England Premier League Media

Wolves midfielder David Jones remains confident that they will survive in the top flight, despite a tough run-in.

Six of Wolves’ remaining 10 games are away from Molineux, starting with a three successive road-trips to Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham.

“I don’t think we’ll be afraid to go to the places we’re going away from home,” Jones, 25, told BBC WM.

“I’m sure we’ve displayed this season that we can play well and score goals away from home.”

The former Manchester United player has benefited from manager Mick McCarthy’s switch to 4-5-1, forming a three-man central midfield with skipper Karl Henry and January signing Adlene Guedioura.

“It’s been working quite well, we just need to convert a few more goals,” he noted after the narrow home defeat against Manchester United.

“I’m sure with performances like that in the remaining games of the season we will pick up points.”

Jones has started the past seven Premier League games after recovering from a long-term knee problem, scoring the winner in the home game against Tottenham.

Rafael Benitez has said Wigan chairman Dave Whelan should concentrate on his own club rather than worry about what is going on at Liverpool.

Whelan claimed the Reds were in a “mess” following Wigan’s 1-0 victory over Benitez’s side on Monday.

Whelan said: “Liverpool are in a mess. The owners, being American, I don’t think they feel what we [fans] feel.”

Reds manager Benitez hit back: “I do not talk about Wigan. He [Whelan] should talk about his own club.”

Whelan also admitted he felt sorry for Liverpool fans after Hugo Rodallega’s volley consigned them to a seventh league defeat away from Anfield this season, and their ninth loss in total.

“The big sympathy I have is for the Liverpool supporters because they are a fantastic lot,” Whelan added.

“I’m really, really sorry for their supporters. We went to Anfield earlier in the season and there was absolutely no atmosphere and no heart at all.

“The supporters feel that and I think the players are starting to feel it.”

Monday’s result left Liverpool in sixth place in the Premier League table, one point behind Tottenham and Manchester City who have one and two games in hand respectively over the Reds.

Aston Villa, who are three points behind Liverpool, have three games in hand as the race for fourth spot, and a place in next season’s European Champions League, gathers pace.

Benitez was highly critical of his side’s performance at the DW Stadium, accusing them of lacking attitude and character.

But the Spaniard has little time to dwell on the defeat with the Reds travelling to France to take on Lille in the Europa League on Thursday.

“Hopefully there will be a reaction in Lille,” said Benitez. “This is an opportunity to put things right and try to get a good result.

“In football you sometimes prefer to rest but at this time it is good to have a match quickly after what happened at Wigan.”

Meanwhile, the Football Association has confirmed Steven Gerrard will face no disciplinary action over an apparent ‘V’ gesture at referee Andre Marriner during the game against Wigan.

It is understood Marriner saw the incident at the time but did not deem it worthy of further punishment. Under those circumstances, the FA cannot take retrospective action.

Europa League
Venue: Stadium Lille-Metropole Date: Thursday 11 March Kick-off: 1800 GMT Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra from 1800 GMT and then BBC 5 live from 1900; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobile phones. Also live on Five TV

Yossi Benayoun is doubtful for the first leg of Liverpool’s last-16 Europa League tie against Lille on Thursday after sustaining an ankle injury.

The midfielder suffered discomfort in the defeat by Wigan and his fitness will be monitored ahead of the match.

Centre-back Daniel Agger should be available having recovered from a sickness bug which reduced him to the role of unused substitute on Monday.

The Europa League represents the Reds’ only realistic chance of silverware.

Liverpool team (from): Reina, Johnson, Degen, Agger, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Gerrard, Lucas, Aquilani, Benayoun, Riera, Rodriguez, Ngog, Kuyt, Torres, Cavalieri, Pacheco, Spearing, Darby, Babel, Kelly.

Footballer Steven Gerrard compared sport to science when he opened a new facility at a university on Merseyside.

The Liverpool midfielder toured the 25.5m Tom Reilly Building at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).

The centre will house the School of Sports and Exercise Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology.

The England star said the university’s sports degrees meant football and other sports were no longer seen as “only a game, but as science”.

‘Everton supporter’

“It’s a great privilege to be launching the building named in honour of Professor Tom Reilly.

“Like me, his two great passions in life were football and family.

“I’ve been told he was actually an Everton supporter but he loved the game as a whole and I’ve been assured that he would have been happy for me to officially launch the new facility.”

The centre houses equipment for each of the schools – from a scanner for measuring body fat, muscles and bone density, to lie detectors and eye-tracking equipment.

LJMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Brown said: “In order to have ‘fit for purpose’ graduates you need ‘fit for purpose’ buildings, where students can gain both a thorough grounding of their chosen academic discipline and secure, vital work-related skills and experience.”

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said he would have “no problem” leaving Anfield should his hometown club decide not to extend his current contract.

The 32-year-old has just over a year left on his contract, but has yet to begin negotiations over a new deal.

He told the Sunday Times: “I’ll still play my best and if I have to move then I’ll move. It wouldn’t bother me.”

Carragher has spent his entire career at Anfield, making over 500 appearances for the club over the last decade.

The Bootle-born central defender, who made his debut against Middlesbrough in 1997, is one of the few home-grown products to regularly make Liverpool’s starting line-up.

He has been a mainstay of the side this season, with only midfielders Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva making more Premier League appearances for the Reds.

However, Liverpool’s vice captain acknowledged he may have to look elsewhere if he wants to continue his playing career.

“The club will give me a new contract if they want to,” he added. “It’s a club thing. It’s down to them. I’ll keep playing and see where it takes me.”

The versatile defender quit international football in 2007 after becoming disillusioned with a lack of opportunities in the England team and said he was “not scared of making big decisions”.

Manager Rafael Benitez said the player wanted to concentrate on completing this season before beginning talks on a new deal.

“There is no news about Carragher,” said Benitez. “We have spoken to him and he was very clear that at this moment he just wants to concentrate on doing his job.

“I think Jamie prefers the situation as it is. The information I have is that he is comfortable with how things are and that he wants to wait.”

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says goalkeeper Jose Reina and midfielder Javier Mascherano are close to signing new contracts with the club.

“I think we will have news about Reina and Mascherano very soon and that will be very positive for the future,” said Benitez of the Spaniard and Argentine.

“Everything is very close and there are no problems.”

Reina, 27, has been at Liverpool since July 2005, while Mascherano, 25, joined the club in January 2007.

Reina, who arrived from Villarreal, has kept 12 clean sheets for Liverpool this season and Benitez insists the Spain international is now the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

“He is the best in England, miles away from the others, and we are really pleased to keep him here for a long time,” the Anfield boss said.

“I remember at the beginning people said ‘for England, in the air, he is not the best’.

“But he is always organising the defenders and is more than a keeper. Sometimes the style of goalkeepers is for them to be really good in the six-yard box, Pepe is really good in the 18-yard box.”

Benitez highlighted Reina’s brilliant stoppage-time save from Christopher Samba’s goalbound header in their 2-1 victory over Blackburn as evidence of his class.

“When you talk about a goalkeeper in a top side he normally doesn’t have much to do,” he added.

“To be involved in this game, especially at the end, and that save shows the level of the player.”

Mascherano, who signed from West Ham, was linked with a move to Barcelona last summer but Benitez is convinced Argentina’s captain is keen to stay on Merseyside.

“I was talking with him and his agent the other day and it is true Javier is happier,” Benitez said.

“The conversations were very positive. When you talk with Javier he is very settled and happy. Everyone knew about some clubs being interested in him but talking with us he was fine.”

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel will miss much of the remainder of the season because of a broken metatarsal.

The 25-year-old Slovakia international will not need surgery but is likely to be unavailable to manager Rafael Benitez until the end of April.

He was forced off during his team’s 4-1 aggregate win over Unirea Urziceni in their Europa League tie on Thursday.

Manager Rafael Benitez said after the match: “It was a good result but then we had the bad news about Martin.”

Skrtel was injured in a second-half clash with Antonio Semedo as the Reds won 3-1 in Romania to reach the last 16 with a 4-1 aggregate score.

He has been a mainstay of Liverpool’s central defence this season, featuring 29 times and scoring one goal, in the 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City in November.

Benitez will at least be comforted with better news regarding Skrtel’s fellow defender Glen Johnson.

The 17m signing is nearing a comeback, having not played since late December because of a knee injury.

“He’s doing well. He was training [on Friday] with the team – a light training session,” said Benitez.

“I was watching him and he was quite sharp but Sunday will be too soon.”

The Football Association has announced the details of the FA Cup semi-finals, which will be played at Wembley.

Aston Villa will play holders Chelsea at 1700 BST on 10 April. Portsmouth, the 2008 winners, face either Fulham or Tottenham at 1600 BST on 11 April.

Fulham and Tottenham are due to replay their sixth round match at White Hart Lane on 24 March, after they drew 0-0 in last weekend’s round.

Pompey beat Birmingham and Chelsea saw off Stoke to reach the semi-finals.

Birmingham gained revenge for their FA Cup exit on Saturday and brought Portsmouth back to earth with victory in the Premier League at Fratton Park.

Cameron Jerome ran on to a Chucho Benitez ball and drilled under David James to give the Blues an early lead.

A delightful backheel from Benitez then sent the striker clear to drive a second under James before the break.

Substitute Kanu headed home Jamie O’Hara’s cross to ensure a tight finish but Pompey could not grab an equaliser.

Portsmouth, in administration and near certainties for relegation, had gone into the game at least buoyed by Saturday’s 2-0 win over Alex McLeish’s side which secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.

But the reality of their plight came back into focus four days later as Birmingham claimed a victory which takes them above Everton into eighth place in the table.

Avram Grant’s Portsmouth side huffed and puffed throughout but some clinical finishing from the Blues ultimately proved the difference between the teams and Grant’s defiant weekend statement that “no-one will take our spirit” will now be put to the test.

The defeat leaves Pompey four points behind second-bottom Burnley, having played a game more, and with a further nine points set to be docked from the total after entering administration, relegation seems assured.

Not that you would have guessed their plight from the atmosphere on the south coast. The passionate home fans cheered their stricken side from beginning to end, despite the visitors never looking back after taking an early lead.

Benitez picked up the ball on the edge of the Portsmouth area and an attempted pass to Keith Fahey fell perfectly into the path of Jerome, who drove low past James.

It was harsh on the hosts, who had dominated the opening stages. And the home supporters were infuriated still further when a cross from Aruna Dindane hit Roger Johnson on the arm – only for referee Mike Jones to turn down appeals for a penalty.

Far from being disheartened though the hosts continued to surge forward, helped in no small part by tremendous support from the Fratton Park terraces.

But the clear-cut chances only seemed to be arriving at the other end and Benitez was guilty of a shocking miss just before the break.

The Ecuadorian striker was clearly offside when he received a flick-on from Jerome, but managed to get into a hopeless tangle when attempting to round James and ended up on his backside.

The Portsmouth crowd laughed at the mistake but they were not smirking for long as the chunky striker quickly made amends.

A backheel on the edge of the area rolled perfectly into Jerome’s path and the striker bagged his second with a finish under the sprawling James.

For all their toil, and the tireless work of O’Hara in midfield, the closest Portsmouth came to a goal in the first half was that penalty claim and they were to see another appeal waved away after the break.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, on as a substitute for Marc Wilson, broke into the area and fired a shot that appeared to strike Craig Gardner’s lower arm – but the home appeals again fell on deaf ears.

Birmingham seemed happy to sit back and break on the counter attack, as has been their way in an impressive campaign. Scott Dann blasted over and substitute Sebastian Larsson shot straight at James but the visitors hardly threatened in a tame second period.

The same could have been said of Portsmouth, in truth, until Kanu’s late goal set up a tense final few minutes.

O’Hara was inevitably the creator with a swinging cross from the right and a nodded close-range header looked like it might spark a comeback.

But the Blues held on and will believe that European qualification is still a possibility. For the Portsmouth fans, chants of “Wembley, Wembley” throughout showed where their thoughts are.

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant:
“I think there was a physical effect because players had to play because we are short in the squad. But the players did a great job on Saturday and they tried to do it again.

“We started the game very well. The first goal was from their first attack. But we played very slowly and let them organise very easy.

“It’s a very difficult situation. It’s just become more and more difficult. We try to do everything to keep the spirit of the club. But many things happen off the pitch. I don’t know because that’s not my area. But many things are happening off the pitch and that makes it difficult.

“It’s not a secret that the financial situation is not good. We fight for the club.

“I hope we will not be docked the points. I hope football decisions will be made on the pitch.

“When you punish something you punish the people who did something wrong. You need to punish the right people.”

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish:
“We were well up for it. We freshened things up and the lads were back in form.

“We spoke before the game about how Pompey might have thought our confidence has dropped and that we didn’t have much more to play for this season – and we responded brilliantly.

“The first half was fantastic; we could have been four or five up. Although I was relieved at the final whistle as there was a bit of an onslaught. But we should have been out of sight by then.

“It was a disappointing goal to concede and the defenders are actually gutted because they’re so proud of their clean sheets.”

Crisis club Portsmouth will not be able to compete in Europe next season even if they win the FA Cup.

The club would be declined entry to the Europa League because they have not applied for a Uefa club licence.

Portsmouth went into administration last month and were not in a position to file their accounts – a criterion for entry into European competition.

Portsmouth beat Birmingham on Saturday to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup – a competition they won in 2008.

That Wembley triumph led to the club’s first ever European campaign, which gave fans memorable matches against AC Milan and Wolfsburg.

The FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League, with the place given the runners-up if the winners have already qualified for Europe through the Premier League.

The club could submit a retrospective application for a Uefa licence, but their financial predicament makes it unlikely this would be granted.

Portsmouth, bottom of the Premier League, face either Tottenham or Fulham in the FA Cup semi-finals.

And the club’s administrator Andrew Andronikou says he has been reassured by the Football Association that the club will not be thrown out of the competition.

“The FA are fully supportive of us and they want us to succeed and get to the other end,” said Andronikou. “There is no chance of us being kicked out of the FA Cup.”

Pompey are currently fighting a battle in the High Court over their right to go into voluntary administration.

Andronikou was appointed as the club’s administrator on 26 February with the aim of cutting costs and finding a buyer for the Hampshire club.

The decision to go into administration came ahead of an scheduled winding up order from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.

HMRC have since challenged the move and questioned the validity of Andronikou’s appointment.