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Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has led the chorus of praise for Didier Drogba after the Ivorian showed up Fernando Torres again on Saturday.Drogba scored the opener and had a hand in both of Chelsea’s other goals as the reigning Premier League champions overran West Bromwich Albion 3-1 with Torres warming the bench.

It was a powerful statement from the Ivory Coast international, who was left on the pine in favour of Chelsea’s struggling 50-million-pound signing in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United.

Ancelotti, who admitted he erred in starting Torres after that match, praised Drogba and said pundits forecasting the Ivorian’s exit from Stamford Bridge were getting ahead of themselves.

“As we know Didier had a problem with malaria and lost a few months when he was not 100 per cent,” Ancelotti said.

“But when he is, every time he is able to use his abilities, his power for the team, and he has a body that can continue for a long time.”

“He has to continue to train well, be professional, because for a player who is 33-years-old, it is important he trains, to have good control of his body, and do everything to maintain his fitness.”

“They (the club) bought Torres because he is a fantastic striker, young, but this doesn’t mean Didier has to go.”

“He has been a very important player for the club in the past, and he will be for the club in the future.”

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson rued a patchy first-half performance that allowed Chelsea to build a two-goal lead despite trailing the Baggies on Peter Odemwingie’s early strike.

The Baggies remain on 39 points – six clear of the relegation places – for the time being, and Hodgson conceded the hard work to beat the drop is not done with yet.

“I didn’t think that we played very well in the first half, I think that we were not as tight as we’d been defensively,” Hodgson told Sky Sports.

“I think that we gave away rather cheap goals as well. That meant at half-time we were staring down the barrel of a gun.”

“We do know that West Ham once got relegated on 42 points so as far as we’re concerned we’ll be trying to do our best in each of the games and if we get to 42 points before the end of the season, we’ll be trying to get to 43 and above.”

It’s been a great few months for Gus Poyet. He’s led Brighton to promotion from League One and can enjoy a season in the Championship in a brand new stadium. Surely only bigger and better things are in store for the Uruguayan…

Brighton have gained promotion from League One at your first attempt. Did you expect your first full season in management to be so successful?

You need to be positive. You try to believe in what you do. We finished last season very well, and gained plenty of points, so the idea was to continue of course. The main problem was consistency and we achieved it, so I’m delighted. The problem now is what is coming next. When you win the league, to maintain that standard is quite difficult. But it’s a good challenge and I’m looking forward to the Championship.

So what will be different about it and have you had a chance to see many matches from the Championship this season?

Yeah! I’ve been watching a lot. I watch football all the time. I watch the Championship, Premiership and Spanish football. I try to watch and learn. I think in the Championship there is more quality. I think the pitches and stadiums are better, there is more pace and power, and there are better players. It’s going to be tough. So we need to reorganise and make sure we get the right players and the right team for the team to perform even better.

What did you learn working in the Premier League with Tottenham?

I think that the difference is the quality of the players. You can try and make the players do some things and they are even better than they are. They can do some individual actions, some technical actions and also the opposition counts for a lot. Footballers in England are very important people and in the Premiership they are individuals and not always easy to deal with. It was good to have the chance and we had a squad, we had players on the bench we paid £15 million for which is quite crazy really and for that money you expect the player to play week in and week out. That’s why Spurs have one of the biggest and best squads in the country because we had plenty of players who were very, very good and similar ones on the bench. It was a great experience.

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Your son Diego is playing for England U-16, when he is older would you prefer he play for Uruguay or England?

It’s up to him. It’s a problem now because he started playing and Uruguay are probably not very happy and people are talking nonsense about the decision of Diego to play for England. He was born in Spain and came to England when he was 2 years old and of course whenever he goes to Uruguay it’s on holiday to see the family. If you ask him he would say he has to make a decision between Uruguay and England, but he’s even got that possibility of playing for Spain. It’s a great decision that FIFA has made, giving kids the chance to play for all the underage groups, and then they decide when they are at the most important part, the senior part.

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Finally, word on a fellow Uruguayan, Luis Suarez. What do you make of the impact he’s made since joining Liverpool?

Well, I’m pleased. I’m so happy – I’m the happiest person in England, really, because I am convinced about players from Uruguay, with the mentality we have got, and the mentality that we bring to any club. One player from Uruguay is very important for any English team and I try to convince so many of my fellow countrymen to come to play in England. But sometimes it’s easier for a Uruguayan to go to Spain or Italy where they find it a little bit easier because of the language and the summer weather and things, but I’m pleased that he made that decision and I’m sure he will be even better when he gets used to the culture of Liverpool Football Club.

Visit the Dugout www.yahoo.co.uk/dugout for new interviews every week with England’s top football managers

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Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner has given the strongest hint yet he may be on his way out of Emirates Stadium in the summer.Bendtner has scored just two league goals this season, with manager Arsene Wenger often preferring Dutchman Robin van Persie or Moroccan Marouane Chamakh up front.

Many of Bendtner’s 16 appearances for the Gunners in the Premiership have been on the right wing and the talented 23-year-old said he plans to sit down with Wenger in the summer and discuss his future.

“I need to have a talk with him [Wenger] because I’m not satisfied as well,” Bendtner said. “I’m not satisfied with playing on the right wing which I’ve done more or less all season long.”

Bendtner signed a new long-term deal with Arsenal in 2009, but Wenger recently hinted that there may be some player movement at the North London club in the off-season.

While Wenger has already said that he wishes to keep Bendtner at Arsenal, the Dane indicated he is becoming increasingly frustrated with his role.

“I’m concentrating on getting the Champions League place and then we’ll do the evaluation at the end of the season;” Bendtner said.

“It’s certainly not the best thing for me but it’s not up to oneself and sometimes you have to adapt to what the manager says.”

Roma coach Vincenzo Montella is still hopeful of retaining the job next season.The club’s new owners may well be influenced in keeping Montella if Roma can at least draw with relegated Sampdoria on Sunday, which will be enough to earn them a Europa League place.

“I don’t think a decision has been made yet,” Montella said on Saturday.

“I do not know if I have lost ground in terms of my Roma future, but the most gratifying thing for me in these months has been the respect from players and directors.”

Montella faces stiff opposition from a number of candidates, including Chievo manager Stefano Pioli, Didier Deschamps and Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

“The meeting with Pioli did not annoy me,” Montella said.

“Maybe it would’ve done had it been over the past three months, but I don’t want to talk about this today.”

“I do not need to put forward my own candidacy and I’m not saying that Roma are the best option for me. In any case, I think I’m still in the running.”

Montella has been linked with a move to Catania, where Diego Simeone does not look certain to stay for next season.

“If this side is in its current position, then perhaps it’s because the players did not fulfil their potential. The next coach will be fortunate to inherit a Roma side with a strong desire to prove itself.

“Has an era come to an end? I don’t know, or rather, it’s not up to me.”

Meanwhile, Pioli has confirmed that he has spoken with new Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini.

“Yes, I’ve met Sabatini,” he told TeleRadioStereo.

“It was a positive meeting, but now we just have to wait and see.”

“Obviously it is pleasing that my work is being recognised by such a prestigious club as Roma.”

“I’ll talk with Sabatini again next week, once I have also held discussions with Chievo.”

“My contract is expiring, but I do have the option to stay for a further campaign. I’ll talk with Chievo, then with Sabatini.”

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Giancarlo Abete has vowed to punish any and all who are found to have concealed match-fixing.Italian football was rocked by another corruption scandal last week, nearly five years to the day that police unveiled a match-fixing ring that led to Juventus’ relegation to Serie B.

Sixteen people were arrested or placed under house arrest on suspicion of fixing matches in Serie B and Lega Pro, including former Italy international and Lazio captain Giuseppe Signori.

Italian police intercepted over 50,000 phone calls since opening their investigation in November, following a Lega Pro match between Cremonese and Paganese.

Cremonese players allegedly had their drinks spiked with sedatives to ensure they would not play well, with several falling ill after the game.

The investigation uncovered a sophisticated betting system that implicates many former and current Italian footballers in the lower divisions, as well as club executives and bookmakers.

Abete, believing the sixteen arrests so far are just the tip of the iceberg, has called on government authorities to better co-operate with FIGC in order to scrub Italian football clean of corruption.

“The first aim is to punish those who commit acts that infringe the federation rules, the second one is to make every involved is held responsible,” said Abete, whose predecessor Franco Carraro was sacked and fined 80,000 euro for his involvement in the 2006 scandal.

“They cannot hide themselves anymore and they must tell whatever they know.”

“In cases of sports crimes or hypothesis of crimes sports justice could intervene and achieve important and significant results to clean the football world.”

“So we need to act quickly and ask for the shortening of time limits, we need to strengthen the penalty system and we also need stronger penalties, not only for those responsible but also for those who don’t report any wrongdoings.”

“Here we are not facing the old type of sporting fraud that often led to match fixing that could be useful to one team or the other in terms of the table.”

“We are now facing a criminal activity linked to a betting system and this criminal activity has been carried out through sporting fraud in order to obtain an economic gain through a certain game result.”

Stephen Ireland is looking to salvage his Aston Villa career under new manager Alex McLeish, and has set his sights on a starting place in the side’s Premier League opener against Fulham at Craven Cottage on August 13th.

The former Manchester City midfielder has had a frustrating time since leaving Eastlands in 2010, firstly struggling to hold down a first team place at Villa Park, and then being farmed out to Newcastle on loan. Now fully fit, the 24-year-old is hoping for better fortunes in 2011/12.

“All pre-season I’m going to work really hard to try and get in the new gaffer’s plans. Hopefully I can stay there. I had a brief chat with him and he seemed really nice and determined and it seems as if he’s going to be a good manager for the players and the club going forward,” the Irishman stated in The Daily Telegraph.

“Right now I’m in a good place. I’m feeling really good and really determined. I’ve got a very good feeling about this year, not just for myself but the team and the fans and I want to do well for them.

“I set goals for myself. Obviously I want to build up a good relationship with the fans. I want to try and get in the team and play the best that I can. I just want a good run really; I need that because I’ve not really had a good run in the last couple of seasons. It’s a shame but I can’t let that bother me.

“I’ve just got to keep working hard to try and get my form and my sharpness back. It might take four or five games at the start of the season to get that back, but hopefully as soon as I do I can look forward and not look back,” he concluded.

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With the sale of Ashley Young to Manchester United, and Stewart Downing in Liverpool sights, first team opportunities in the Birmingham outfit’s midfield may be up for grabs.

Proven club coach Carlos Bianchi has emerged as a frontrunner to take over as Argentina boss.The South American giants are looking for a coach after Sergio Batista was sacked in the wake of a disappointing quarter-final exit at Copa America.

Bianchi has been strongly linked with a coaching position in the Argentina national side for several years now, after guiding Velez and Boca Juniors to the most successful spells in their history.

And the 62-year-old has revealed the time may be right for him to return to activity after his last job dates back to 2006, with Atletico Madrid.

“My wishes to coach the Argentina national team are always the same and very big,” Bianchi told news agency Telam.

“I think I have earned enough credit. The future will tell if I can have that honour.”

“I only ask for the right to work with people I trust. I consider myself to have enough experience to do a professional job like I did throughout my career as a player and technical director.”

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino and Al-Jazira boss Alejandro Sabella have also been linked with Argentina’s vacancy.

Thomas DiBenedetto is focused on stabilising Roma before turning his attention to the wider problems of Italian football.A consortium led by American businessman DiBenedetto completed a protracted takeover of Roma in April with the intention of reviving the Serie A club’s flagging fortunes.

While DiBenedetto acknowledges the need for the Italian football authorities to address issues such as crowd safety and corruption, the 62-year-old believes his immediate priority is to improve Roma’s standing, on and off the pitch.

“My goal is not to come here and change Italian football, my goal is to make AS Roma the best football team AS Roma can be,” DiBenedetto said.

“We will do everything in our power to do that; we will try to increase the revenues coming to the team, which will give us the resources to hire the best players.”

“There’s 19 other teams in Serie A, and many teams down below, and the powers that be in the sport here in Italy have to see what’s best for them and what’s best for Italian football in general.”

“Obviously we’ll contribute in any way we can, but our objective is to do our best for AS Roma.”

The new regime at Roma hired former Spain international Luis Enrique as head coach in June after he guided Barcelona B to a playoff berth in the Liga Adelante.

Enrique has assured fans and the owners that Roma will play an expansive, attractive style under his leadership and is under no illusions about his future at the club if the team are unable to produce.

“I am optimistic and I have no doubt Roma will play with an offensive and positive style, and I can feel players are beginning to embody this approach, and I hope I can make this attitude come through,” Enrique said.

“If I can’t, then it will be the turn of someone else, they will change and hire another coach, it’s as simple as that.”

Roma have been linked with moves for Manchester City’s Argentine fullback Pablo Zabaleta, as well as Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic and Sevilla defender Jose Angel.

Midfield stalwart Frank Lampard believes he can retain his place in the Chelsea team, despite turning 33 in the close season.Lampard has become a mainstay at Stamford Bridge since joining from West Ham United in 2001, helping the team lift three English Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

He endured an injury-interrupted campaign last season, starting only 23 league matches, and has now reached a point in his career where a player might be expected to decline.

But the England international has no intention of going quietly, resolving to extend his stay in the professional game for as long as possible.

“I think the age thing has changed,” Lampard told The Sun.

“People are pretty quick to write you off once you get into your 30s but they have proved to be a lot of players’ best years.”

“Ryan Giggs was outstanding against us in the Champions League quarter-final last season – and in a lot of other games – at 37 years old.”

“If you look after yourself, keep motivated, which is very important, know your body, do the right things, and manage yourself well, then you can certainly have your best years in your 30s.”

Not content with merely extending his career, Lampard is determined to keep playing for Chelsea in the sport’s elite competitions.

“There’s a lovely mix at this level,” he said.

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“I love playing, I love the sport and the basics of going out to play football. But I also love the stuff that comes with it at the top.”

“I’d still enjoy playing if it were at Sunday league level, but I like the cut-throat mentality at this level, where you have to keep on top of your game no matter what because, if you drop, you’re out of it.”

“That’s what drives me on, I like being at the top.”

No matter what level of football you watch, from Sunday league to Champions League, the same infringements occur. It’s true that at Sunday league level the fights can be a bit meatier and it’s also true that at the top level the diving is of a much higher standard, but nevertheless, all leagues have fights and diving and all round cheating. It has become a part of the game but that doesn’t mean it should be accepted.

The increasingly volatile matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid highlight the reasons why niggling and handbags and scuffles must always be punished. In Wednesday’s Super Cup final there was a 40 man brawl which must have contained about 3 slaps and one pinch, it was embarrassing and it marred a fantastic game of football.

Last season Real Madrid and Barcelona played each other 4 times in 18 days and one game in particular, (the first leg of the Champions league semi-final) was a total disgrace. Two of the best sides on the planet barely managed to play any football. Real Madrid tried to kick Barcelona off the pitch and Barcelona tried to get all Madrid’s players sent off.

Following this week’s shenanigans there is now a genuine concern that this ongoing tension and rivalry will move off the pitch and into the stands. Pep Guardiola voiced his worries after the game: “We must be careful, because one day we will cause harm, not on the field but off, and we’re all a little responsible for this.”

Whilst this kind of talk seems a long way from the slaps and face-clutching that we see week in week out in the Premier League, they are not so far removed. And it is easy to see how these things escalate. The constant little comments build gradually between players, these comments are greeted with little kicks and niggles and pinches until 2 of the 22 inevitably square up. When you play a team as often as Barca and Real, there are potential flashpoints all over the pitch from kick-off.

A similar escalation took place in last season’s Old Firm derby, when 3 Glasgow Rangers players were sent off and 34 fans were arrested inside the stadium. The Old Firm rivalry may have a brutal history all of its own but the players and managers would do well not to set that kind of example.

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Whilst niggling and kicks and dives and insults will always occur, the more a referee can do to keep it to a minimum, the better, because in the end most people actually just want to play football or watch it and handbags just waste valuable time. There is a dangerous and clear line. Lots of niggling leads to a bad tempered, stop-start game of football. This leads to ugly challenges flying in and this leads to an all out brawl. The best sides in Spain couldn’t have displayed it better if they’d tried.

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