IT would be wrong to say Britain’s 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls has mellowed as he enters his 34th season.

He’s been at this game a long time, but the competitive edge is still deeply engrained in him — and always will be.

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But Nicholls, 62, is philosophical about losing his trainers’ crown for the first time in four years — with both Willie Mullins and his ‘apprentice’ Dan Skelton leapfrogging him in the standings in 2023-24.

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In large part, it hasn’t affected Nicholls as much as it maybe would have in the past because of the difficulties he and his team faced off the track during the last jumps campaign.

Not only did Nicholls have to come to terms with the passing of his landlord, long-time mentor and great friend Paul Barber.

But the Ditcheat yard was left devastated by the death of stable lad Keagan Kirkby, 25, who was tragically killed after a fall at a point-to-point in February.

Nicholls said: “It was a hard year — as hard a year as we’ve ever had off the track.

“Paul was a mentor to me, I’d speak to him virtually every day and he was the one who helped me break through at the start of my career.

“Then Keagan had his accident and that was very tough for all of us. It was difficult for the whole team to lose one of their mates far too young.

“It hit us hard and when you have to go through things like that it does put results on the track and the trainers championship into perspective.

“You know me, I want to win and compete at everything I do, but real life matters far more.”

Still, it was an unusual position that Nicholls found himself in at Sandown on April 27.

He had to watch on from afar as Mullins collected the championship trophy on the final day of the jumps season, becoming the first Irish-based trainer to win Britain’s title in 70 years.

And Nicholls starts the new season as the 3-1 outsider of ‘the big three’ to win the crown for a record-equalling 15th time.

He said: “You have to take defeat on the chin. In football the same team doesn’t win the league every year.

“Everything went right for Willie, he will admit that himself, he got the bounce of the ball last year in a lot of big races.

“I could see it happening from Cheltenham onwards and it felt like it was going to be a bit of a struggle to get over the line.

“I felt more for Dan who finished ahead of me but ended up being done in the final few weeks by Willie.

“As for us, we still had more winners than anyone else and nearly £3 million in prize-money.

“You’ll fry your head if you keep worrying about winning the championship too much.

“You go through cycles in this game, but I think we are developing a nice strong team.”

On paper it definitely looks that way, even if his squad lacks the incredible Grade 1 strength in depth of Mullins.

He has fan favourites like Bravemansgame, who could start out in the Charlie Hall Chase, and Pic D’Orhy, who will run at Ascot at the end of next month.

And there are exciting young horses like Regent’s Stroll and Teeshan, who flopped at Cheltenham but is an exciting novice hurdler, coming through.

And he also has the exciting Caldwell Potter to look forward to in the big Grade 1s.

Nicholls said: “We are going to take our time and be patient.

“Most of those we have run so far have needed the run which is fine as it is hard to keep them going right through the spring if you go too hard, too early.

“There are plenty of big days and, fingers crossed, we should have another successful season.”

STABLE STAR

BRAVEMANSGAME is still the stable big gun, despite an underwhelming season last term. The 2022 King George hero and former Gold Cup runner-up has had a breathing operation over the summer.

Nicholls says: “I think the Gold Cup left a mark on him but we have re-cauterised his pallet and, on his work at home, I think he is back to his best. The Charlie Hall is his first target but I wouldn’t be afraid to run him under a big weight in the Badger Beers if it came up very soft at Wetherby.”

FESTIVAL FANCY

REGENT’S STROLL looked an exciting prospect last season when winning a pair of bumpers, coasting home by five lengths on his final start at Newbury in March.

He will end up in one of the big novice hurdles at the Festival, all being well.

Nicholls says: “He looked very smart and let’s hope it works out that way over hurdles. The big target for him in the first half is the Challow at Newbury in December.”

MONEY MAKER

GINNY’S DESTINY was a star for the stable last season. He won three races last term, including a couple of big pots in handicaps at Cheltenham, and ended the year with fine seconds in Grade 1s at the Festival and Aintree.

Nicholls says: “I’m really looking forward to him this season. I’ve got a real soft spot for this horse. He is being aimed at the Paddy Power Gold Cup next month.”

STAR RECRUIT

CALDWELL POTTER was a Grade 1 winner for Gordon Elliott and will make his eagerly awaited debut for the stable this year.

Nicholls says: “He is coming along nicely and looks fantastic. He won’t be seen on a track until late November at the earliest. We are taking our time with him but it’s exciting to have a horse like him in the yard.”

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Monger, who is from Charlwood in Surrey, was a kart racer as a child before joining the F4 British Championship in 2016.

He has since forged a career in broadcasting, featuring in the BBC series Celebrity Race Across the World and completing Billy’s Big Challenge in 2021, where he walked, cycled and kayaked across Britain and raised more than £3m for Comic Relief.

Monger completed Ironman 70.3 Weymouth in six hours, 41 minutes and 41 seconds. That course consisted of a 1.9km swim off the coast of the Dorset town before a 90km ride, followed by 21.1km on foot.

This weekend, he will compete in the longer Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, aiming to be the youngest double amputee to complete the course.

Competitors are required to finish the course within 17 hours, and must reach target times for each part of the race.

“It’s a 3.8km ocean swim, 180km cycling exposed to cross winds, volcanic barren lava fields and then you run around for a marathon at the end,” he said.

“It’s going to be a hell of a challenge.”

Germany’s Laura Philipp won the women’s world championship in Nice last month, finishing eight minutes clear of Great Britain’s Kat Matthews in second.

MANCHESTER UNITED have drawn up plans for the ‘Battle of Britain’ three months ahead of the fixture.

And the Red Devils are desperate to avoid a repeat of the ticketing fiasco from when they faced Galatasaray.

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United were pitted against Scottish giants Rangers in this season’s Europa League.

The two sides will face off at Old Trafford on January 23.

But the hosts are already figuring out who will be able to attend.

Last season, approximately 2,000 Galatasaray fans managed to buy tickets in the home end of Old Trafford to cheer on their Turkish heroes in the Champions League.

And not only would a repeat of the embarrassing scenes be humiliating for United – but could also pose a serious safety risk if rival fans clash in the stands.

As a result, United have taken drastic measures to ensure only their genuine fans are in the seats reserved for home supporters.

According to the Daily Mail, the club will only make tickets available to purchase to those who were registered members before the Europa League draw was made.

The fixture has been categorised as “high risk”.

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And that will also see the club in constant communication with local authorities on how to police the game.

United’s clash with Rangers is their penultimate of the new league phase in Europe this term – finishing with a trip to Romania to face Steaua Bucuresti on January 30.

Erik ten Hag’s struggles in European football have continued this term.

They kicked off this season’s campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to FC Twente.

They then needed an injury-time Harry Maguire header to salvage a 3-3 stalemate at Porto – despite leading 2-0 after just 20 minutes.

United head to the hostile Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Thursday where they take on Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho.

The Turkish side beat Union Saint-Gilloise in their opener before also being forced to settle for a point with a 1-1 result against Twente.

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“It is not just about women’s rights, it’s about human rights and climate action. All of those things are hugely important but not as important to Fifa as the sponsorship money Aramco can bring.”

Saudi Arabia has been accused by critics of investing in various sports and using high-profile events to improve its international reputation.

Aramco has not commented on the letter from the women players, while Fifa told BBC Sport that sponsorship revenues were reinvested in the women’s game at all levels.

While Middag, who is vice-chair of players union PFA Scotland, applauded that, she added: “We have to be aware of how these investments are used and how they are maybe to mask certain human rights abuses, which I don’t think we can stay silent about.

“I and more than 100 other female footballers have the possibility and freedom to speak out against sponsorship deals like these, but we know that women in Saudi Arabia don’t have that right and that’s why we want to make this stand.”

Joining Middag in signing the letter are Rangers team-mate Jane Ross, fellow Scotland international Lisa Evans, of Glasgow City, Celtic’s Mathilde Carstens, Hibernian’s Ciara Grant and Rosie Livingstone, Heart of Midlothian’s Emma Ilijoski, Dundee United’s Abbie Cusack, Motherwell’s Gillian Inglis and Spartans duo Ella Beaton-Hill and Hannah Jordan.

Going into the play-offs, Inter Miami’s biggest challengers will likely be fellow Eastern Conference side Columbus Crew, who have attracted plenty of plaudits thanks to the exciting style of play implemented by coach Wilfried Nancy.

Western Conference table-toppers Los Angeles FC, and the team finishing just behind them on goal difference, LA Galaxy, could also pose a threat.

Challengers for the league’s individual awards will also come from these teams. Coach of the year will be between Nancy and Martino, MVP will be between Messi and the Crew’s former Watford striker, Cucho Hernandez, while newcomer of the year will likely be one of Suarez or LA Galaxy’s brilliant Brazilian winger, Gabriel Pec.

The Golden Boot winner is already decided, though. It went to former Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke who has had an outstanding season with DC United, scoring 23 goals in 30 appearances.

Suarez finished alongside Messi as Inter Miami’s top scorer with 20 goals from 27 appearances, continuing the form that produced 17 goals in 33 games for Gremio in 2023 and saw him named player of the year in the Brazilian league.

Though Messi played little more than half a season’s games in MLS in 2024, he has still been one of the most productive players in the league with 20 goals and 10 assists in 19 appearances. This, plus his wider impact, makes him favourite for the MVP award.

His mere presence at the David Beckham-owned franchise which joined the league in 2020 has helped transform them from a team that finished 14th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference in 2023 (27th out of 29 teams overall) to one that broke the regular season points record in 2024.

This stellar regular-season performance gives Miami benefits going into the play-offs. As the top seed they will retain home advantage throughout, and the MLS Cup final is played at the home of the highest-seeded team involved which, should they get that far, would be Miami’s Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Messi lifting the Supporters’ Shield has served to increase the esteem in which the regular-season title is held. He and his former Barcelona team-mates, used to playing in a football culture where the league winner is the champion, will certainly have valued it, but they recognise that this is a new adventure and a different way of doing things, and they want to succeed in this culture too.

The coming weeks will decide whether they do.

BILL BELICHICK has started engagement ring shopping for his 24-year-old sweetheart as shock wedding plans begin to take shape, a source close to the NFL coaching legend has told The U.S. Sun.

According to the well-placed insider, the 72-year-old six-time Super Bowl-winning coach has been to “around 20” stores in New York and Los Angeles over the last two months as he considers proposing to new flame Jordon Hudson.

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The source confirmed that plans are in place to get engaged to the former cheerleader “after the end of the season”.

The U.S. Sun has extensively reported on how the former New England Patriots coach loves his new life after stepping away from the hot seat after 23 years at the end of last season.

A source revealed that Belichick was “living like a 25-year-old man” as he enjoyed time away from the NFL by throwing himself into punditry and his new relationship.

He also revealed that the coaching great has been quizzing pals about the best way to propose and possible locations.

“Since last June, has has talked that he loves her and that he sees his future with her,” said a close friend.

“Their relationship makes him feel happy and complete.

“She understands him and supports him.

“He has been looking for a ring for the last two months

“He asked how much he should spend on a ring and make it a special moment.”

The U.S. Sun has been told Belichick is ready to drop $200,00 on a sparkly surprise for Jordon.

He reportedly met her on a flight in 2021 and started dating officially in June this year after a split from his partner of 16 years, Linda Holliday.

The pair have been pictured together on numerous occasions.

“He has to decide very soon because he has to pick between two rings that jewelry designers suggested to him,” added the pal.

According to our sources, romantic Belichick is seriously considering a destination wedding in the Caribbean or Croatia.

“Bill loves the Adriatic coast, the romantic spots and landscapes,” said the source.

“He loves to make things special for her.

“The goal is to get engaged after the end of the season when they will both have a break from work. “

Once the NFL season is over and his TV and media commitments are over, Belichick plans to whisk Jordon away to the French Riviera, Italy, and then back to Croatia.

A return to coaching is a possibility, although The U.S. Sun revealed last week that the Pats icon has no chance of taking over the New York Jets following Robert Saleh’s brutal sacking.

Whatever he decides, his new girlfriend will have his back.

“He feels like it’s a new start in his life,” confirmed the source.

“She will support him whatever he decides to do. They are an excellent and united couple.”

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