Theo Walcott will be back with Stuart Pearce's England Under-21s this week after being overlooked for senior duty due to a lack of match-fitness. Walcott has only just returned from a side strain and Fabio Capello, despite the 20-year-old scoring against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday, opted not to recall him for the World Cup qualifier in Ukraine. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger was upset over Walcott playing for the Under-21s in the European Championships in the summer but was happy for his player to go on international duty this week and spoke to Pearce about a call-up for the qualifier against Macedonia on Friday. "This is the perfect opportunity for the Under-21s to support the senior team," Pearce said on Tuesday. "I spoke with Arsene Wenger yesterday and we both agreed it would be right for Theo to come and join the squad."

 Martin O'Neill insisted his players had not adopted a different approach to their 1-1 draw with Manchester City because of the presence of Gareth Barry. The former Villa midfielder returned to the club for the first time with his new side and was given a mixed reception by the Villa Park faithful. But O'Neill was keen to play down the England man's influence. He said: "Were we galvanised by Barry? I do not think that at all. My view was we had an important game to play and Gareth is part of the opposition now. It would have been quite strange for him coming back here. The players have a great respect for him and so do I." O'Neill added: "I did not want half-time to come because we were so strong at that stage of proceedings. In the end I was disappointed with the result but not the performance."

 Blues goalkeeper Joe Hart has been called up as a late replacement to the England squad for their forthcoming World Cup 2010 qualifying matches against Ukraine and Belarus. The on-loan Manchester City stopper replaces Blackburn Rovers' Paul Robinson who has been forced to withdraw because of a hip injury. The Three Lions play Ukraine away on Saturday before hosting Belarus four days later at Wembley. Should Hart play a part in either match it will be his second senior cap for his country. His debut came as a second half substitute in a 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago in June 2008. 

 Rovers have agreed to play at Accrington Stanley next week - a fixture aimed at raising funds for the 'Save Our Stanley' campaign. The match will take place on Tuesday 13th October (kick-off 7.45pm). Tickets will be priced £10 (adults) and £5 (concessions). Full ticketing details will be announced shortly.

 Ricardo Gardner has set himself a goal target for the season after opening his account in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The Jamaican scored in just his third start of the season after missing the opening weeks of the campaign with a hamstring strain. Gardner went almost six years without a goal in the Barclays Premier League prior to last season, but hit the back of the net four times during 2008/09 and wants to go even better this time around. "I have set myself a good target, starting with wanting to score more than last season," Gardner said. "I'm focusing on that and I'm going to try and help my team in whatever way I can. The players that I have got around me are fantastic and I think that they will help me a lot in achieving that goal. We are all gelling together nicely but there's still room to get better and better each time we play."  

 Owen Coyle is adamant he feels no embarrassment over Burnley's dismal away form in the Barclays Premier league this season, but concedes points need to start being collected on the road. The Clarets manager has led the top-flight newcomers to four straight wins at home since promotion, but their record on the road is the exact opposite, with four defeats coming at the cost of 14 goals against and no goals scored. Those losses at Stoke City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur taken the gloss off Burnley's otherwise bright start to the season, and Coyle admits lessons have been learned. "I can't say there's any embarrassment to lose at the places we've lost at, but we all know we could have defended better in some instances," Coyle said. "When I look at each and every game away from home, we've had early chances in the games to get in front. We have to make sure that when they come about they take them. Our aim when we came into this league was to retain our Premier League status. There won't be many people out there who would have felt we'd have 12 points at this stage, but we have. What we do now is go away from home and look to earn points."

 Chelsea winger Florent Malouda believes the 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday was perfect tonic for his side after the shock defeat to Wigan Athletic the previous week. The Frenchman scored the second goal in the victory over the Reds at Stamford Bridge and is desperate to maintain the form that helped put the Blues back on top of the Barclays Premier League - two points clear of Manchester United. "I think it is a very good result, because we played against Liverpool, a good team, and the reaction was good after we lost away at Wigan," said Malouda. "Now we are on top of the league, there was a good result when Man Utd drew (against Sunderland) and we had to take advantage by winning at home. The season is going to be long so it was important to take advantage and it's important to win points at home, which is where I think we lost the title in past years, and that's what we are trying to change this year. We must win every game at home and we are happy because this was against Liverpool and everything is okay."

 David Moyes has dismissed rumours suggesting Leon Osman was set to leave Everton in the summer. The midfielder has recently been handed the captain's armband in the absence of Phil Neville and the 28-year-old repaid his manger's faith in him by rescuing the Toffees a point against Stoke City on Sunday. Everton were trailing to a Robert Huth header until Osman popped up to curl home into the top corner from the edge of the area. Many expected the former Toffees trainee to leave Goodison Park in the summer with Everton particularly strong in the midfield department providing strong competition for places. However Moyes said: "There was no chance of him going after the Cup Final. "I see him and Tony Hibbert as the brickwork here, they are home-grown players who are the fabric of the club. He was never on his way out. He has shown great courage in working hard to stay here, and he showed great courage again to get us back in the game." 

 Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has ruled Damien Duff out of his plans for Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Italy. Injuries have accounted for the Fulham winger Duff who is suffering with a calf problem. The unbeaten Republic take on Group Eight leaders Italy at Croke Park knowing a victory would move them to within one point of top spot, with one round of matches remaining. Italy will secure their place in next year's finals if they avoid defeat.

 Paul McShane reckons Hull City are able to handle the pressure after a tricky start to the new campaign. "It's a pressure month but pressure is a good thing, that's what it's all about," he said. "If we can't deal with the pressure then we're not good enough, simple as that. Maybe you could see us struggling a little bit in the last few games but you have to be better than that. If you can't deal with it then you're in big trouble. We'd want to be getting as many points as we've played games at the very least so we know we're behind schedule."

 Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has revealed that he considered retiring during his injury nightmare. The Denmark international underwent an operation on a back problem during pre-season and only returned to the Reds' bench for Sunday's defeat at Chelsea. Agger's career has been disrupted by a number of fitness setbacks and the 24-year-old has revealed that he considered quitting during his most recent injury. "My back was hurting so badly that I considered stopping playing," he said. "I asked myself if it was worth continuing playing. When you can't even lift your own child out of bed, then something is terribly wrong." 

 Mark Hughes praised the reaction of the Manchester City fans towards the club's former captain Richard Dunne after he scored for Aston Villa in the 1-1 draw at Villa Park. Dunne rose above Gareth Barry to head home a cross from Stephen Warnock after 15 minutes. But he chose not to celebrate and received rapturous applause from the supporters City where he spent nine years as a player. Hughes said: "The City fans were fantastic in terms of the reception that they gave to Richard. He was a fantastic player over many years for City during the good and the bad times. Our supporters recognised that fact and it was really special."

 Manchester United have handed a new contract to Belgian starlet Ritchie de Laet. The 20-year-old defender only joined United in January, when the Red Devils signed him from Stoke City. He has impressed Sir Alex Ferguson since making the move to Old Trafford and is now on the verge of the first team. And his progress has been rewarded with a new three-year deal. "Alex Ferguson told me I'm very close to the first team," he said. "There has been talk of me going out on loan but Sir Alex said I can't leave as he may need me. The new contract is a surprise and fantastic news."

 Manager Paul Hart has praised the Pompey fans after the club's difficult start to the new season. "Our fans are fantastic," he said. "You saw the support away at Carlisle in the Carling Cup. What a trip that was midweek. I am pleased they came to Wolves and saw a win. They deserved it, the players, the club deserved it - but now we have to get more points."

 Mamady Sidibe is desperate to repay the club's fans for their support as his injury nightmare draws to a close. The 29-year-old Mali international has been out of action since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his left knee in March, but will return to training next week. Sidibe, who has received many messages of support in his absence, said: "I want to pay the fans back because their support helps me a lot. I don't score 15 or 20 goals a season for them, but they know I always give everything. I have had a lot of nice messages from supporters. That makes me happy and more confident. Now I want to repay them when I get back on the pitch."

 Steve Bruce is backing striker Kenwyne Jones to terrorise Barclays Premier League defences once again after rediscovering his best form. The 25-year-old headed off on international duty with Trinidad and Tobago after he and strike-partner Darren Bent very nearly put leaders Manchester United to the sword at the weekend. Jones' second-half header at Old Trafford was his fifth goal of the season and served as a reminder of the threat he represented during his first season on Wearside. Bruce said: "Kenwyne is looking more like his old self. For a few months last season, even I was looking - from afar, because I was at Wigan - and thinking, 'Go on Kenwyne, can you find the form that made you probably one of the most feared centre-forwards in the league?', because when he is really at it, that's what he is. And he looks like he is getting back to that again."

 Centre-half Michael Dawson insists Harry Redknapp must remain at White Hart Lane after turning Tottenham into real contenders for a Champions League spot. Redknapp has guided the team to third place in the Barclays Premier League but their form has recently been overshadowed by rumours surrounding his future. That speculation was quashed by the manager last week but Dawson, 25, declared: "There were rumours last Friday but I don't think the lads take a lot of notice of that. You get on with your own individual jobs. "He's your boss and he believes in me and you've got to believe in him. He's certainly doing a top-class job at the moment. Since Harry came in he turned it round and brought a lot of belief to the players. You look at the squad we had last year, we had top-class players but we weren't just performing as individuals, and as a team. Harry came in and believed in everyone and I think now the lads are just going out there and playing with no fear and they're expressing themselves."  

 Matthew Upson reckons the Hammers desrved more than  apoint in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Fulham. "It feels like we lost the game even though we scored to draw," he said. "We are very disappointed and it is something that we need to put behind us and get stronger from. We passed it well in the first half and created chances to win the game, and we ended the half just one up. It was a dangerous game at half-time, as we never added to the lead, and it gave them an incentive to pull together, which they did. They played very well with ten men and we never killed it off and a couple of mistakes and sloppy things costs us. That is the reason why it feels a loss."

 Roberto Martinez hopes his side can bounce back from Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Hull City and shock high-flying Manchester City. "The surprising thing about Man City is that it hasn't taken them time to gel together, get the results and be playing as a team," said the manager. "In my eyes they have one of the best squads in the league in terms of numbers, and the quality to be contenders for the title. When you go out to buy the best it can go wrong sometimes, and when you look at what they've bought it almost resembles how you play a computer game, but they now have a fantastic squad and Mark Hughes has them playing as a team. That's the difference between having many strong individuals and having a strong team. Having said that, I wouldn't swap my squad for Man City's, no way. In the three months we've been working together we've progressed massively and we believe in our squad. Slowly we're going to fulfil our potential regardless of what happens elsewhere."

 Richard Stearman has suffered a setback in his bid to recover from an injury to his lower leg. The 21-year-old was due to play in Wednesday's second-string game against Aston Villa, but has aggravated the knock and will not feature. "Richard won't be playing in the reserves," Wolves manager Mick McCarthy added. "He just felt it on Friday, so he'll be having some rehabilitation and we'll try to get him right for the Everton game. I suppose the only problem is he won't have had a game, and it would have been nice for him to play tomorrow. He was alright having played half a game in the reserves last week, but he's hurt it again."