CARRICK HOPES FOR FITNESS BOOST

Michael Carrick is hoping his fitness will continue to improve after starting Manchester United's 4-3 win over Hull City.
The midfielder has been sidelined by ankle and foot injuries this season and is keen to put an end to his fitness troubles.
He returned from six weeks out as a substitute against West Ham last week before starting Sunday's nail-biting success over Hull.
Carrick scored United's second goal in the game and he is happy to have opened his account for the season.
"It was nice to score and get off the mark," said Carrick in the Manchester Evening News.
"It was the longest I have played in three months, so hopefully that is going to get my fitness up ready for the coming weeks."
The England international admits United nearly slipped up against Hull, having led 4-1, but he is now focused on Wednesday's UEFA Champions League tie at Celtic.
He added: "It was a strange game.
"Being so close at the end did not really fit with how the game went. We created so many chances and played some extremely good football, but we shot ourselves in the foot with a few errors.
"In the end it was a bit crazy really.
"When you step away from it, we have won the game and got three points. Now we can move on to Celtic."

The 33-year-old's representatives flew into Milan on Thursday for talks with the Italian club on Thursday and reached agreement on a deal that will se

“Joachim Low and Michael Ballack were able to establish a new basis of trust during their private meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday and Michael Ballack will therefore remain team captain,” the German FA (DFB) said in a statement on Friday. The Chelsea midfielder flew to Frankfurt at the coach's request to discuss comments made to a German newspaper about Low's decision to drop team mate Torsten Frings for the last two World Cup qualifiers. Ballack had already issued a public statement ahead of the meeting, saying he would apologise to Low. “The precondition (for remaining captain) was he had apologised to Loew, allowing the conflict to be resolved,” the DFB added. Ballack said in the DFB statement it “was not acceptable” for him to comment in public on Low's decisions. “He is the national coach, he makes the decisions and we all have to accept that,” said the midfielder. “Following our discussion I do not have the slightest doubt the national team will achieve its aims within a good atmosphere.” Low said it was important the talks took place openly. “Michael Ballack remains my captain but he as captain must also stick to our rules,” Low said in the DFB statement. “He knows he can discuss anything with me internally but that all sporting … decisions are ultimately made by our training staff and I have made that absolutely clear to Michael. “I am delighted a fantastic player, who has played a major role in our past successes, will now continue to help us reach our goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.”

Milan have confirmed that England midfielder David Beckham will join the club on loan from 7 January.

The 33-year-old's representatives flew into Milan on Thursday for talks with the Italian club on Thursday and reached agreement on a deal that will see Beckham stay in Italy until March. Beckham, who plays for US side LA Galaxy, wants to stay fit during the MLS close-season to maintain his place in Fabio Capello's England set-up. "Milan have made a good addition," said Capello, who coached the Rossoneri from 1991-96 and 1997-98. "At Madrid I left him out of the squad because he had signed a contract with Los Angeles but he continued to come on the field and train and I put him back in the team. "He is a very serious lad, very sensible, a professional. People think he is a playboy off the field, it's not true at all." Former England captain Beckham had been a target of Milan before, in January 2007, but opted instead to move to Los Angeles from Real Madrid. Milan director Umberto Gandini told Sky Sports News: "Only David knows his future, but for sure he has a commitment to go back to the MLS and I think he will fulfil that." Earlier this week LA Galaxy announced they have postponed their December tour of Australia because of Beckham's move to Italy. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena gave Beckham his blessing, despite the risk of returning to American with an injury or suffering fatigue later in the MLS season. "I think when players don't go 100% they get hurt, so I'm not going to give him any advice about pulling out of tackles," said Arena. "David's a very experienced player and he understands when to go into challenges and when not to. "Once in a while it doesn't always work out that way but if he goes and can play and train in that environment against players of that quality, it can't be at 50%. "He needs to play at 100% and he needs to position himself to get on the field for first-team minutes. "Players can get injured whether they are in training camp or playing games and there's no method you can create that can prevent injury."