Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka admits there is an extra sense of delight in seeing club captain Grant Leadbitter show the Premier League exactly what he is made of.

Injury has forced the 31-year-old into a bit-part role this season, with his appearance against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup just a sixth of the season following surgery on a hernia.

And the return has also brought rewards for the midfielder, scoring against the Owls for his second in two starts having opened his account in the defeat to Manchester United.

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But Karanka believes his impact goes far beyond appearances on the scoresheet, heaping praise on his skipper’s attitude during Boro’s transition from Championship to Premier League football, as they currently sit four points clear of relegation danger.

“I’ve always said that Grant is the kind of player that has helped me a lot since I arrived here,” said Karanka. “In the best moments and the worst.

“I’m really pleased because he’s showing everyone now. The most important thing for me has been his attitude.

“He has shown that even when he’s not played he’s the captain and the character in this squad. Now he’s had his chance and taken it.”

Watford captain Troy Deeney has paid tribute to Hornets legend Graham Taylor, who died at the age of 72.

Taylor was in charge at Vicarage Road for almost two decades in different stints, first hired by Elton John in 1977.

It was a move that had an immediate impact, going from the Fourth Division to the top flight in just five seasons, winning the title in his very first season.

He went on to manage England, taking charge for the 1992 European Championship while returning to north London in 1996.

That stint saw him become the third manager to take charge of 1,000 league games in England, also having a stand named after him at the home stadium.

And Deeney was quick to pay homage to a man who has become legend on the terraces.

(Photo by Pete Norton – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

“It’s not just a sad day for Watford, but for football as a whole,” he said.

“He was manager at England and Aston Villa and made massive legacies in all three roles, so the football community will feel a massive loss.

“There are no words that I can say that will put him on a higher pedestal than what he already has.

“My job is to make sure my players are up for the game and we can give the fans, who will obviously be hurting, something to be proud of.

“He made massive strides – to go from Division 4 to Division 1 in the space of six seasons is unheard of.

“Having his name on the stand is only a small thing physically, but for the legacy it is absolutely massive.”

Swansea City have won just four Premier League games this season but manager Paul Clement insists his side can beat anyone ahead of a tricky contest with title-chasing Arsenal.

The Welsh side are just one point off safety after their 2-1 win away at Crystal Palace, but they stumbled in the FA Cup – losing at Hull City last weekend in Clement’s first game in charge.

The former Derby County assistant replaced American Bob Bradley and has already strengthened the squad with the signing of Dutch international Luciano Narsingh.

And Clement has seen enough in training to fill him with confidence ahead of Arsenal’s visit – with the Gunners failing to win three of their last five league games.

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“I think if the players execute what they have been doing in training and concentrate on the things I have talked to them about, we will have a chance in any game,” he said.

“We want to play a certain way. We want to defend a certain way and attack a certain way and that’s what I have been drilling into the players.

“I am sure the fans will see some slight differences in the way we do things. Hopefully our fans will soon start to see some winning football.

“It’s not complicated stuff that we’ve been working on. I am talking about team organisation – the basics of how we defend and attack.”

Jurgen Klopp may be in charge of the enemy on Sunday but former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand insists the Liverpool boss has been a breath of fresh air since arriving in the Premier League last season.

United and Liverpool meet at Old Trafford on Sunday, with the result crucial to both sides’ campaign as six teams fight for Champions League football next year.

The Premier League has seen an influx of world-class coaches in the past few years, with Jose Mourinho’s return in 2013 followed swiftly by the arrival of Klopp, Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

And Ferdinand says he loves watching Klopp’s men, who are the top scorers in the division – with 48 goals so far.

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“I think we’ve got the best managers in the world here in the Premier League,” explained Ferdiannd.
“Other than maybe Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone and Zinedine Zidane, I think we’ve got the best, the most entertaining and the biggest personalities all here.

“Jose Mourinho is, of course, one of them and so is Jurgen Klopp, who I have to say has been a breath of fresh air since coming to England.

“The way he sets his teams up, from Dortmund to this Liverpool team, is exciting. They’re great to watch.

“They play with verve; they have a direct, aggressive, quick, attacking mentality and attack in numbers.

“No matter which club you support, Liverpool under Klopp are a very good team to watch and that makes them dangerous.

“They’re going to win games 3-2 or 4-3 and while I think, defensively, they have an Achilles heel, if they’re going to outscore teams then they’re going to be a big threat.”

Stoke City legend Denis Smith has urged the club to sign striker Saido Berahino this month, but remains cautious over his apparent attitude problem.

The West Brom forward has caused plenty of trouble at the Hawthorns since the Baggies knocked back a £21m offer from Spurs two years ago, by falling out with former chairman Jeremy Peace and stating he would not play for the club again.

The 23-year-old has featured this season but has not scored in five appearances and, with his contract up in the summer and West Brom likely to see him leave for a vastly reduced fee than the one Spurs were initially offering, reports suggest Stoke could pounce this month.

A regular scorer up front has been tough for Stoke to find – with Mame Diouf, Joselu and Wilfried Bony failing to impress in the last two years – while the likes of Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters have been brought back into the first-team fold.

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And Smith, who played over 400 games for the Potters and was part of the side which won the 1972 League Cup, believes Berahino would fit right in at the bet365 Stadium.

“Can the lad play? Yes. Can he score goals? Yes. What I like about him is the fact he’s got a small backlift and so he hits the ball early,” he said.

“He also tends to hit the target and he’s quick across the ground, not unlike Jermain Defoe at Sunderland.

“So the lad has got a lot going for him and that’s why Stoke are interested. But, there is obviously a but with him.”

West Ham striker Andy Carroll insists Andre Ayew must be given time to show his quality after a difficult start to life at the London Stadium.

Ghanaian international Ayew, who joined the Hammers in a £20million deal from Swansea in the summer, was sidelined with a hamstring injury for the opening stages of the campaign.

He returned to full fitness in October and scored his first goal in claret and blue against his former side in West Ham’s 4-1 victory on Boxing Day.

Having scored 12 goals in all competitions for Swansea last season, it has proven to be a frustrating few months for the 27-year-old, who will be absent from the West Ham line-up for the remainder of the month to play in the African Cup of Nations.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

But Carroll is already looking forward to welcoming Ayew back into the Hammers’ fold, convinced the best is yet to come from his strike partner.

“Andre is a great player,” he said. “He’s a great signing for us and it’s a shame that he had an injury at the beginning of the season, but he’s back fit now and looking forward to getting some more goals.

“The manager isn’t going to be happy [losing players to AFCON] and obviously it’s difficult as players but it’s something that happens and we have to get on with it.”

Sammy Lee is convinced Crystal Palace have the quality to haul themselves away from relegation danger after joining the club as assistant manager.

Manager Sam Allardyce brought Lee in as his No.2 after the duo worked together at Bolton, while the 57-year-old has also had two spells working with England and was at Southampton last season.

Palace are currently 17^th in the Premier League table, just one point clear of the drop zone, but the installation of Allardyce – who has never been relegated from the top tier – as boss just prior to Christmas, has optimism high around the club.

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Lee took his first training session with the squad on Tuesday and is excited by the pieces he has to work with at Selhurst Park.

“It didn’t take me any time at all to think about taking the job as soon as I was asked,” said Lee.

“I know plenty about the squad here and was at Southampton last season when they mauled us.

“They have an abundance of talent with some great pace and even though this season has been a little difficult for them, there is plenty of talent and quality within the squad, we just need to get them up and going again.

“It’s all about the players here who have fantastic ability with a good team spirit and we need to get them back up to where they should be.

“I am a coach who likes to be out there on the training pitch, interacting with the players. I like working with the lads to bring out the best in them because I know for a fact they will bring the best out in me.”

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech insists this season’s poor clean sheet record is not a true reflection of his form, but is adamant he can ill-afford to let standards slip.

The 34-year-old took the Premier League Golden Glove award last season after having 16 shutouts to his name, a tally that dwarfs the six he has achieved so far this campaign.

But Cech feels the numbers are no major cause for concern at the back, conceding 22 times in 20 games including three in their last top-flight outing against Bournemouth.

And while the former Czech international is confident he is still more than up to task of being Arsene Wenger’s number one, he is aware standards must remain high with David Ospina among those waiting in the wings.

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“So far it’s a kind of a different campaign because I think I have been doing well but if you take clean sheets, we had a run of games where we conceded at least one goal,” he said.

“The most important thing is obviously that the team wins but it is good sometimes to have a clean sheet and that solid base at the back.

“We have conceded a number of penalties in games where the penalty was the only goal [we conceded], so sometimes you have these runs which are a bit unlucky against you but you would like to do something extra and find one extra save.

“Overall it is a season in which I am playing at the level I need to be at. You want to improve every game and keep the standard up the whole time – you don’t want to have a period where you are not doing so well or you are not where you should be, which hasn’t happened yet so hopefully I can keep like that.”

Darren Fletcher admits his West Brom side are out for revenge against Spurs this weekend as the Baggies look to continue their fine recent form.

Tony Pulis’ side currently sit eighth in the league table but take on a Spurs side that are also impressing of late – they have won their last six in a row.

Fletcher and co looked like they had secured a 1-0 win at the Hawthorns in the reverse fixture back in October before Dele Alli’s late equaliser.

And the Baggies skipper – whose side come into the clash after consecutive wins over Southampton and Hull – is confident his side are ready for Mauricio Pochettino’s men this time around.

“It’s obviously going to be a difficult game against Tottenham, as it always is for us,” admitted Fletcher.

“They’ve hit a bit of form recently. Spurs are a top-class team who score a lot of goals.

“We managed to get a point against them earlier on in the season.

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“They penned us in during the first half but we fought back really well in that game and enjoyed a good second period.

“They scored a late goal against us at The Hawthorns after putting us under a lot of pressure.

“We know we are going to have to be on top of our game on Saturday, but we have done well there in the past and hopefully we can get another positive result.”

A bit more boom, boom, that’s what Pep Guardiola wants from his Manchester City side.

No, that’s not an instruction to the owners to dip into their pockets for a new striker, but rather his advice to defender Gael Clichy for their pre-match playlist.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp recently revealed he has a penchant for heavy metal, but as the resident dressing room DJ at City, Clichy admits he does not opt to follow the lead of the enigmatic German.

Instead he tends to go for some rap in the build-up to key games – although it’s not always to the liking of his boss.

The defender epxlained that the Spaniard recently approached him before a game to offer some advice about what he wanted to get his troops ready for battle.

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“He came to me and said ‘that was too slow we need something with a bit more boom boom’,” said the 31-year-old Frenchman.

“He’s the kind of guy who looks at all the details. He will be looking around and seeing if the player is happy with the music, if the player is alive.

“And I guess if he sees that then I’ve done my job.”