manager

Ballymena United have confirmed they have parted ways with manager Jim Ervin.

Ervin took over at the Showgrounds in 2023 and in his first season, kept the club in the Premiership by way of a playoff.

Last season, they finished in the bottom half but it was enough to see Ervin sign a new contract until 2028.

Currently, the Sky Blues sit in eighth position in the table, but on Saturday they suffered a 3-1 defeat to bottom club Glenavon.

In midweek, they were also knocked out of the Count Antrim Shield, going down 4-1 at home to Cliftonville which ended a three-game unbeaten run.

“Ballymena United Football Club can confirm that the club has parted company with first team manager Jim Ervin, this morning,” the club confirmed in a statement.

“The board would like to put on record their upmost thanks to Jim and his staff for their efforts and support during his two and a half years at the Showgrounds.

“Jim will always be remembered as a legendary player for the club, and as manager for successfully guiding Ballymena United through one of the most challenging periods of our recent history.

“The club will now commence the recruitment process for the next first team manager.”

Current U20 manager Ciaran Caldwell will step in as interim boss with Patrick McEleney and Sean O’Neill assisting him for Tuesday’s BetMcLean Cup quarter-final against Larne.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola says that the referee lost control of the game, with the Cherries losing three players for their next match to suspension in a 3-2 loss at Sunderland.

MATCH REPORT: Sunderland 3-2 Bournemouth

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Experience of Ulster club hurling final day may be an advantage for Slaughtneil when they take on St John’s at the Athletic Grounds on Saturday (18:00 GMT), but manager Paul McCormack insists they will need much more to retain their provincial crown.

The Derry champions are appearing in their 10th final of their 13-in-a-row run of county success with a sixth Ulster title in their sights.

Last year, they got their hands on the Four Seasons Cup for the first time since 2021 when coming through in a thriller against Portaferry and they had to dig deep once again against the Down club in this year’s semi-final, winning 1-23 to 1-18.

There is a know-how of playing late in the year for this group, a result of their desire to get back to the All-Ireland stage with Galway’s Loughrea awaiting the winner of Saturday’s Ulster decider, but McCormack is aware St John’s will be equally motivated having ended their 52-year wait for an Antrim title.

“That [experience] is an advantage we have, but St John’s are coming fresh, hungry and eager to make their impact now,” the Keady native told BBC Sport NI.

“The Antrim championship is very hard won, so this is their time and they will do all they can to make that time count.

“Our experience, will it tell? We’ll see on Saturday evening. I would hope it would because our fellas are grounded, still hungry and have that desire, so they will need all those qualities to get through the game.”

Northern Ireland manager Tanya Oxtoby is in advanced talks to become head coach at WSL 2 side Newcastle United.

Oxtoby, 43, has been in charge of Northern Ireland since 2023.

She managed Bristol City from 2018 to 2021 before becoming assistant coach to Emma Hayes at Chelsea for two seasons.

Oxtoby has also had spells as Scotland, Birmingham City, Perth Glory and Australia Under-20s assistant.

She began her managerial career at Nottingham Forest in 2012.

The loss in the penultimate fixture in the campaign does still damage their hopes of making it to North America, however, as they will enter those play-offs in the lowest group of seeds.

Slovakia originally thought they had taken the lead in the 56th minute when Lukas Haraslin’s free-kick flew past Bailey Peacock-Farrell, but it was adjudged that Milan Skriniar had obstructed the view of the Northern Ireland goalkeeper.

Just eight minutes later, they had another strike disallowed by VAR after David Strelec was penalised for handling the ball when finishing from another Haraslin set-piece.

O’Neill felt that the decisions to rule out the previous efforts played into allowing the late winner.

“It was a clear push on Daniel Ballard at the corner, two hands in his back,” said O’Neill.

“The other goals that were disallowed should have been disallowed. The first one was offside, the lines show that clearly, and the second one was handball.

“You have to look at each incident on its own merit, you can’t go cumulative and referee the last incident differently to how you refereed the other two incidents.”

Following the winning goal, Ballard was sent off for a second yellow card offence and midfielder George Saville was booked with both players now ruled out of Monday night’s game with Luxembourg through suspension.

On Ballard’s second yellow, O’Neill said: “The Slovakian dug-out that caused that as much as anything.”

“The [second] yellow card for Daniel is a joke,” he continued.

“If you look at it back, it is poor. He is a top referee, he has refereed the Champions League final, he should have disallowed the goal.”

The victory, which keeps alive Slovakia’s hopes of qualifying automatically for next summer’s tournament, sparked huge celebrations from the hosts with O’Neill describing their reaction as “disappointing”.

“Everything was on the line for Slovakia. You could tell that by the way their technical area behaved towards the end of the game, which was disappointing.

“Disappointing for their coach not to shake my hand.

“Ultimately, we congratulate Slovakia because they can go to Germany and try to win the group.”

It’s one of the last things a newly appointed football manager wants. They’ve only been at their new club for five minutes and already a key player is out injured. Hardly the start they’d hoped for – but could it have been avoided?

Along with the obvious objective of winning games, one of the main priorities for any manager is to have a healthy squad to pick from.

But many experts will tell you the arrival of a new manager and backroom team can often lead to a short-term increase in injuries.

Physiotherapist Ben Warburton – brother of Wales rugby union legend Sam – is one.

Warburton began his career working with academy players at both Cardiff City and Welsh rugby union team the Dragons. He has since worked primarily in rugby, and was Wales’ physio for their summer tour to Japan this year.

“It’s very well known within the medical world that you get an increase of injury incidence when a new coach comes in,” he told BBC Sport.

“Players want to impress the new coach and get in the starting XI – it’s a clean slate. They’re likely to report a little bit less to the medical staff and may train through some bumps and niggles, which can potentially lead to an injury.”

Changes to the type of training can also make a big difference.

“If, for example, a new manager comes in and wants to shift the focus to gym work, that could cause injury issues if players aren’t used to that,” Warburton said.

Ben Dinnery, founder of Premier Injuries – a website used to track and record injury data for the Premier League, agrees.

“There are lots of factors at play,” he said. “There’s the injury history of certain players that a new manager probably won’t know as much about as previous coaching staff.

“Then there’s the issue of player fatigue. A new manager will understandably want to get the absolute maximum out of the players – but there’s a risk of overdoing this.

“And, finally, there’s the psychological impact of players working as hard as possible to make their mark – all of which can potentially lead to an increase in injuries.”

Sources close to the situation say Edwards was willing to complete all the duties he has been removed from, with Middlesbrough taking the decisions regarding Friday’s training session and news conference and Saturday’s match.

Middlesbrough are believed to have been angered by Wolves’ approach and Edwards’ openness to taking the job.

It is understood Edwards views the Wolves job as his dream role, having made more than 100 appearances for the Molineux side between 2004 and 2008.

He grew up in nearby Telford and still has family in the area, though the logistics of any move to Wolves are not said to be a key factor.

The BBC has confirmed the start date for the second series of The Night Manager, as a new trailer has been released for the upcoming series.

After nearly ten years of anticipation, BBC viewers were delighted to discover that a fresh instalment of The Night Manager was being developed.

In 2016, the gripping thriller proved hugely successful as it chronicled former soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) working as a hotel night manager who becomes enlisted by British intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Coleman).

The eagerly-awaited second instalment will resume years following the dramatic conclusion, with audiences witnessing Jonathan as a junior MI6 operative managing a discreet surveillance team in London dubbed ‘The Night Owls’.

This week, the BBC unveiled a thrilling trailer for the upcoming series, confirming it will broadcast on January 1.

The preview reveals Jonathan in his fresh position, whilst a narrator directs him to ‘watch, listen and report’. Yet the voice then sternly warns: “You do not hunt down.”

Cutting to Colombia, the MI6 operative must investigate Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva), suspected of trafficking weapons into the nation with British Intelligence assistance, reports the Express.

Adopting a fresh identity, Jonathan becomes deeply entangled in a deadly conspiracy. Betrayal appears imminent as he challenges Agent Burr, declaring she ‘lied’ to him, prompting her reply: “I had no choice!”

A montage of rapid-fire sequences follows, featuring heart-stopping pursuit scenes and Jonathan fleeing through a structure as explosions erupt around him.

In a chilling moment, Jonathan is seen being restrained by Teddy as he questions, ‘Who are you, Matthew?Why are you really here?” While a woman’s voice accuses him of ‘playing her’.

The trailer, shared on social media, sparked an immediate reaction from fans, with many expressing their excitement for the show’s return. One fan exclaimed: “Wow wow wow wow.” Another chimed in: “FINALLY!!!!”

Speaking about the series, Tom Hiddleston told the BBC: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. “”The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.

I’m so looking forward to reuniting with Simon and Stephen Cornwell, David Farr and Stephen Garrett, and to working with Georgi Banks-Davies to tell the next chapter of our story. I can’t wait.”

The BBC has also confirmed that The Night Manager will be returning for another series following this upcoming one.

Tune into the new series of The Night Manager from 1 January on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and from 11 January on Prime Video where available.

TORONTO — It was a game that started on Saturday and ended on Sunday, a World Series contest so packed with the rare, the historic and the dramatic that it couldn’t possibly be confined to one day.

At 11 innings, it was the longest Game 7 this century, and it equaled the longest in more than a century. It was the first Game 7 that had a ninth-inning home run to tie the score and the first to feature two video reviews that prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.

“It’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 to win its second straight World Series and end the longest season in franchise history, one that began in Japan and ended in Canada.

The victory made the Dodgers the first team to win back-to-back titles in 25 years and with that championship, Roberts’ third, he passed Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda to become the second-most-decorated Dodger manager ever. He now trails only Walter Alston, another Hall of Famer, who won four World Series with the team.

Roberts, however, won his three titles over six seasons, something no Dodger skipper has ever done.

“It’s hard to reconcile that one,” said Roberts, whose jersey from Saturday’s game is on its way to Cooperstown, joining the cap the Hall of Fame requested after last year’s World Series win.

“I’m just really elated and really proud of our team, our guys, the way we fought. We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in decades. There was so many pressure points and how that game could have flipped, and we just kept fighting, and guys stepped up big.”

So did the manager.

Every move Roberts made worked, every button he pushed was the right one. Miguel Rojas, starting for the second time in nearly a month, saved the season with a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth while Andy Pages, inserted for defensive purposes during the bottom of the inning, ran down Ernie Clements’ drive at the wall with the bases loaded to end the threat.

In the 11^th he had Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitch around Addison Barger, putting the winning run on base. But that set up the game-ending double play three pitches later.

“Credit to him, man. Every single move he did this postseason was incredible,” said Tyler Glasnow, one of four starting pitchers Roberts used in relief Saturday. And he had a fifth, Clayton Kershaw, warming up when the game ended.

Added Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson: “He did some coaching tonight. This was a great manager’s game from him. He’s proven how great a manager he is. He’s a Hall of Famer.”

Roberts asked Yamamoto, who pitched six innings Friday to win Game 6, to throw another 2 2/3 innings in Game 7. It worked; Yamamoto won that game too.

“What Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented in modern-day baseball,” said Roberts, who came into the postgame interview room wearing ski goggles and dripping of champagne. “It just goes down to just trusting your players. It’s nice when you can look down the roster and have 26 guys that you believe in and know that at some point in time their number’s going to be called.”

And Roberts needed all 26 guys. Although the Dodgers players wore t-shirts with the slogan “We Rule October” when they mounted a makeshift stage in the center of the Rogers Centre field to celebrate their victory early Sunday, October was only part of it. Their year started in Tokyo in March and ended in Toronto in November, making it the first major league season to begin and end outside the U.S.

“We really extended the season,” Max Muncy, whose eighth-inning homer started the Dodgers’ comeback, said with a grin after the team’s 179^th game in 226 days.

“Look back at the miles that we’ve logged this year,” Roberts said. “We never wavered. It’s a long season and we persevered, and we’re the last team standing.”

That, too, is a credit to Roberts, who has made the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons and went to the World Series five times, trailing only Alston among Dodger managers. His .621 regular-season winning percentage is best in franchise history among managers who worked more than three seasons. And he figures to keep padding those records.

“We’ve put together something pretty special,” said Roberts, who celebrated with his family on the field afterward. “I’m proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable.

“I guess I’ll let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not. But I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.”

On Sunday morning Glasnow, who missed the playoffs last season with an elbow injury, was pretty happy with where he was at as well.

“To be a part of the World Series is crazy,” he said, standing just off the infield as blue and gold confetti rained down. “You dream about it as a kid. To live it out, I feel so lucky. This group of guys, I’m so close to everyone. So many good people on this team. It’s just the perfect group of guys.”

The perfect manager, too.