Bruno Fernandes is having his best season yet at Man Utd but his future could again be in the spotlight this summer.

Michael Carrick expects Bruno Fernandes to stay at Manchester United this summer after the attacking midfielder was voted the Football Writers’ Association’s player of the year for 2025/26.

Fernandes is enjoying his best season yet at Old Trafford, and he needs one assist to equal the Premier League record of 20, held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

The 31-year-old is in a league of his own when it comes to chances created, with his tally of 120 almost double that of his nearest challengers, Dominik Szoboszlai and Declan Rice.

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Fernandes is delivering his golden season after a summer in which he almost left United. He weighed up interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal after defeat in the Europa League final last May, and although he opted to stay at Old Trafford, he felt the club would have been happy to cash in on him.

United have made it clear this summer that they want Fernandes to stay and have no interest in selling, but he has a release clause of around £56million that could be triggered by clubs from abroad.

But United have secured a return to the Champions League and there is a sense of momentum building domestically, and Carrick believes Fernandes wants to be a part of that after a season in which he has shown he is as good as ever.

“I think Bruno, you can see he’s happy and he’s playing some fantastic football,” said Carrick. “Maybe he’s as good as he’s played ever and he’s had really good spells here. So he looks happy.

“I think he’s got a big end to the season here. He’s got a big summer, of course. But yeah, as a football club, we love having him here. He’s a big part of what we do.”

United hope that their ambitious recruitment plans this summer will show their captain they mean business when it comes to challenging in Europe and domestically.

Club bosses are eyeing at least two new midfielders, with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson the top target while there is interest in Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni, who has been disciplined at the Bernabeu after a fight with teammate Federico Valverde.

They are also monitoring Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers as part of a plan to sign another forward and will strengthen at left-back as well, and Carrick said discussions over recruitment are ongoing after Champions League football for next season was secured last week.

“Yeah, there’s always discussions going on, some informal, some smaller than others but there’s always discussions. There’s a lot to talk about,” said Carrick, who is still waiting to hear what his own future holds.

“Recruitment is the obvious one and when it gets to this time of year that’s what everyone wants to know about and understandably so. There’s a lot of work going on and it’s not just for me leading like that, there’s a lot going on, making plans for what the summer and beyond looks like.”

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To John Swinney, congratulations – and a warning. The country has given you the benefit of the doubt, again. You’ve been a lucky leader. Now be a great one.

We’re in John Swinney’s hands for another five years.

That’s Scotland’s verdict after a “meh” election that left the nation cold.

The message from polling booths across the country was this: we don’t want more of the same.

Like a league table at the end of the football season, an election result is never wrong. Scots made it clear they want the SNP as the largest party, with trusted gaffer John Swinney in the dugout.

His party has earned the right to be top of the tree – it has been better than the ­alternatives.

But Scots didn’t give him the majority he wanted. Scots didn’t vote for the referendum he promised.

They did vote for Swinney to put Scotland right. To sort our ­hospitals, our schools, the cost of living.

If the SNP treats this result as permission to spend another five years picking fights about ­independence, it will eventually be punished.

Punished, perhaps, like the former party of government Scottish Labour, now in Scottish politics’ relegation zone, dragged down by the deadweight of Keir Starmer’s London Labour.

Anas Sarwar did what he could but a campaign that never caught its stride was tripped up by scandal down south.

In the end, Scottish voters rejected Labour’s red rosette in favour of their own red card.

That is the lesson Sir Keir Starmer must take from this election. He’s dragging his party down.

Meanwhile, the ­populists of Reform and the Greens scooped up plenty of votes from ­scunnered Scots.

Politicians should instead ask themselves why Reform and the Greens picked up so much support.

We exposed some of Reform’s candidates as racists and cranks. But those who voted for Nigel Farage’s party are neither of those things. They’ve just had enough of platitudes on immigration. Maybe they like Reform’s pledges to fix the NHS and cut energy bills, too.

People who back the Greens don’t want to crash the economy, either. But they do like the party’s compassion for the poor and the young, their promises on public transport and their plans to tax the rich.

These parties now form a new-look parliament – the Holyrood Scotland has chosen. A government that won cleanly – but without a majority. A government that needs partners. An opposition that must be rebuilt.

Today’s Holyrood must do better than yesterday’s.

NHS waiting lists have not shrunk overnight. Schools are still slipping down the league tables. Drug deaths still shame us. The ferries are still failing islanders.

The attainment gap Nicola Sturgeon staked her reputation on closing is as wide as the day she made the promise.

None of it disappeared while votes were totted up.

So, to every MSP:

● Fix the NHS. Get the waiting lists down. Stop blaming Westminster for choices made here.

● Fix the schools. Close the gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest children.

● Fix the drug deaths. Stop treating them as someone else’s problem.

● Fix the ferries. Just. Fix. The. Ferries.

And do it without spending five years arguing about a referendum the country has not asked for.

To Anas Sarwar, our respect. The road back will be long. You have the character for it.

To John Swinney, congratulations – and a warning. The country has given you the benefit of the doubt, again. You’ve been a lucky leader. Now be a great one.

To every Scot who voted on Thursday: you did your duty. Now we look to our ­politicians to do theirs. A new Holyrood’s work starts now. Let’s demand a world-class performance.

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The Record has revisited some of Scotland’s most prolific love triangle cases that resulted in cold-blooded twists and murder.

A love triangle is described as being a romantic scenario involving three people, where two individuals compete for the affection of one person, or one person is involved with two others simultaneously.

The complicated situation can see people centre on rivalry, jealousy, and can thrust the difficult choice between two potential partners.

Certainly, in Scotland, there have been a series of love triangles that resulted in bloodshed and murder.

We have revisited some of the most prolific cases in light of a mother’s plea not to let her son’s killer out of jail early as she recently appealed her sentence.

Stacey Balfour, Cameron Woods and Robert Fisher

Stacey Balfour was jailed for 16 years following the murder of Robert Fisher at a tower block in Paisley in July 2023. Cameron Woods and Balfour, then 27 and 24, were sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on June 24 last year following the slaying of 26-year-old Robert.

The pair, who were together at the time, stabbed Robert to death. Prosecutors said Woods fatally stabbed Robert while his then partner Balfour was “acting in concert” as she knew there would be violence.

All three had been togetherin a flat with other people in the Renfrewshire town. During this time, Woods had been spotted with a large kitchen knife. Meanwhile, Balfour had shown someone a small lockback blade – attached to a set of keys – which was later used in the fatal attack.

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The brutal attack was launched on Robert after the atmosphere between the group in the flat became “volatile”. This eventually led to the young dad being stabbed “in what amounted to a murderous attack”.

The pair had denied murder at trial but were eventually convicted. Woods was jailed for a minimum 18-and-a-half years with Balfour locked up for 16 years. However, Balfour recently launched an appeal against her sentence and is due to appear in front of appeal judges in Edinburgh next week.

Robert’s mum, Pamela Peacock, publicly slammed Woods‘ vile former girlfriend and pleaded with lawmakers not to “let this monster out early”.

She said: “People need to know what she is doing to us as a family. The cheek of her. I sat every day throughout the trial and this is a monster! I had to hear what happened to my son Robert and I can honestly say that he certainly did not deserve to die the way he did.

“Hopefully the judges see right through this monster, because that’s what her and her boyfriend are, monsters. The way they left my son has scarred me for the rest of my life. Please can everyone think about Robert on this day and please let justice be done and this monster does not walk free.”

Speaking to the Record, Pamela, 53, from Renfrew, added: “I was told by the Procurator Fiscal that she was appealing the sentence in December. To get told such bad news during the holidays was terrible, it put such a dampener on Christmas and New Year. My family are the only people keeping me going. I don’t know where I’d be without my two sons, daughter and twelve grandchildren.

“Robert was my carer before he passed. I’ll never be the same and neither will my family. My daughter was the one who found Robert and it has traumatised her.”

Dionne Wilson, Jason King and Sara Irvine

Sara Irvine, 34, was stabbed in the chest by Dionne Wilson, 31, after she confronted her about sleeping with her boyfriend on April 17, 2024. Wilson stabbed Sara in the chest with a knife at a property in Auchinleck Road in Aberdeen as the trio, including Sara’s boyfriend Jason King, met to buy and smoke cannabis.

Claims about there being a “love triangle” between the trio were rejected by the killer, who said Sara’s boyfriend’s assertion that he had had a sexual relationship with her was untrue.

Wilson – a former drug addict – said that Sara became angry and was “very hostile” to her as a result of the allegation. She claimed that Sara threw her onto a couch at the house moments before she was fatally stabbed.

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It was heard in court that knives were lying around the house for cutting up narcotics. King, 32, told how he witnessed Wilson stabbing his girlfriend of 18 months in the chest, describing the assault as “horrible to see”.

Speaking in court, Mr King said: “She started choking on her blood. I seen the blood coming out of her chest. I saw it coming out of her mouth. I screamed on somebody to get an ambulance. I knew she was dead. She was a dead weight in my arms.”

Wilson alleged that King had told his girlfriend that he had been having sex with her.

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She said the other woman asked her: “Do you think it’s acceptable to sleep with somebody else’s man?’ and described the question as “Unfriendly. Very hostile”.

Wilson was jailed for 10 years at Livingston High Court after a jury earlier cleared her of murdering Sara Irvine but found her guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

Wilson – who lodged a special defence of self-defence at the start of her trial – accepted that she had stabbed Sara but claimed she couldn’t remember anything about the exact moment that she inflicted the fatal blow.

Sheila Garvie, Maxwell Garvie and Brian Tevendale

Playboy millionaire Maxwell Garvie was shot dead in his sleep at his luxury country mansion West Cairnbeg near Laurencekirk in 1968 by his wife and her lover. Sheila, alongside her lover Brian Tevendale, killed Max then went on to conceal his body in the drains of Laurieston Castle.

Sheila, a former Balmoral housemaid, first met Max at a farmers’ dance in Stonehaven when she was a teenager. They wed and had three children – but Max, a wealthy farmer and businessman, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. He was fond of female company and maintained physical relations with many.

Specifically, his appetite for swinging really got the town talking, and eventually he turned parties into sex orgies and forced his wife to participate. Max was also an office bearer in the SNP. It was there he met a handsome young man – 20-year-old Tevendale. Max had already had a few affairs with young men and was attracted to Tevendale but he had other plans.

One evening he invited Tevendale to stay at the family home and forced his Sheila to sleep with him. In a bizarre twist, Max then began an affair with Tevendale’s sister, Trudi Birse. Despite his games, Max grew bored quickly and insisted he and Sheila dump their playmates.

Sheila hated him, and to her husband’s horror, she had fallen in love with the young man she had been forced to sleep with. On the morning of May 15, 1968, Sheila reported her husband as a missing person. His body was later found in the drains of the castle.

Sheila Garvie, Brian Tevendale and one of his friends, 20-year-old Alan Peters were charged with Max’s murder. The lovers blamed each other during the trial.

The Crown said on the night of the murder, Sheila had slipped out of her bed and let Tevendale into the house, handing over a .22 rifle belonging to Maxwell. With Sheila watching from the bedroom doorway, Tevendale smashed Maxwell’s skull with the butt. Then, placing a pillow over the man’s face, he shot him once in the head.

The pair then wrapped his body in a blanket and transported it to Laurieston Castle. A jury at the High Court found Sheila Garvie and Brian Tevendale guilty of murder. The case against Alan Peters was not proven.

The lovers each served 10 years and never spoke again.

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Rangers legends have backed a campaign launched after Lauren Reid died aged just 19 following a severe asthma attack while at work in Glasgow in February 2020.

Rangers legends have backed a mum who launched an asthma campaign after the tragic death of her teenage daughter.

Elaine Cunningham’s daughter Lauren Reid died aged just 19 after suffering a severe asthma attack while at work in Glasgow in February 2020. Since losing her “Rangers-mad” daughter, Elaine has tirelessly campaigned for Lauren’s Law Asthma Campaign – calling for emergency salbutamol inhalers to be kept in workplace first aid kits to prevent other families suffering the same devastation.

Now the determined mum, from Dennistoun, has received support from Rangers heroes Scott Arfield and Gordon Smith. The 50-year-old revealed how the touching encounter came about after she visited Scott Arfield’s new 442 bar to watch Rangers take on Hearts on Monday night.

She said: “Scott Arfield was Lauren’s favourite player and she served him at work numerous times. When he was opening the bar, I was desperate to go.

“I previously met Scott at Ibrox and I told him Lauren’s story. On Monday when I walked into the bar, Scott recognised me straight away from that moment all those years ago.

“He was beaming and was asking how Lauren’s campaign was going and how I was doing. Scott’s reaction meant so much to me, his smile was genuine and he was so lovely.

“When he told me that he would back the campaign, I was overwhelmed with emotion.”

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Elaine also met club legend Gordon Smith during the emotional night, while ex-Ibrox striker Kemar Roofe was also in attendance.

She said: “I’m very bold and you don’t get anywhere without asking. Gordon Smith was there and I told him all about Lauren’s law.

“In his very calm voice, he said, ‘Of course, you can certainly use my name and say that I support your daughter’s campaign. That’s such a shame’.

“It’s very important to get stars to back the campaign to raise awareness. I have no words how honoured I feel to get people like them to do this.”

Arfield and Smith now join a growing list of Gers figures who have endorsed Lauren’s Law, including Alex Rae, Phillipe Clement, Cyriel Dessers and Connor Barron. Elaine explained who her favourite supporter was: “The best of all was captain James Tavernier. We waited on him after one of the games last year.

“If you notice he always keeps his hands behind his back when taking photos with fans. When he came to me, I explained Lauren’s story and our aims so he knew he wasn’t being misled and he said ‘I support Lauren’s Law’.

“I burst into tears and he came back and gave me a cuddle. All of the crowd started clapping.

“Lauren and I have so many lovely memories together with the club. They say that being a Rangers supporter is like being in a big family and I must admit that it is true.”

Lauren died after collapsing while on shift at Gin71 in Glasgow’s Merchant City. The passionate young chef had completed an apprenticeship and dreamed of building a career in the culinary world. She was also devoted to Rangers, who held a minute’s applause for her following her death.

Elaine added: “Through the campaign, I get messages all the time from people who say they carry an extra inhaler just in case.

“If one life is saved from sharing Lauren’s story, then it is job done. All these celebrity followers are great, but it’s all about making a difference.”

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On 9 May 2022, Vladimir Putin stood grandly at a podium in Moscow’s Red Square, surveying a legion of armoured military vehicles for the country’s annual Victory Day parade, held in honour of the moment Russia joined forces with the West to defeat Nazi Germany.

Weeks earlier, he’d invaded his neighbour Ukraine, sparking a conflict that has ground on for more than four years. During a defiant speech on that day, the Russian president launched an attack on Nato, Ukraine and a host of western countries.

Surrounded by military hardware, he insisted that Russia was “fighting for the motherland, for her future, and so that nobody forgets the lessons of World War II”.

But this year things are different. For the first time in nearly two decades, those celebrations will be scaled back dramatically without any showy and heavy military hardware, amid new fears of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes that have been hitting deep inside Russia.

Volodymyr Zelensky has been unequivocal about the fact that Ukraine’s “victory plan” entails hitting targets deep within Russia and his country’s technological and military capabilities are advancing rapidly.

His strategy will be helped by a new €90bn loan from the EU, recently released after Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban was ousted from office, unblocking the funds.

For Russia, a country that prides itself on its demonstrations of military might, the lack of fanfare at the parade will be out of character.

This year, Putin remains more paranoid and isolated than ever before. Security has been tightened across the capital of Moscow, with unprecedented military presence including checkpoints, snipers and machine-gun crews.

It comes amid a leaked European intelligence report claiming that Putin’s increasing paranoia over his personal safety has led him to spend weeks in underground bunkers, screening staff and banning cell phones for personal cooks and bodyguards.

On top of that, internet shutdowns have been reported across the country, and social media channels replaced by the state’s own intelligence-monitored versions.

“Within the wider context it shouldn’t come as a surprise,” says Jaroslava Barbieri, a research fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

“That’s how dictators usually end up feeling when they feel like power is slipping away. There is an interesting dynamic there with the slipping image of Russia as a military superpower and the slipping image of Putin as a strong man.”

She says this is also reflected in Putin’s drop in opinion polls, even those which have been traditionally pro-Kremlin as the economic effects of sanctions and general fatigue with the war takes hold.

“These are signs that he’s kind of losing his grasp,” she explains.

Last week it was reported that his approval rating among the general public had dropped for the seventh consecutive week, according to Russian state-owned polling institution All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

While Putin’s paranoia is not new – he is widely known to be a germaphobe who hunkered down hard following the Covid pandemic, taking some extreme measures to avoid catching the illness – there have been a number of events in recent months that are believed to have contributed to his sense of vulnerability.

In December 2025, his top general Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was killed after a bomb planted under his car detonated as he drove out of a Moscow car park at around 7am in the morning.

The 56-year-old was rushed to hospital with multiple shrapnel wounds, severe leg injuries, a facial fracture and concussion, but did not survive. Seven other vehicles were reported to be damaged in the blast.

In February this year, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev was shot and injured in an alleged assassination attempt. Several other senior officials have been killed since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.

Last year, unverified claims surfaced that Ukraine had attempted to target the Russian president at his personal residence in the Novgorod region. US intelligence found the claims not to be true and Kyiv denied the allegations.

But Putin does not want to be seen as weak – and the need to appear powerful is compounded by the 9 May celebrations, which Barbieri says is crucial to Russia’s understanding of itself as a country.

“It has been a hallmark of Russia’s identity building and nation-building processes under Putin and underlying this image is always this sense that they liberated Europe from fascism, that they’re unbeatable and always on the right side of history.

“He had a kind of distorted understanding of the reality on the ground, but inevitably he feels pressure to try and sell domestically an image of victory.”

But cracks are widening in the perception of Putin’s administration as a unified bloc as elite bureaucrats and middle-class businesspeople grow uneasy with restrictions and the economic effects of the war, which continues to take up 70 per cent of Putin’s time and has become his “obsession”.

Barbieri explains that within the Russian elite there are figures such as Sergey Kiriyenko who are more akin to bureaucrats, who are increasingly concerned “that the current total investment in the war effort is creating a number of economic problems for the country”.

Then there is the security and military bloc, which is more passionate about the country’s war aims but has also become increasingly critical, including the Siloviki (”men of force” that include Russian officials from security, military, and law enforcement agencies such as the FSB, defence ministry and National Guard) as well as Z-bloggers.

Putin thought the war would be over in weeks, and the fact that it has continued for nearly half a decade is a shock to him and the establishment, says Barbieri.

“As it has lasted longer, it has started to become more difficult to isolate the country from information about casualties and the impact of sanctions. They’re trying to control the narrative but it’s becoming harder to isolate the population from a conversation abut the actual failures.”

Internet outages have affected businesses with customers unable to contact their clients, causing more frustration.

Russians are also feeling shaken by military strikes that have hit them hundreds of miles beyond their border. On Friday, Zelensky said a Ukrainian drone strike hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Yaroslavl, a city situated more than 700km from its border.

Despite these attacks, Russia is determined to continue with the Victory Day commemorations.

“It’s quite unusual for a country to be having these parades,” says Christina Hayward at the Institute for the Study of War. “Ukraine does not have these kind of events, and they haven’t for years because of the risk of Russian strikes attacking concentrations of people.

“It’s interesting to see that Russia is now feeling that same wartime fear. It’s showing the effect that the increased Ukrainian strikes are having on Russian planning and that they aren’t confident in their ability to have enough air defences to protect these events should they choose to have them.”

But despite Putin’s fear of being attacked, experts say that Russia’s history shows a far more sobering and terrifying reality.

“Regime consolidation has put in place an authoritarian system that operates like a police state,” she says. “Russia’s history shows that if it were changed it would most like be through a violent and sudden way rather than a gradual decline.

“The cracks within the regime are widening but the big question now is what is going to happen. Once these cracks become too wide to be covered, historically change in Russia has always happened suddenly and violently. Among the expert community, the expectation is that if such a change were to happen, most likely it’s going to come from inside.”

“Starting with Mexico City and continuing the next day with Toronto and Los Angeles, these ceremonies will bring together music, culture and football in a way that reflects both the individuality of each nation and the unity that defines this tournament. It is a powerful way to begin a truly global celebration.”

After Metroid Prime 4 went unmentioned in Nintendo’s latest financial results, a reader tries to pinpoint exactly what wrong with the controversial Switch 2 sequel.

Late to the dodgy party, but I finally finished my playthrough of Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2, and whilst I enjoyed it to some extent, and there were some excellent moments in the campaign, I would be remiss to not acknowledge its very severe flaws that undercut the sense of progression, cohesion, and general identity of a Metroid game.

Let’s get the positives out the way first, the presentation is gorgeous, with some stunning vistas and art design in planet Viewros. The soundtrack and general alien soundscape is quite exquisite. Every moment involving the morph ball is just really fun, tactile, and representative of some of the stronger facets of the game’s level design.

I particularly enjoyed the echoes of Super Mario Galaxy with the gravity tether pull ability in this mode of movement and the half pipe-boosting activities. In fact, I want Nintendo to commission a morph ball only spin off, where you’re just negotiating increasingly trickier obstacle courses, à la a modern Marble Madness.

The Viola bike is a neat addition, which looks ace and controls really slickly. The bosses are generally of a high quality and among the best in the Prime series, especially the epic lava facility boss. And the new psychic abilities, like the Metal Gear Solid Nikita missile style psychic shot, are just really darn cool, if underutilised.

The ‘dungeon’ areas are also pretty well designed, if a little too linear, and demonstrate flashes of prime Metroid Prime in aspects of their design. Although the mining area was a missed opportunity, which was marred with repetition, facing wave after wave of the same mindless feral foes in an aesthetically and structurally uninteresting location.

Now to address the awfully salient and stinky elephant in the room: the open-ish world in Metroid Prime 4 felt beyond bland and ultimately pointless. I tried, I really tried to find some redeeming qualities about this massively incongruent addition to the formula, but alas I just could not. And this overriding feeling was exacerbated by some of the most egregious examples of padded backtracking I’d ever had the displeasure of experiencing in a modern game.

Having to go through a desert of Starfield levels of uneventfulness, more than once, to return to base, to have Myles MacKenzie upgrade Samus’s abilities, was contrived and just insulting to the first lady of gaming’s self-efficacy. How the heck does the bespectacled brainbox interface so intuitively with the alien tech anyway? Never mind, must, suspend, disbelief…

The absolute nadir point in the game is when you’re tasked with harvesting the green crystals growing throughout the desert. This was one of the most tedious and interminable moments in the franchise’s history, which absolutely pulverises the game’s pacing. What on Earth were Retro Studios even thinking with this awful piece of design?!

It beggars belief Retro Studios/Nintendo thought this half-baked fusion of classic Metroid Prime and semi-open world design was a good idea. The game’s problematic development gestation is pretty well known by now, but evidently the schizophrenic identity crisis in the game’s design decisions led to the corruption of a more cogent vision.

As for the other conspicuously contentious point, I actually didn’t mind the companions that much, other than Myle’s frequently intrusive reminders; painfully stating the obvious and treating me like a colossal nincompoop. I mostly found the marines to be inoffensive and, thankfully, largely peripheral for the most part. But their inclusion in the first phase of the final boss fight was, much like the semi-open world design and crystal-gathering palaver/aggravation, retrograde to say the least.

I dread to think what Nintendo will do with the 3D series if the sales were really as inauspicious as the early sales estimates suggest. Let’s just hope that they foster a sharper acuity of vision and thought going forward, that’s if they give the 3D series another chance. After all, there’s still nothing in the industry that looks and plays quite like Metroid Prime, and something, anything to occupy Samus and her interstellar talents is still better than zero missions.

By reader GG

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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Glitz, glamour and engaging ensemble – but falls short of its predeccesor.

Back in 2006 I remember getting dragged kicking and screaming by my future wife to see The Devil Wears Prada – and I actually enjoyed it.

It’s remarkable to think 20 years have passed since then – and even more remarkable that the main players here haven’t really changed one bit.

That goes for their characters too as, other than a few minor mentions of Andy’s (Anne Hathaway) personal life and journalism career and Emily (Emily Blunt) heading off to pastures new, this sequel feels like it could’ve been set two months later rather than two decades.

As well as the lead quartet – also including Meryl Streep’s Miranda and Stanley Tucci’s Nigel – director David Frankel and co-writers Aline Brosh McKenna and Lauren Weisberger are back on board.

And if you enjoyed the first flick you’ll lap this one up too; the outfits remain resplendent and the locations lush, while Streep is still an acidic delight, seemingly devoid of kindness or selflessness, until the odd tiny amount creeps through Miranda’s icy exterior.

Tucci’s loyal, soft-spoken Nigel is the movie’s heart and Andy maintains her desire to win Miranda’s approval, while securing her own future.

READ MORE: MOVIE REVIEW: We find out throwback horror ‘Dolly’ is far from child’s play

Blunt laps up the chance to be more villainous and Justin Theroux’s Benji is a sleazy, easily-manipulated presence.

Much of the plot focuses on the challenges impacting the journalism industry, which hit close to home for this writer but may leave others shrugging their shoulders as they await the next gorgeous gown to appear.

Patrick Brammall’s Peter, though charming, feels shoehorned in as Andy’s romantic interest and is one of the elements that could have been cut to trim down the testing two-hour running time.

But I liked how Miranda was forced to reluctantly tone down her attitude due to more modern attitudes – not many actors could make hanging a coat up a comedic highlight – and there are a few third-act surprises as several characters jostle for power.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 falls short of its predecessor but remains queen of the catwalk when it comes to glitz, glamour, an engaging ensemble and a personal peek behind the curtain of the fashion industry.

● Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on any movie or TV show recommendations you have to your fellow readers.

● The Devil Wears Prada 2 is showing in cinemas now.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has spoken with Phil Foden on how to get the best out of him again

Pep Guardiola has told Phil Foden to focus on what he does best on a football pitch as Manchester City look to bring the England star back into form. The 25-year-old was the best player in the league two years ago but struggled badly last season and after shining in the first half of this season his form has disappeared again.

City have shown their faith in Foden this week, agreeing to a new long-term deal for the academy graduate that will commit him to the club into the next decade. But he hasn’t started a Premier League game in more than two months and his chances of making Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup are getting weaker with every week he cannot force his way into Guardiola’s team.

The City boss has long maintained that he has no doubts that Foden will find his best form again, and has continued to use the player from the bench. However, he has also held talks with the midfielder to try and guide him towards that as the Blues hope for more returns on someone who has already given them so much.

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“I said many times, I have no doubt about Phil. About his impact. He’s a home ground player for our academy. I’ve been massively important in our seasons together,” said Guardiola.

“And I wish from the bottom of my heart he can come back to his best and play the next years with all of us. The minutes he played at Everton, his movements and his aggressiveness, we’ve talked about it and said ‘So, Phil, who you are as a player? What is your biggest quality?’

“It’s ball, turn and go. Go, turn and go. And attack the box. And don’t lose that. It doesn’t matter if you are in better form or bad form. So, you are not a team player like to control the game. Your quality is be a machine attacking the ball with the sense of assists and goals. And make the keeper threat that you’re going to shoot.

“And it happened two or three times against Everton. At that moment, go on the pitch with one, two down or three. One, three is not easy. You know that? And he did really well.”

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He continued: “My message to Downing Street tonight is very, very clear – they have got a lot of listening to do to the fact that Labour have been hammered here in Scotland and an SNP Government, after 19 years in office, has just been emphatically returned to office, and Scotland needs respect as a consequence of that election outcome.”