Soccer Shorts: Manchester United are to offer the luckless Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a pay-as-you-play contract next season after deciding to stick by the player who scored their winning goal in the 1999 European Cup final, writes Daniel Taylor.
Solskjaer's latest injury, a broken cheekbone sustained against Middlesbrough in a reserve team game on Tuesday night, had prompted doubts about his position at Old Trafford but Alex Ferguson will recommend to the club's chief executive David Gill they offer the Norwegian a new contract when his current deal expires in the summer.
Ferguson's proposal will have to be supported by the Glazer family but if he gets his way Solskjaer will be offered one more year to prove he is still a Premiership-class striker, albeit on vastly reduced wages and with a heavy emphasis on appearance-related pay.
Solskjaer had indicated he would be happy to accept such a package, acutely aware there are legitimate questions about whether he will ever be back to his best. - Guardian Service
League Cup draw
The defending champions Derry City are one of eight clubs given byes into the second round of this year's Eircom-sponsored League Cup, writes Emmet Malone.
Stephen Kenny's side avoid having to play in the competition's first round as one of the four Irish clubs due to compete in Europe this season while Sligo Rovers, Limerick, Monaghan United and Shamrock Rovers have also avoided opening round games after a geographically-based draw.
After the opening-round games have been decided the four remaining teams in each group will be drawn into two ties with the winners of those matches progressing to a quarter-final draw that will be entirely open. The final has been scheduled for the week starting on September 18th.
Pool A: Cobh Ramblers v Waterford United, Kerry League v Kilkenny City; Byes: Cork City and Limerick.
Pool B: Athlone Town v Bohemians, Dundalk v UCD; Byes: Drogheda United and Monaghan United.
Pool C: Finn Harps v Galway United, Longford Town v Mayo League; Byes: Derry City and Sligo Rovers.
Pool D: Dublin City v Kildare County, Bray Wanderers v St Patrick's Athletic; Byes: Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne.
Matches to be played midweek in the week starting Monday April 3rd.
