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Livingston boss Gary Holt is adamant his side proved they are anything but “spineless” as he took a thinly-veiled swipe at pundit Michael Stewart. The Lions played out a hard-fought 0-0 stalemate against Motherwell in their Premiership curtain-raiser in West Lothian and, but for a fine showing by visiting goalkeeper Mark Gillespie, could have claimed…

Scott Allan scored a late winner to get Hibernian off to a victorious start in the Ladbrokes Premiership in a closely-fought contest against St Mirren. The Easter Road favourite drove a shot past Vaclav Hladky five minutes from time to seal a 1-0 result. It had been a frustrating afternoon for the hosts up until…

Zinedine Zidane has reminded Gareth Bale of his responsibilities after the Wales striker was apparently pictured playing golf during Real Madrid’s Audi Cup game with Tottenham. Bale missed Real’s pre-season trip to Germany after his proposed move to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning fell through on Sunday. The 30-year-old was reportedly going to be paid £1million…

Lille president Gerard Lopez expect Arsenal to complete the club-record 80million euro (£73m) signing of winger Nicolas Pepe in the next 24 hours. Ivory Coast International Pepe scored 22 goals in Ligue 1 last year and had been previously linked with the likes of Manchester United and Napoli. The 24-year-old, though, is now on the…

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo has warned Wolves the job is not done against Crusaders. The Premier League side are aiming to avoid a massive shock in their Europa League second round qualifying tie at Seaview on Thursday, leading 2-0 from the first leg. Diogo Jota and Ruben Vinagre’s goals gave Wolves a healthy advantage last…

Steven Gerrard admits Rangers have no choice but to move on after Jurgen Klopp priced Ryan Kent out of an Ibrox return. But the Light Blues manager insists Alfredo Morelos remains part of his squad despite being linked with a move to China. Gerrard was desperate to lure winger Kent back to Glasgow after his…

Bournemouth forward David Brooks is to undergo ankle surgery and miss the first three months of the new season. The Wales international rolled his ankle during Bournemouth’s 3-1 pre-season win at Brentford on Saturday. PA understands Brooks has been booked in for surgery this week, and the Cherries have put a 12-week recovery timescale on…

Bournemouth defender Brad Smith has extended his loan stay with Seattle Sounders until the end of the MLS season. Smith, who began his career at Liverpool, originally joined the Sounders last August and has played in 25 MLS matches. The Sounders currently sit second in the Western Conference standings behind LAFC, with the regular season due…

Karen Carney believes a change of mentality and improved fitness levels are required for England Women to end their wait for silverware. The Lionesses were eliminated at the semi-final stage for the third-successive major tournament after suffering World Cup defeat to eventual winners the United States. Experienced winger Carney, who retired from football after the…

England forward Toni Duggan has signed a two-year contract with Atletico Madrid Women. The 28-year-old made three appearances for England at this summer’s Women’s World Cup in France, and left Barcelona at the beginning of July. Duggan said: “This is an amazing opportunity to play for one of the greatest clubs in Europe. ??????? Another…