New Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood: "I spoke to (chairman) Randy Lerner briefly and (chief executive) Tom Fox at length about the vision of the club. I liked what I heard. We're in a difficult situation, and I need to get the best of this group of players to keep us in this division."

New Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood on the club's poor home form: "I haven't been a manager here yet. But when I came to play here, it was a difficult place to come and get results. I want to turn this place back into a fortress. It's very important this club stay in the Premier League."

Tim Sherwood is Aston Villa's new manager after the club sacked Paul Lambert.

Sherwood is having his first news conference as the boss of the Midlands club and he says: "The team looked a bit tentative against Leicester City in the FA Cup. We have to play on front foot a bit more."

Image source, Getty Images

Tim Sherwood has arrived for his first press conference as Aston Villa manager. The club have posted a Vine video, external of the new boss taking his seat. We'll bring you details of what he's had to say shortly.

Steve:, external David James blamed poor form on spending too long on the Playstation while at Liverpool.

Kathryn Bate:, external Pastor Maldonado blamed his poor form at the end of the 2013 F1 season on his own team Williams sabotaging his car.

Adam Ainsworth:, external A long time ago, there was a strongman who, after much cajoling, claimed the secret of his success lay in his long hair.

Ah, yes, we remember him, Adam. Robbie Savage, wasn't it?

Salford owner Marwan Koukash raised doubts over his tenure of the club when he tweeted 'I have had enough' after last Thursday's crushing 52-6 defeat by St Helens.

But he now says: "I'm not walking out on the club. We're going to come out fighting.

"I'm going to work harder and if coach Iestyn Harris wants additional resources he will have them at his disposal."

Koukash will also enlist the help of Australia's national coach Tim Sheens to improve the club's fortunes.

Image source, Getty Images

From Andrew in Richhill, via text: The most well-known odd reason for a sporting failure has to be Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United's claim that they couldn't see each other in the first half of their game against Southampton at The Dell in April 1996. They were 3-0 down at half-time while wearing that now infamous grey kit. They ran out in blue and white stripes in the second half and ended up losing 3-1, so they might have had a point!

Indeed, although Manchester United returned to The Dell the following October in the blue and white kit - and lost 6-3...

BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt in Australia: "It's the morning after the party before in Adelaide, with some fans still milling about, taking in every last second following India's win over Pakistan on Sunday.

"There are still plenty of cricket shirts in the City of Churches, but only of the blue Indian variety. Pakistan fans are keeping a low profile."

Image source, Getty Images

QPR fan Big Nige in Co Antrim, via text: I once played amateur football with a polished midfielder who insisted he needed three or four drams of whiskey about an hour before kick-off to help him perform at his best. When he did not get the whiskey - mainly when he was playing away from home - his performances were often poor! He was excellent when he had the hooch.

We're asking for your oddest explanations for sporting failure, after golfer Paul Lawrie blamed his slump in form on withdrawal symptoms as he tried to give up (non-alcoholic) fizzy drinks.

It's been an extraordinary weekend for ski jumping - where the world record for the longest jump was broken twice at a World Cup event in Vikersund, Norway.

Slovenia's Peter Prevc became the first skier to jump 250m on Saturday - only for Norway's Anders Fannemel to jump 251.5m yesterday.

If you're in the UK, you can see video of both jumps on the BBC Sport website. Incredible efforts, both - like something out of a James Bond movie.

Worcestershire have re-signed New Zealand batsman Colin Munro as their overseas player for the 2015 T20 Blast.

The 27-year-old was Worcestershire's second-highest scorer last season with 332 runs at an average of 27.76, while he also picked up seven wickets with his medium pace as the Rapids reached the quarter-finals.

Director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: "Colin is going to be a terrific signing because he is a very dangerous and devastating player in T20 cricket.

"He is a powerful hitter of the ball as well and gives us, along with a few other boundary hitters, some real potency."

Munro added: "I said when I left last summer that I'd love to come back and play for Worcestershire again. It was an awesome experience."

Mark Cavendish continued his flying start to the season as he sprinted to victory in the Almeria classic in southern Spain on Sunday.

The Isle of Man rider, 29, edged out Spaniard Juan Jose Lobato and Australia's Mark Renshaw respectively to claim victory in the 185.9 km race.

Cavendish, who recently took an overall victory at the Tour of Dubai, won the race in 4 hours 36 minutes 19 seconds.

The victory is the Etixx-QuickStep cyclist's fifth of 2015.

Ross in Newark, via text: When playing basketball, my team-mate told me he wasn't aware of what was going on because he couldn't hear since his long hair covered his ears. Didn't explain why he kept giving the ball away, but we didn't ask questions. Our coach subbed him off after five minutes.

Image source, Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph's, external main back page is dominated by the Six Nations and a lead picture of England's Jonathan Joseph after his impressive performance in the win over Italy.

The football pull-out does not follow the rest of the papers in focusing on Bradford and, instead, has a picture of David Luiz. The Paris St-Germain defender will face former club Chelsea on Tuesday in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

"I was not feeling good there [at Chelsea] and I said I want to leave," says the Brazilian., external "He (Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho) didn't try too much [to convince me to stay] because I was in Brazil and we just spoke on the telephone. And he said: 'It's OK, you can go.' "

Image source, Getty Images

We're asking for the oddest explanations you've heard for a sporting slump, after golfer Peter Lawrie blamed his loss of form on withdrawal symptoms after he tried to give up fizzy drinks.

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet came up with a left-field claim after Sunday's FA Cup defeat at Bradford, saying that the media are partly to blame for the tough time he's having (see 09:09): "The problem is you (the media) not me. If you write what I say, the fans would be on my side. If we close Sunderland - if we put a China Wall around the city - it would be fantastic."

So there you have it: Sunderland could be successful if only the city had its own replica of a Unesco World Heritage site.

Ireland beat England at the World Cup four years ago and have been upsetting another of cricket's major nations.

At the current World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Ireland beat the West Indies and ex-England spinner Graeme Swann believes will make their Pool B rivals "very nervous".

"This is a better victory than the one against England four years ago," says Swann.

"That was a one-man show from Kevin O'Brien. This was a team effort."

Just to get you up and running on today's Sportsday debate, we've canvassed the office and asked our colleagues to give us their oddest explanations for sporting failure. (No names, no pack drill.)

One reporter tells us of a Sunday league football team-mate who insisted he could only perform at his best if he had a full breakfast from a well-known fast-food chain. When he didn't get his brekkie one Sunday, his display fell well short.

Image source, Getty Images

Irish golfer Peter Lawrie said at the weekend that he suffered a huge slump in form while trying to address what he called a fizzy drinks addiction.

The Irishman said he was drinking several litres of cola a day and had a near breakdown when he tried to quit.

So today, we're putting the question to you: What's the most unusual explanation for a poor sporting performance you've heard? And if you've suffered a lack of sporting success, what reasons have you come up with?

You can tweet us at #bbcsportsday,, external text us on 81111 or get in touch via the BBC Sport Facebook page., external

Image source, Getty Images

On the back of Ireland's shock victory over the West Indies at the Cricket World Cup, Scotland will go looking for an upset tonight against New Zealand in Dunedin (22:00 GMT). It's a lot to ask, as Scotland coach Grant Bradburn acknowledges.

But Bradburn tells BBC Radio 5 live: "We're so ready. It should be a magnificent atmosphere. It's about a group of young Scottish players who've worked so well and trained so hard. It's such a privilege to work with this group.

"We've got a massive challenge tomorrow, but we're up for it too. We can't do anything about our lack of experience. Daniel Vettori, in the New Zealand side, has played more ODI cricket than our whole squad put together, but what we lack in experience, we make up for in spirit."

Image source, Getty Images

One man who has come in for a bit of stick from his own fans is Sunderland manager Gus Poyet.

Many of the 4,000 Black Cats supporters at their side's FA Cup defeat by Bradford voiced their frustrations at the end and Poyet was blaming the media for causing some angst between the two parties.

The Uruguayan recently claimed Sunderland fans were living in the past and intent on a return to the 'kick and rush' style under former manager Peter Reid.

"When we let you (the press) in and you get (back) out and say what you want, then we've got a problem," says Poyet.

"The problem is you (the media) not me. If you write what I say the fans would be on my side. If we close Sunderland - if we put a China Wall around the city - it would be fantastic."