John Gregory was yesterday given a new three-year contract by Aston Villa.
The deal, which will keep him at Villa Park until the year 2003, is worth £1 million a year and includes incentives for Villa to perform in the Premiership, qualify for Europe and win cup competitions.
Gregory said: "The Villa board have shown their faith in me. I am a much better manager now than the guy they gambled on just over two years ago and I hope I can prove that."
Gregory is Villa's most successful manager in recent years with a 59 per cent winning record, but admits he thinks about getting the sack every day.
He said: "It is this fear of failure which is the great motivator. But it is a great job for all the problems associated with being manager of a football club.
"I have not achieved anything yet as a manager and it is a credit to Aston Villa that they have such faith in me."
Swindon, doomed to relegation to the English second division, appointed former Bolton and Middlesbrough coach Colin Todd as their new manager yesterday. A former England international, Todd takes over from Jimmy Quinn who was sacked by the club on Tuesday. Todd, who stepped down as Bolton boss in September after the sale of Per Frandsen to Blackburn, managed Middlesbrough in the 1990-91 season and steered them to the Division Two play-offs.
A special anti-terrorist squad will escort Turkish club Galatasaray when they travel to Copenhagen for the UEFA Final match against Arsenal on May 17th, a Turkish interior ministry source said yesterday. "A special police unit will assure Galatasaray's security in Denmark," the official said.
Joe Royle's reward for guiding Manchester City away from the lowest point in the club's history will be a new contract this summer. The Manchester City manager has two years left on his current deal but the Maine Road hierarchy plan to draw up improved terms once the season has finished, regardless of whether the team reach the Premiership.
City are in their strongest financial position for years due to Sky's Stg£5 million input for a 9.9 per cent stake, sponsorship deals and advance season-ticket sales in excess of £3 million. Royle struck his current deal when City were heading towards a first-ever season in the third tier.
Manchester United will again face Real Madrid, who beat them in the Champions League quarterfinals, at a pre-season tournament in Germany also involving Bayern Munich and Milan.
Republic of Ireland defender and Wimbledon captain Kenny Cunningham insists his team-mates must keep their cool in order to escape relegation. They plunged into the drop zone after losing at Bradford, in a game that saw John Hartson sent off and later charged with misconduct over a pre-match fracas in the tunnel.
Hartson faces a possible sixmatch ban but Cunningham believes discipline will be vital if the Dons are to prolong their 14-season adventure in the top flight.
Cunningham said: "You want players to play with the passion that is associated with this club but it's a fine dividing line. It's important not to over step it.
"You can't afford to have a man sent off against the calibre of players you face in the Premiership. If you go a man down, it's difficult to win games in this league.
"We have to show a certain level of discipline over the next two games but I don't think it's a problem at this club. Our disciplinary record is not that bad."
Cunningham was the only player allowed to speak publicly as new boss Terry Burton gagged his squad after Egil Olsen was sacked.
