Soccer/ News Roundup: Harry Redknapp, who quit Southampton on Saturday after one year in charge and is widely tipped to return to Portsmouth this week, admitted last night on BBC Radio 5 Live he felt he was "in limbo" and is waiting to hear from Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric.
"When I said I wanted to speak to Portsmouth I knew that was it with Southampton," said Redknapp, "but it looks like a stalemate now. I'm sort of in limbo because I've had no contact with anyone today. I couldn't say it's definitely going to happen - the chairman (Rupert Lowe) at Southampton wants his compensation."
He added about the Portsmouth position: "It's a tough, tough job - make no mistake about that. There is a lot of work to be done - but I would love to go back there and try to keep them up. The challenge I would be taking on at Portsmouth is similar to the one I took on last year - with a team in the bottom three after 15 or 16 games.
"I know I'm going to have to win some fans back over and I can understand that - they treated me brilliantly and if I'd gone to any other club it wouldn't have been a problem. Maybe I didn't realise how much rivalry there was between the two clubs."
However, Redknapp does not regret leaving Southampton, adding: "I found it quite difficult at times at Southampton so I'll take the chance I won't work for six months - if I'm out of football now, then so be it. If it doesn't work with Portsmouth I'll get my golf handicap down."
Meanwhile, Clive Woodward said yesterday he does not feel ready to take on the Southampton post vacated by Redknapp.
Having only arrived at St Mary's four months ago, Woodward indicated he wanted to continue as performance director, working alongside a new manager.
Meanwhile, the BBC believe Real Madrid are in pole position to sign former Manchester United player Roy Keane. Reports say the Cork man is in talks with the Spanish side about a potential 18-month deal.
His adviser Michael Kennedy said before the weekend he expected Keane would know by today which club he will be joining.
Meanwhile, Burton and Burscough go into their rearranged FA Cup tie tomorrow knowing Manchester United lie in wait for the winners in the third round.
The meeting is the pick of the third-round ties and is one of three pitting English Premiership teams against non-league opposition.
Nuneaton or Histon will play against Middlesbrough in round three after the first meeting between the sides on Saturday ended in a 2-2 draw. The third such tie features the Premiership's bottom team, Sunderland, at home to either Woking or Northwich, a game Mick McCarthy's struggling side will hardly relish.
Finally, Real Madrid coach Wanderley Luxemburgo was sacked last night, less than a year after taking charge of the nine-time European champions.
The 53-year-old Brazilian, who was Real's fifth coach in two and a half years, was dismissed following an emergency board meeting at the Bernabeu stadium, a day after the team's lacklustre 1-0 win at home to Getafe.
Real Madrid's reserve-team boss, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro - who steered his side to promotion into the second division last season - will take over as first-team coach on a caretaker basis.
EnglishFACup: Third round draw
West Brom v Reading
Fulham v Leyton Orient
Brighton v Coventry
Wolves v Plymouth
Port Vale or Bristol Rovers v
Boston or Doncaster
Sheffield Wed v Charlton
Torquay v Birmingham
Manchester City v Scunthorpe
Newcastle v Mansfield
Luton v Liverpool
Preston v Crewe
Stoke v Tamworth
Derby v Burnley
Southampton v MK Dons
Blackburn v QPR
Arsenal v Cardiff
Stockport v Oldham or Brentford
Norwich v West Ham
Ipswich v Portsmouth
Wigan v Leeds
Sunderland v Woking or Northwich
Chelsea v Huddersfield
Cheltenham or Oxford v Chester
Leicester v Tottenham
Watford v Bolton
Sheffield Utd v Colchester
Nuneaton or Histon v Middlesbrough
Hull v Aston Villa
Barnsley or Bradford v Walsall
Burton or Burscough v Manchester Utd
Crystal Palace v Stevenage or Northampton
Millwall v Everton
