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  1. Robertson must improve 'intensity' to regain place, says Barry-Murphypublished at 14:45 BST 25 September

    Alex RobertsonImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says Alex Robertson must match the "intensity" of his fellow midfielders to regain his place in the team.

    Having featured regularly as the Bluebirds were relegated from the Championship last season, Robertson missed the start of this campaign in League One with a leg injury he sustained during pre-season.

    But despite being available for selection for Cardiff's past two matches, the Australia international has been left out of successive matchday squads.

    "He's back in full training and he has to show that he's ready to compete with the other players and, at the moment, he's not, based on a number of factors," said Barry-Murphy.

    "He obviously got injured in the last game of pre-season, and he's back in full training also, so he will be available once he reaches that level of intensity that's required in the group.

    "But it's good news he's pain-free and in full training and ready to compete. For every member of our squad, there's a level of intensity required to compete for a place in the team, and Alex isn't at that level yet based on the volume of training he's had."

    Meanwhile, Wales right-back Ronan Kpakio will miss Saturday's League One trip to Wigan Athletic but has avoided serious injury having been withdrawn during last weekend's first defeat of the season at home to Bradford City.

    "The scan was really positive," said Barry-Murphy. "There's no tear to the bottom of his foot, which we were slightly concerned about, so that's really good news.

    "He won't be available for Saturday, but the big thing for us is there's no long-term damage or anticipated prolonged absence."

    Dylan Lawlor missed the match against Bradford and Tuesday's EFL Cup win at Burnley but is close to a return.

    "Dylan will train today [Thursday] for the first time since last Friday," said Barry-Murphy.

    "So we haven't seen him with us since then and then we'll see how he goes then tomorrow."

  2. Biancheri shines as Man Utd gain last-gasp Euro winpublished at 07:47 BST 25 September

    Simon Stone
    Manchester United reporter

    Manchester United forward Gabriel Biancheri and goalscorer James Scanlon at Old TraffordImage source, Getty Images

    Wales Under-21 international Gabriele Biancheri caught the eye with an excellent performance off the bench in Manchester United's last-gasp Premier League International Cup win over Athletic Club at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

    Biancheri, who also qualifies for Canada and Italy, was one of four second-half substitutes by United coach Travis Binnion that helped turn round a game they were losing at half-time.

    The 19-year-old's sprint down the right and low cross created an opportunity for Gibraltar international James Scanlon to equalise.

    Then, in the third minute of injury time, Biancheri's close-range shot struck a post, hit the unlucky Athletic goalkeeper and bounced in to give United victory in their first game in the competition, in front of about 1,600 supporters.

    Striker Chido Obi was left on the bench throughout as Binnion navigates a testing run of fixtures, the most important of which is next week's EFL Trophy trip to Lincoln City.

    The game was watched by United's technical director Jason Wilcox and new head of academy Stephen Torpey, who joined from Brentford this week.

    United's under-18 coach Darren Fletcher was also at the game, watching son Jack, who started at left-back before moving into a more usual central midfield role.

    Fletcher is currently on crutches after having surgery on a knee injury suffered in a recent Legends game at Celtic.

    He is still carrying out full coaching duties, although United are using a golf buggy to get the former Scotland international around.