Arsene Wenger wants his former captain William Gallas to carry on scoring in the Arsenal cause. Gallas, who was stripped of the captaincy after several flashpoints during his tenure, scored the late header that secured all three points for Arsenal in Sunday's 1-0 victory against Portsmouth to keep alive the Gunners' title hopes. Wenger said: "He answers everybody by his performance on the pitch and that's what you do when you are a great player. He started as a striker and looks most likely to score at set-pieces. He has good timing to attack the ball."

 Gareth Barry is happy for Aston Villa to remain as underdogs and not be regarded as serious contenders for a Champions League spot. Villa's 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Boxing Day has given them the opportunity to end the year in the top four if they can get at least a point at Hull City on Tuesday. Barry said: "We are halfway now through the season and that is a great sign to be where we are. It puts a bit of pressure on teams below you if you do keep winning. We have won back-to-back away games (against Everton and West Ham United). The critics can keep saying we are not up there near the top of the table on merit. But, if we can stay there until April, then people will start changing their minds. We don't mind not being taken seriously. It takes the pressure off. We will probably keep talking that way ourselves - at least we will in public anyway. It is alright starting well and then dropping away but here we are, halfway through a season and that shows the massive effort put in so far. We have picked up our form over the last six games and have gone shooting up the table. Hopefully we can keep it going."

 Defender Chris Samba admits that it will take some time to get Sunday's draw with Manchester City out of their system. Rovers should have been celebrating Sam Allardyce's second home win in charge with them leading 2-0 going into the final minutes at Ewood Park until late strikes from Daniel Sturridge and Robinho burst the balloons on the expected Christmas celebrations. Samba admitted: "We are down and it won't be easy for the lads to recover from this. We should have sealed the game, at 2-0 it was finished. But we showed a lack of experience, we should have kept the ball and finished the game off. I am really disappointed, their first goal we should have dealt better with it and that allowed City back in the game. The second goal is just stupid, so it is really disappointing, we didn't deserve this, but that's football, we really should have had the three points."

  Gary Megson is determined to beef up his small squad in the January transfer window in a bid to preserve their Barclays Premier League status. Megson saw his side suffer their second successive defeat in the festive fixtures when they went down 1-0 to Wigan Athletic at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday. Megson said: "We have got to get some players in. We have known this all along. If you look at the bench on Sunday we had three kids on it. We've already made inquiries but as you can imagine there are not a huge number of players available in January. It is going to be difficult, we will have a look around and see what we can do as we are effectively working with a first-team squad of only 14 players." 

 After the 2-2 draw at Fulham, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari revealed that part of half-time had been spent discussing how the team had been out numbered in key areas for the Cottagers' first goal. After the final whistle and minutes after an unmarked Clint Dempsey had earned a draw for Fulham, the manager could be seen in discussion with Petr Cech. "Petr is the captain for this area and I give to Petr the power to say this or that and I ask him what has happened," he explained, "Because one player in the middle of the area free in the last minute, it is incredible. We won one point at Everton, we lost two points today. Apart from the goals, Fulham had one more chance. We had 10 chances and we scored two goals."

 Mikel Arteta's growing influence on Everton's surge into the top six has been hailed by assistant manager Steve Round. Arteta's two first-half goals, and his overall contribution to the 3-0 victory over Sunderland, ruined Ricky Sbragia's debut as the Wearsiders' permanent manager after being elevated from his caretaker role. Round said: "A lot of good stuff came from Mikel, he has that sort of talent. He scored two, one with an exceptional free-kick, while teen prospect Dan Gosling grabbed the other. But I was delighted with his overall performance, he was exceptional. He controlled the game and the tempo and made a lot of telling passes. Mikel has never been a prolific goal scorer but that is his challenge now. We know he can create and assist but we want him to take more on board."

  Roy Hodgson rates his first 12 months in charge of Fulham as one of the best years of his long and distinguished managerial career. Fulham marked the anniversary of Hodgson's appointment by snatching a 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Sunday to dent their local rivals' Barclays Premier League title bid. Hodgson, who has managed Inter Milan on two occasions and guided Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup and Euro 96, said: "It's been one of the best managerial years of my career, if not the best. I'm immensely satisfied with what we've achieved in 2008." When Hodgson was appointed on 28th December last year, Fulham were languishing in the bottom three and in grave danger of relegation. Not only did Fulham survive, but this season they have beaten Arsenal and taken points off both Liverpool and Chelsea to enter the new year in the top half of the table. Sunday's draw extended Fulham's unbeaten run to nine matches.

 Phil Brown has called on his side to get "ugly again" to arrest their alarming slump in form. After a bright start to their maiden Barclays Premier League campaign, Hull have managed to win just once in 10 matches. "I think we have been sucked into the pretty Premier League," said Brown, whose side earned rave reviews after back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in October. "We are not pretty by any stretch of the imagination - we are ugly Hull. We need to be ugly again against Aston Villa (on Tuesday). Friday we were pretty, we played some pretty football but Man City are a good side. If you don't bring your 'ugly head' to the table then Man City will play some football against you. It was uncharacteristic but we have been sucked into the way the Premier League play. In the first 10-15 games I don't think we did. I think we brought Hull City's game to the table."

 Steven Gerrard has hailed the table-topping Liverpool side as the best he has played in and is backing the Reds to clinch a first Premier League title. Rafael Benitez's side will start the new year three points clear of the chasing pack following Sunday's 5-1 defeat of Newcastle United. Captain Gerrard, who scored twice at St James' Park, said: "We have given ourselves a great chance. We have to remain consistent, that is the key. If we want to stay at the top and be involved in this title race, we have got to deal with the pressure. We have big players here and we will have a lot of tests and challenges to come, but if we keep playing like this then we will be there. This is the best team I have played with. You look around the dressing room and, from the keeper to the forwards, we have some fantastic players. There is a confidence that we can get over the big hurdles."

 Mark Hughes may have unearthed his best signing of the January transfer window already after Daniel Sturridge's heroics rescued an unlikely point at Blackburn Rovers. The England Under-19 striker hauled City back into the match at Ewood Park with a well-taken effort three minutes from time before setting up record signing Robinho for an equaliser with virtually the last kick. After attracting the interest of Chelsea last summer, Hughes is now trying to persuade Sturridge to commit his long-term future to the Eastlands outfit. "I want to keep Daniel at the club because this is the best place for him to learn," said Hughes. "We want to bring some good players here and that will create the right type of environment that is conducive to good football. I think negotiations are quite close now. For some reason Daniel has been allowed to get in the last year of his contract, which swings the situation back towards the player. If I had been here then, I would not have allowed it to happen."

 Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced Manchester United have the strength required to pursue a third successive Premier League title. For United, the first two months of 2009 not only bring action on four fronts but also the matches in hand that could see them close in on current pacesetters Liverpool and Chelsea. How the Red Devils emerge from such a packed programme will determine their chances of emulating last term's success. While Ferguson accepts his side are facing a tough task, he is sure United will not fail for lack of available bodies. "There is an interesting challenge facing us but I am confident we can cope," he said. "We have not taken this on blindly. I have been planning for this pressure by creating a squad that gives me options and the manpower to make changes without weakening the team. Our pool of players is getting stronger, as the younger lads mature and come into the squad at a level where I can play them, knowing they will perform. We have a good strong squad and if we can go into the new year only a handful of points behind the leaders then we have a good chance of winning the Premier League again."

 Gareth Southgate sends his side into Monday night's daunting Barclays Premier League match with Manchester United at Old Trafford insisting they can still turn their ailing season around. A series of miserable defeats including the Boxing Day loss to Everton have seen Boro slump to the brink of the relegation zone and increased the pressure on Southgate's shoulders. But he insisted: "We are trying to improve and get back in the top 10. That is still within touching distance, but it is a hell of an achievement if we can do that. It might not be enough for people outside the club but we understand how long it takes for things to progress and there has to be reality about your objectives and how quickly they can be achieved." 

 Manager Joe Kinnear will sit down with owner Mike Ashley to thrash out the way forward after seeing his side beaten 5-1 by title-chasing Liverpool. That painful lesson came hours after Ashley announced his decision to take the club off the market and the manager he appointed back in September will seek an early meeting as he attempts to recruit at least four new players during next month's transfer window to help pull away from the relegation scrap. Kinnear said: "It is a positive move. He wants to look forward and what we are going to do now is sit down and see where we can strengthen the side and see what sort of money is available. That hasn't been made quite clear yet but there will be money available, for sure. We have suggested players to Mike that I would like and now it's really wait and see what price they are. (Executive director (football)) Dennis Wise and the rest of the people are finding out just what the prices are."

 Tony Adams has reiterated that he does not want to sell in the transfer window which opens on Thursday. "I am determined to hold on to all of them but I want people who want to play for Portsmouth," he said. "We're in a scrap with 14 other clubs and if they don't want to play for Portsmouth then they're no good to me. It's not reading the riot act, it's fact. If your head has been turned, if you're not trying everything to win games for the club then I don't want you around. No-one's come to see me, no-one wants away. I'm really encouraged, not with the results, but with the way they are performing."

 Tony Pulis described Ricardo Fuller as a "volatile player and person" after the striker was sent off for fighting with a team-mate in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United. Fuller became embroiled in a heated exchange with Andy Griffin seconds after West Ham equalised early in the second half and was red-carded for throwing a punch at the defender. "There's no condoning what (Fuller's) done," said Pulis. "He's walked up to Griff and clipped him on the chin and it's disappointing. I'll talk to them both and deal with it on Monday. Ric is a volatile player and a volatile person and what he's done will be dealt with. The pair get on well together but I've said to the lads we'll have a meeting on Monday to sort it out. Ric was already on the bus when we came in and he's very disappointed with what he did and his reaction."

 New manager Ricky Sbragia admitted Everton were "far superior" after his managerial career started with a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Goodison Park. Spragia was handed the job on a permanent basis after leading the Black Cats as caretaker manager following Roy Keane's resignation at the start of the month. But, after three matches unbeaten, Sunderland could not end the year on a high as two Mikel Arteta goals and a late Dan Gosling strike handed the home side three routine points. Sbragia said: "It has not been the best start to my management career. We knew it was going to be difficult at Everton and it certainly proved to be that. In general they were far superior to us. We spoke beforehand about not giving any silly free-kicks away around the box and that is exactly what we did and they scored twice. From 2-0 down it was always going to be an extremely difficult game. Overall in all departments, Everton were better. Tiredness doesn't come into it. Everton have played three games in six days and they seemed fine so we can't use that as an excuse."

 Harry Redknapp said he could see why Benoit Assou-Ekotto was shown a straight red card for a first-half challenge on Gianni Zuiverloon in the 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion. "He turned his back away from the attacker so it was possibly a sending off," he said. "We played with 10 men for a long time and I thought we did okay. We controlled enough of the game and still had lots of the ball. We wouldn't have got beaten with 11 men, that's for sure. We'll pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down and start all over again on Monday."

 Tony Mowbray is hoping Arsenal youngster Jay Simpson can make a difference in his team's survival battle when he arrives next month. The 20-year-old Gunners striker will join the Baggies on loan until the end of the season from 1st January. "This boy is an unknown quantity at Premier League level. Can he score goals? I don't know. We will probably give him an opportunity to see whether he can. He's had a very good upbringing. We will be trying to provide a platform for him to see whether he can do the job. I think the deal is done."

  Gianfranco Zola reiterated his desire to keep hold of all his players in the January transfer window after the late 2-1 win at home to Stoke City. Several of the Hammers squad have been linked with moves away from Upton Park but Zola said: "The commitment is to improve this team so we'll try to keep all our players. Everybody at West Ham wants to take this team to a better level. It's not easy because we have very good players in our team and big clubs are looking for good players. There's also the financial thing but the club tells me it's not a problem."

 Steve Bruce is daring to dream of European football after his side climbed to seventh in the table. On-loan striker Amr Zaki scored the winner against Bolton Wanderers from the penalty spot a minute before half-time to ensure Wigan have now won five of their last six league matches and continue to make great strides under Bruce's stewardship. Bruce said: "Anyone who has seen us will know it is no fluke we are in the top half of the division. Our aim is to stay there if we can. There are a lot of big clubs down near the bottom so it is great for a side like ours to be punching above our weight. Bolton have done it (played in the UEFA Cup), Blackburn have done it. Why can't it be our turn? In the calendar year we have taken something like 58-60 points. It is a fantastic achievement from the players but we are not going to get carried away."