
Robinson on eyeing a career high, his toughest season & job speculation
Stephen Robinson has been speaking to the media before St Mirren's final-day Premiership trip to Celtic.Here are the key points from the Buddies boss: Robinson says leading St Mirren to European qualification this season would be the greatest achievement of his managerial career.With three players having had their contracts terminated because of separate court cases, Robinson says it's been the most difficult season he's experienced with about 30 years' worth of challenges in one campaign.Robinson has described stories linking him with managerial jobs at Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers as just "paper talk".He insists he's had no contact from any other clubs and is trying to build the St Mirren squad for next season.St Mirren - who can qualify for Europe if they better Dundee United's result against Aberdeen - will go to Celtic Park on 'trophy day' with a positive mindset and nothing to lose.Robinson says playing Celtic on their home turf is the hardest challenge his side could face and all the "small margins" that can determine the outcome will have to go the Buddies' way.The Buddies boss is till trying to tie down three or four players for next season, but Caolan Boyd-Munce will move on after rejecting a new deal.
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Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Emma Raducanu sparks injury concern after suffering ANOTHER back problem on the eve of the grass-court season - as former British No1 shares 'pretty low expectations' for Queen's
Emma Raducanu has raised injury concerns on the eve the grass-court season after admitting that she continues to have issues with her lower back and fears that her body may not hold up over the next the month. The former US Open champion had suffered back spasms during her Australian Open preparations at the beginning of the year, before being troubled by a recurrence in Strasbourg against Danielle Collins last month. But the issue could yet colour her time on the turf, with the former British No1 disarmingly open about her 'pretty low' expectations ahead of the inaugural WTA 500 event at The Queen's Club this week. Raducanu shared that after taking two days off after her second-round defeat in Paris to Iga Swiatek, her preparations on grass took a 'small interruption' when she suffered another back spasm. 'I can't really predict the future, how it's going to be,' Raducanu said when asked about how confident she felt with her body. 'I've been managing my back for the last few weeks now, and it's something that comes and goes. 'Overall, I just have to manage what I can take care of when these things happen, I just need to deal with it and just keep doing the right things. The player will feature at the revamped Queen's this week but has suffered another injury recurrence in the build-up 'It can be frustrating. I think when I was playing in Strasbourg in my second-round match, it definitely hindered me, and first round in Paris that I got through. 'And I think that just having to manage it, knowing that it keeps coming back (is frustrating). 'But I try not let it get to me, because I think I have a pretty good feel of what to do and how to manage it (when it happens). It does take a few days out, but all I can do is kind of deal with what's in front of me.' Despite the looming concern of injury however, Raducanu will take part in both the singles and the doubles events, teaming up with British No1 Katie Boulter for the first time in her career. Raducanu admitted that she was 'excited' to play with her Billie Jean King Cup team-mate, but hoped that Boulter might 'just tell (her) what to do' due to her inexperience in the discipline. But the 22-year-old was keen to keep expectations low across the formats, despite the lure of winning her maiden WTA singles title in front of a home crowd in west London. 'Of course you want to win this tournament, like every tournament, but especially when it's at home,' Raducanu continued. 'But my expectations are pretty low, because I played points for the first time today, and I've had maybe two or three days on the grass school, so it's not been much. 'But I just have to take it as it goes. I know that I'm doing what I can, and I've dealt with everything as best as I can.' As she starts her journey in west London, Raducanu will at least be able to call upon a familiar face, with her former coach Nick Cavaday seen practicing with the Briton on Sunday. Cavaday was forced to take a step back from working with the player after the Australian Open for health reasons, but Raducanu was delighted to share that she can start to call upon his support on home soil. 'I'm happy to see him healthy, first of all,' Raducanu said. 'It's been a long time since we were last on court together in Australia, and I think obviously, Mark (Petchey, her current coach) is in Paris commentating. Nick was around, and it was nice to just have a few days with him.' Raducanu also refused to be drawn on a discussion on equal pay in the men's and women's game, days after the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced that they will be committing to equal prize money at Queen's and at Eastbourne by 2029, as well as awarding a record-high prize pot this year for both events. 'I think in a lot of the WTA events, the prize money is definitely different to the women's. At the Slams and the Masters, it's the same, but you know, the week-to-week events, it is lower,' Raducanu said. 'It is there is obviously a big difference, and I'm sure a lot of players will, say their piece on it, but I just prefer not to kind of get involved and just whatever the situation is. I'll kind of roll with it, but I'm never really gonna take a stand, either way. 'I don't feel like I really am playing for money,' Raducanu said. 'Of course, I need to sustain my team, which is extremely expensive. 'And with my kind of profile, coaches and team members know that, and so it is a very expensive sport, but it's not my main motivation when I play.'


BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Yengi ready for 'long-term' project at Aberdeen
Kusini Yengi says being part of the Aberdeen "project" in European competition was what drew him to 26, has become the Dons' fourth summer signing after leaving English Championship side Portsmouth at the end of his Australia striker revealed a conversation with manager Jimmy Thelin sold the move north of the border."I'm looking forward to playing here for several years," Yengi said. "The manager and staff have all been very positive and their enthusiasm was one of the main reasons I chose to come here."I loved the project that was pitched to me. What the manager and coaches want to achieve and what they stand for. Where they think they can utilise me as a player to help the club, so I was very excited."Every kid dreams of playing European football and playing for big clubs like Aberdeen so I am very excited to play in those competitions and represent Aberdeen."


Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter to form doubles dream team at Queen's
Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu are to play doubles together for the first time in a British dream team at Queen's this week. British No 1 Boulter has confirmed that the pair plan to team up as women return to Queen's for the first time in more than 50 years. They will join forces alongside their commitments in the singles draw in order to maximise court time, as the grass season gets under way at the prestigious West Kensington club. 'I think myself and Emma, we've been wanting to play for a while now,' Boulter said on Sunday. 'I think we've talked about it a lot of times, and unfortunately, it just hasn't quite happened for various reasons. I think [for the] first week on grass, to get a couple more matches is super important. 'I think we were actually here at Queen's, practising on the clay, and we decided we thought we'd come back and play on the grass together. 'It'll be extremely special. Obviously, she's a great player, and I'm looking forward to having the first of many more.' Boulter, 28, and Raducanu, 22, have been neck-and-neck for the British No 1 spot this year, with the former set to move to a world ranking of No 34 on Monday and the latter just three spots behind her at No 37. Their campaigns at Queen's therefore will be hugely influential in their attempts to secure a ranked seeding for Wimbledon next month, which will go to the top 32 seeds. Raducanu faces a tough ask at Queen's though, having been drawn in the same half as top seed Zheng Qinwen, the reigning Olympic champion and world No 7. Should she progress from an opening round tie against a qualifier, Raducanu will come up against Barbora Krejcikova, last year's Wimbledon champion. Boulter will also face a qualifier in the first round with a potential meeting in the second round against fifth seed Diana Shnaider. The pair will then team up in the doubles to take on the Chinese duo of Wu Fang-Hsien Wu and Jiang Xinyu, with a potential meeting with fellow British team Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal on the cards. Other British players to have secured wildcards are Kartal, Burrage and Francesca Jones, who will all feature in the first women's championship at Queen's Club since 1973.