O'Leary out for 'three to four' months
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Scottish Sun
22 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘I owe certain pundits an apology' – David Martindale makes major admission to Celtic hero Chris Sutton
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DAVIE MARTINDALE admits Chris Sutton was right to slag off Livingston's plastic pitch. The sheepish Lions boss only realised how bad the old surface had become when their new pitch was laid a few weeks ago. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Livi boss David Martindale Credit: Willie Vass 2 Chris Sutton was very critical of the pitch Credit: Kenny Ramsay Now Martindale is hopeful that the club's new MX Elite surface will be a hit with both his side and opponents as they return to the Premiership. He said: 'I owe certain media pundits a wee bit of an apology and maybe the SPFL. 'I owe certain parts of the media an apology for the last two years and I'll explain why. 'Chris Sutton had a bit of a go about the park. Do you know what? I now agree with him. 'When the pitch got put down in 2018 I was the one constant that has always been here. 'I never saw the deterioration in the pitch, really. 'I had a bit of a go at the SPFL at the tail end of last year too, saying I couldn't believe they were telling us we're not getting any Premiership football on that pitch. 'Now that we've got a new surface, I need to apologise because I was wrong. 'The most senior players here who have played or been everywhere, they are all coming to me absolutely glowing about our new surface. 'Did I still think the park we had last year was better than some grass parks I've played on? Yes, 100 per cent. I'm not going into my work relegated, says defiant Livingston boss David Martindale as they're left TEN points adrift 'But can I see the pundits and media gripes about it previously? I would agree with them. 'I was in here and I was working on it, so it was hard for me to see the wood for the trees. I genuinely believed the last couple of years our surface was OK. 'I was wrong in that assertion.' Martindale hopes the zippy new pitch could also help his team avoid being shown last on the TV highlights. He added: 'There was a lazy narrative with us previously — big strong, physical Livingston. 'You would see three minutes on Sportscene, and generally we would be last on. 'But I'm not having a go at it. Moment David Martindale swarmed by Livingston fans as he celebrates dramatic comeback with punters during pitch invasion 'That side of it is dictated by your fan base, isn't it? 'We were generally going to be the last on in the programme. 'Our last year in the Premiership was probably more ten bodies behind the ball, a wee bit more direct. 'But now we play a different shape to what we played the last couple of years. 'We actually want teams to come and press us now, but you have still got to find a way to win games. 'I'll be doing that every Saturday, but sticking as much to the basic fundamentals we played last year, and that we coached in the Championship. 'It's essential we don't deviate too far from that.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Brady queries Rooney's 'work ethic' at Birmingham
NFL legend Tom Brady has questioned Wayne Rooney's attitude during the ex-England captain's tenure as manager of Birmingham City, where Brady is a minority a new Amazon Prime documentary series, due to air on Friday, seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady tells colleagues: "I'm a little worried about our head coach's work ethic," before adding: "I mean, I don't know, I don't have great instincts on that."Brady, who also calls Blues players "lazy and entitled" in the series, made his comments about Rooney following a visit to the club's training ground in November conversations between the former quarterback and then manager Rooney appear awkward. In one exchange, the ex-Everton and Manchester United striker tells his employer about some of the cultural problems he perceives at the club."Why they're playing in the Championship and not the Premier League," Rooney says, "is because... we've all passed a ball, kicked the ball and run, but it's a focus, concentrated for 90 minutes."In scenes that follow, Brady is filmed watching a training session, saying: "We've got a long road ahead."The retired quarterback - widely considered the best player in NFL history - became a minority owner in the club in August 2023, following a takeover the previous month by Knighthead Capital Management LLC, co-founded by financier Tom club were relegated to League One in the first year under their new ownership after going through seven managers in 10 months after Brady arrived in 2023, manager John Eustace was controversially replaced by Rooney, with the Blues sitting sixth in the Championship. However, with the club then plummeting to 20th in the table, Rooney only lasted 83 days in charge at St Andrew's. At the time, Rooney said that he did not feel 13 weeks was "sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed". During the series, Blues fan Paul Collins speculates that the appointment had been based on a desire by the ownership to hire "one of the most recognisable English footballers of the last generation" in order to "put a load of eyes on Birmingham City".Collins asks: "What qualifies Wayne to manage Birmingham City? Nothing."Brady also reflects on the owners' disastrous first season in charge."There was some good advice that I got that was like, 'listen, don't go in there and make these big, sweeping changes - you guys have time'," he said."And of course we make sweeping changes." Relegated players 'lazy and entitled' - Brady Relegation from the Championship at the end of 2023-24 meant Birmingham dropped out of English football's top two tiers for only the third time in their the series, Brady reflects on where things went wrong, blaming the players."Well we've already changed the coach, so it's really the players because the coach doesn't go out there and put the ball in the goal," he says. "They were lazy, they were entitled and when you're lazy and entitled, you don't have much of a chance to succeed."We've got to change all the people that are associated with losing, so I think this summer there's going to be a lot of people gone."That summer, the club invested £30m in transfers, an unprecedented figure for League following year, Birmingham broke the Football League record for most points in a season, finishing top of League One with a tally of 111. Brady struggles to find the Blues' training ground During one scene, on his way to visit Birmingham's training ground, Brady's manager Ben Rawitz jokes about the NFL legend struggling to locate the club's Elite Performance and Innovation Centre on a map."That's the owner right there, he doesn't know where his training facility is," Rawitz says, later comparing the facilities to a "high school".In another scene, during a separate visit to the city, Brady asks a colleague "What's the other team here?", following up by asking "is Aston Villa in the Premier League?". Ambition 'bigger' than Wrexham's - Wagner There are comparisons throughout the series to fellow Championship club Wrexham, who have enjoyed three consecutive promotions since the Welsh club's £2m takeover in February 2021 by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob dismisses the idea that the two clubs should be considered in the same bracket."They've done a spectacular job at bringing attention to a small club," he says."I think what we have here is a club that's already a very big club and so, from our perspective, it's a bit different. The ambitions for us in the context of what we'll build is bigger than what they'll do at Wrexham."In a separate scene, he says: "Our target's not Wrexham. Our target is to play Premier League football against Villa."
The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘That's f***ing stupid' – Tom Brady snaps at Birmingham aide in row about how David Beckham should be treated
DAVID BECKHAM gave Tom Brady a lesson in English football fans' banter when he watched Birmingham take on Wrexham. The England and Manchester Unite d legend was a special guest at St Andrew's as the two teams clashed in League One last September. 4 4 NFL hero Brady, part-owner of Championship club Birmingham, sat with Beckham as the Blues won 3-1. And the two feature in a fly-on-the-wall documentary Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues that drops on Amazon Prime on Thursday. Beckham, 50, tells Brady: 'Your fans are singing about sheep s***gers — that's what they say about Welsh people!' The two have a clear bond — which is shown in the second of five episodes charting the American's involvement with Birmingham over the past two seasons. Ex-New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady, who won a staggering seven Super Bowls, has huge respect for the six-time Prem-winner. Before the game, Brady suggests to co-owner Tom Wagner that they organise a gift bag with a club sweater, hoodie, scarf and hat for the 115-cap ex-England star. Yet Wagner is told by one of his St Andrew's aides that as Beckham has no affiliation with Birmingham, that it would be a faux pas. But Brady, 47, retorts: 'That's f***ing stupid! Give him a gift bag to take home! 'It's a sweet thing. He doesn't have to wear it.' But one person not impressed with his gift was Wrexham's Hollywood co-owner Rob McElhenney. Tom Brady's ex-wife Gisele Bundchen shares rarely-seen photos of new baby she had with Jiu-Jitsu instructor lover 4 The actor is presented by Brady with a Birmingham shirt on the pitch before kick-off bearing No 12 and 'McElhenney' on the back. He says: 'What am I supposed to do with that?' But Brady does please his fellow American by signing an NFL card for his son. And the actor is gushing in his praise for Brady — telling him: 'You're one of five people in the world any locker room will listen to.' Birmingham went on to win the title and promotion back to the Championship, earning an EFL record of 111 points during the season. 4
