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Sunderland's Connor Wickham has admitted that the club's misfiring strikers deserve the criticism they are getting.

The Black Cats have managed only 23 goals in their 28 Premier League fixtures to date this season with the frontmen only getting nine.

"Chances come and you do need to put them away. We are creating chances. The way we set up, we are setting up to attack at times when we get the ball. We do try to break as quickly as we can when we get the ball," Wickham told the Northern Echo., external

"We have done it in games but we have to get more consistent with it and get in to the box more. We will climb away from the rest of the group down there if we can start to put our chances away."

Bundesliga club Cologne have been ordered to play three matches partially behind closed doors and fined £142,000 for crowd trouble.

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Police made two arrests after a 30-strong group of Cologne fans dressed all in white stormed on to the pitch after their team's last-minute Bundesliga defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach last month.

Talking more about the newest member of his coaching team, Andy Murray added: "I know him very well from when he played. When I came on the tour when I was young, he was very good to me.

"He is a very nice person with a good sense of humour, and obviously an exceptional tennis player who made the most out of his game.

"He's got a good resume as a player and a lot of the Swedes turn out to be pretty good coaches."

If you want to hear more from Murray - and watch Scotland's finest do a few kick-ups with a tennis ball to boot - you'll find video here...

Image source, BBC Sport

Andy Murray has been telling the BBC why he's keen to add Jonas Bjorkman to his coaching team - describing the 42 year old as "a very nice person with a good sense of humour."

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The former Wimbledon semi-finalist will spend a week with Murray at some point in the next month or so, with a view to joining the team on a permanent basis.

Murray thinks Swedes tend to make good coaches, as they "have a good mindset, are very calm and extremely hard workers."

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Sir Bradley Wiggins has confirmed his intention to ride in the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire in May.

The 2012 Tour de France winner will leave Team Sky at the end of April to head up his own 'Team Wiggins' developmental squad, and revealed the three-day race in Yorkshire from 1-3 May will be among his first assignments for the new team.

The race is a legacy event from last year's hugely successful Grand Depart of the Tour de France, which brought millions of fans to the region.

Wiggins missed last year's Tour having been overlooked for the squad by Team Sky.

Blackburn's owners Venky's will not sanction a loan move for striker Jordan Rhodes, manager Gary Bowyer has confirmed.

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Speculation has been rife all week that the 25-year-old - who was left out of the starting line-up in the FA Cup against Liverpool last Sunday - could be jettisoned on a temporary deal to a fellow Championship club ahead of a permanent switch in the summer.

However, Rovers boss Bowyer - speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph - said: "The owners are of the same opinion as ourselves - why would we want to be doing that?"

Well, after the exit of Chelsea - and the less-than-decent chances of Arsenal and Man City progressing in the Champions League (though never say never) - it is down to Everton to restore some British pride.

The Toffees take on Dynamo Kiev at Goodison in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

After Everton's recent travails in the Premier League, this tie might well be a pleasant distraction for Roberto Martinez and his players.

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Frontman Steven Naismith is certainly confident. "We believe we can go all the way to the final and win it," he said, but warned: "We're at the stage now where every team is a quality team."

Kick off is 20:05 GMT with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.

And before we leave Villa, how about this picture we've just stumbled across taken before their game with West Brom last weekend.

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Is it just us or does Tony Pulis look more than a little uncomfortable in the midst of this Tim Sherwood vice-like bear-hug?

Villa are still awaiting the results of a Football Association and police investigation into crowd trouble during the FA Cup win over West Brom at the weekend but Tim Sherwood wants to focus on their key game at Sunderland.

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"It didn't take the shine off for me and the players. We just concentrate on the football side and other people can deal with the aftermath. I haven't looked into it too much," said Sherwood.

"All I'm concentrating on is focusing the boys on the next one which is Sunderland away."

Sherwood revealed that Libor Kozak has returned to first-team training after being out for over a year with a broken leg - but Kieran Richardson (calf) is a doubt, while Philippe Senderos (calf) is out and Jack Grealish and Alan Hutton are banned.

Why are British teams struggling in Europe?

Steven Ross: English clubs don't have a divine right to do well in Europe and maybe we are just not as good as we think we are!

Lawal Sura: English teams should change their philosophy when going for European games, not stick to the same gameplan used in Premier League.

Mark 4exmilitary: Teams can't complain about number of games and then swan off to China/USA, etc, for three weeks as part of a marketing ploy in the summer.

Jono: No matter what you think about the Chelsea game last night, don't you think the PSG away kit is just awful?

Let's have a reminder of it then...

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Awful's a bit strong. Bright maybe. But then again, just think how handy it would be if you find yourself on a dimly-lit country lane and need to be visible to oncoming traffic...

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Paris St-Germain will not be able to overturn Zlatan Ibrahimovic's red card, despite Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho calling on the European governing body to cancel the dismissal.

Uefa has announced that referees' decisions are viewed as final unless it is a case of mistaken identity.

A Uefa spokesman pointed to its disciplinary regulations which state: "Decisions taken by the referee on the field of play are final and may not be reviewed by the Uefa disciplinary bodies."

Rangers have announced caretaker manager Kenny McDowall has left the club.

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McDowall leaves the club after 10 games in caretaker charge, during which Rangers won just three times.

His departure paves the way for Stuart McCall to take over as manager. McCall is expected to be confirmed as the new boss in the next few hours, after arriving at Murray Park earlier in the day.

Swansea City winger Modou Barrow has joined Championship side Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.

The 22-year-old Gambia-born signed from Swedish club Ostersunds in September 2014.

Christian Benteke is set to return for Aston Villa's crunch relegation clash with Sunderland, confirms Villa gaffer Tim Sherwood.

The striker missed the weekend's 2-0 FA Cup quarter final win over West Brom with a hip injury but will be in the squad for the trip to the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

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Villa are a place above the Premier League relegation zone and a point behind the Black Cats ahead of the game with Benteke looking to return.

Boss Tim Sherwood said: "Christian is still feeling it. He'll be in the squad, we'll give him as much time as we can to get him fit."

It was a first Cheltenham winner for both Sheehan and Greatrex and was reward for a brave front-running display.

Paul Nicholls-trained horses were second and third with the 5-1 favourite Saphir Du Rheu finishing just ahead of Zarkandar (6-1).

The 14-1 chance Cole Harden wins the World Hurdle at Cheltenham for trainer Warren Greatrex and jockey Gavin Sheehan.

Steven Gerrard also spoke about Chelsea's defeat by PSG and the struggles of English teams in the Champions League.

He insisted there is "no crisis" and suggested English clubs would be back.

"I don't think it has been our year but I don't think it is a crisis. I don't think it will repeat as the years go by," the Liverpool captain added. "It has happened before that teams have gone out early and the next year one comes back and wins it. I don't think it is a major problem but as a whole we haven't been good enough."

Asked about Chelsea's behaviour, Gerrard said players do whatever it takes to win and added that "we have all been guilty of overstepping the mark on occasions".

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been speaking to the media today at an event to publicise an already sold-out all-star charity game - which takes place later this month at Anfield and will feature a number of former Reds stars (including Jamie Carragher), plus other greats of the game.

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He said that he is aiming to sign off his Liverpool career by helping the side to FA Cup glory and a place in the top four.

"I've just got over a hamstring injury and I am fit and available for the next game (against Swansea on Monday)," said the 34-year-old, who will join LA Galaxy in the summer.

"I want to finish the season really strong and leave the team in the top four and hopefully go all the way in the FA Cup - that is how I want to sign off."

Former ATP world number one Mats Wilander believes Andy Murray is "right where he wants to be" ahead of the Indian Wells Masters.

Image source, SNS

The Swede won seven major singles titles, and the Wimbledon doubles gong between 1982 and 1988.

"I think he (Murray) is right where he wants to be," he told BBC Scotland. "Most probably he needs a tournament win to gain that little bit of extra confidence.

"I think it's possible that he wins a major this year - he's going to win a couple of tournaments here and there, that's for sure."

Why are British clubs struggling in Europe?

Thomas Jones: Collectively the Premier League is the best (the most players at Brazil 2014) but the best teams in Europe are still better than ours.

Harry Partridge: I can see the new seeding system potentially allowing Spanish/English teams to dominate the knock-out stages next season.

Daniel Farren: No teams ever defended the Champions League in it's current format, it's a hard competition not always reflecting league form.

Vincent Manancourt: Perhaps English teams prioritise the Premier League because it is more exciting and competitive than Champions and Europa Leagues?

Keep 'em coming to #bbcsportsday.