Mbappe

The French striker has scored 22 goals in 25 matches for the Parisians so far this season

‘We have players that are able to do it – players who can support Kylian and Edi [Cavani] and provide them with the right pass.

‘Both strikers need to be the finishers, that’s the most important thing.’

PSG return to action on Wednesday with a visit to third division Villefranche in the French Cup.

 

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