Football: Anderton pledges future to Tottenham: England international commits himself to White Hart Lane

DARREN ANDERTON yesterday pledged his future to Tottenham Hotspur, whether they retain their place in the Premiership or not, writes Owen Slot. The England international cited his desire to repay the loyalty the club showed in him when he was unsettled on his arrival last season.

'It's been said I've got a clause in my contract which says I can leave if we go down,' he said. 'That's simply not true. If we go down I would stay with Spurs. They've been good to me, especially when I struggled at the start of my time here.'

Peter Shilton, the Plymouth Argyle manager, has turned down the initial offer of a new two-year deal with the club, saying that further negotiations are needed.

Contract negotiations between Andrei Kanchelskis and Manchester United were closer to being settled yesterday, but the Ukrainian's international future has dimmed. Vladimir Radionov, the Russian federation's general secretary, said he considered that Kanchelskis, who has opted to represent Russia rather than the Ukraine, and other players who had refused to play for Russia under Pavel Sadyrin, the manager, had broken international football rules and could be banned from the national side for two years.

Alan Shearer and David Batty should be fit to continue Blackburn's title chase at home against QPR on Sunday. Steve McManaman could miss the rest of Liverpool's season after chipping a bone in his back.

Graham Kelly, the FA chief executive, has been asked to clarify the rules that allow professional footballers to gamble on games they are involved in following an investigation by Standing Room Only, the BBC2 football fanzine, which will tonight confirm the practice as widespread.

Giovanni Trapattoni, the Juventus coach, is set to replace Franz Beckenbauer at Bayern Munich next season.