Premier League: QPR's Harry Redknapp furious with defending

The Loftus Road club remain in deep Premier League relegation trouble after losing 3-2 at Craven Cottage, where they gave their hosts a three-goal head start.

Dire defending from Christopher Samba allowed Dimitar Berbatov to score from the penalty spot before adding a second prior to a Clint Hill own goal.

And although QPR staged a comeback through Adel Taarabt and Loic Remy, who had earlier missed a penalty, while Fulham had Steve Sidwell sent off, Redknapp was less than happy.

"A disastrous first half cost us, they were the worst goals I've seen in my life," he told Sky Sports. "They were scandalous goals. It was an absolute disaster.

"We came out in the second half and murdered them. We missed another penalty which has cost us again.

"We had enough possession in the second half, when it went 3-2, I thought we would win the game.

"We had twice as many shots as them. I was disappointed with the last 10 minutes. We suddenly started lumping balls up, we opened them up by passing the ball."

But despite the defeat and QPR's perilous position in the relegation zone, Redknapp is not giving up.

He added: "I draw encouragement all the time. We are not giving up. We have got to win at Wigan. We have to keep going at end of the day, we need another 14 points."

Premier League: Dimitar Berbatov scores twice as Fulham defeat QPR in thriller

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Steven Taylor says Newcastle continue to look up the table

The Magpies have endured a frustrating 2012/13 campaign, with consistency and momentum having eluded them for long periods.

An inability to string positive results together has left them languishing in the bottom-half of the division.

A 4-0 reversal against Manchester City last time out means there are just three points separating Newcastle from the relegation zone.

Taylor, though, maintains that no-one at St James' Park is thinking about a survival scrap.

He told the Evening Chronicle: "I am confident in my team-mates. I look around the dressing room at the players who I train with every day, and I am sat around top-class. This definitely makes me believe we are going to do well.

"We are not looking down, we are looking up. We are looking at who we can catch and chase.

"If you look at the games we have coming up - Benfica twice, Fulham and then Sunderland - we are excited.

"In the next few weeks, I am looking to see this all wrapped up in the Premier League and hopefully we can look forward to the Europa League."

West Brom boss Steve Clarke claims Peter Odemwingie remains part of his plans

The striker, who pushed for a move away from The Hawthorns in January, was jeered by a section of his own supporters on Saturday as he appeared off the bench in a 3-1 defeat to West Ham United.

An outing at Upton Park was Odemwingie's first since his latest outburst on Twitter, in which he criticised his manager and team-mates.

Clarke has admitted to growing frustrated by a distracting saga surrounding his Nigeria international, but insists he will not freeze the 31-year-old forward out of his thoughts.

He told the Birmingham Mail: "Peter has been part of my squad since the start of the season.

"The episode in January was obviously difficult for all concerned but we left the door open, we got him back in the squad and he still has to be part of the squad.

"I run with a small squad and I thought his introduction on Saturday was positive. He had one good run, a fantastic run by James Collins that probably saved a certain goal.

"Our players' dressing room is really good. It's a strong dressing room. We can handle this situation.

"Fans can react any way they want. My job is to get a team on the pitch that can get positive results and I have to use all the players at my disposal to do that.

"I don't think any negativity affected the way we played on Saturday or caused our result or performance. It would be wrong to say that."

Jol hoping QPR can survive

A win at Craven Cottage will place mid-table Fulham just one short of Jol's 40-point safety target while QPR, who lie second from bottom on goal difference, are scrapping for their Premier League lives.

Jol insists there will be no favours, although he believes Redknapp can still secure survival.

"I have no preference (who goes down)," said Jol.

"But I won't say I would like them (QPR) to go down because I like Harry Redknapp; he's a fantastic man and good manager.

"At the end the league won't lie.

"They will fight to the end because there's still 24 points (to play for) and that's a lot.

"If QPR manage to win four or five they still have a chance to stay up."

Jol is not content with just securing survival for Fulham, he wants the team to finish as high as possible.

Asked about his target, he said: "The higher the better for the club and for the players, because some of them have bonuses in their contract if they are in the top six, top eight, top 10.

"But that's a financial thing. I would like to be in the top 10."

Meanwhile, Jol's side will come up against former Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, who has been passed fit to face his old team-mates.

Zamora left Craven Cottage for Loftus Road in January 2012 but Jol has few regrets at losing a player with a dubious fitness record.

"Bobby wanted to move," said Jol. "He felt he could help QPR. Hopefully, after our game, he will help them. If he is fit he can help any team because he is a good striker.

"When he played he did ever so well but he missed 30 or 40 per cent of the games.

"If he was fit he was selected for the national team.

"He has got all the qualities, but when Bobby was not there we had a problem up front and that is why we changed it and now we have Bryan Ruiz and Hugo Rodallega and Dimitar Berbatov and most of the time they are fit to select."

Christian Benteke has no desire to leave Aston Villa, says agent

With the Belgium international having taken the Premier League by storm during his debut season in England, it has been speculated that his stay at Villa Park could last just 12 months.

Villa are scrapping to preserve their top-flight status and a number of their rivals are said to be keeping a close eye on Benteke and his possible availability.

The 22-year-old is, however, happy with his current employers and his representative sees no reason why they should be exploring other options.

Eris Kismet said in the Sunday Mirror: "I keep hearing that Christian dreams of playing for different clubs.

"But why dream when he is living a fantastic reality at Aston Villa? He is certainly not thinking about leaving.

"It is always impossible to predict the future, but at the moment I am 99 per cent certain Christian will start next season with Aston Villa in the Premier League.

"Paul Lambert, the club and the fans have all been very good to Christian and that means a lot to him."

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson disappointed to bow out of FA Cup

The Red Devils travelled to Chelsea on Easter Monday well clear at the top of the Premier League table and setting their sights on another league and cup double.

Those dreams were dashed at Stamford Bridge as a stunning volley from Demba Ba saw holders Chelsea book a semi-final date with Manchester City.

Ferguson admits his side had discussed the threat posed by Ba prior to the game and ended up paying the price for uncharacteristic dips in performance levels at both ends of the field.

"We were comfortable in the first half and I couldn't see them getting into the game or being any great threat to us. But the goal, as it always does, changed the game," he said.

"We spoke about Ba and the experience we had with him a couple of years ago at Newcastle when he scored exactly the same type of goal. We were caught napping, to be honest. It wasn't a good start for us right at the beginning of the second half.

"After that I think we lacked the composure to win the game and create proper openings. We had a lot of possession but didn't make the best use of it and they caused us quite a few problems on the counter-attack.

"They've got several players like Hazard, Oscar and Mata who sleep in little pockets and can cause you bother on the counter. Fortunately we didn't lose another goal, but I couldn't really see us scoring either.

"Robin van Persie had a fantastic chance and should have scored, but he put it over the bar. We had a couple of headers by the post and Cech made a fantastic save from Chicharito. But we just lacked composure when we had to chase the game and didn't play as well as we should have in the second half."

While frustrated to slip out of the cup, United can console themselves with the fact that they have surged 15 points clear of arch-rivals City in the race to be crowned champions of England.

"We must kick on," said Ferguson. "We're disappointed and the players are down, but we need to forget this and look forward to the game with City. A positive result for us next Monday will just about seal the title."

Premier League clubs 'consider' bid for FC Copenhagen striker Andreas Cornelius

The 20-year-old scored his first international goal for Denmark against the Czech Republic last Friday and reports have claimed that Arsenal, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur all had scouts at the World Cup qualifier.

Speculation in Denmark suggests scouts from England were again in attendance on Tuesday night when Cornelius started the 1-1 draw at home with Bulgaria.

Copenhagen have recently insisted they do not want to sell Cornelius and are determined to keep their squad intact ahead of next season's UEFA Champions League.

Cornelius' representative Jonathan Walker, however, has suggested that Copenhagen's resolve could be tested over the coming months.

Walker told Sporten.dk: "Cornelius is a hot name in England.

"I know that some Premier League clubs are considering an offer for him."

Gareth Bale looking for Tottenham to build on Swansea victory

Having come unstuck in their last three outings in all competitions, Spurs headed into the Easter weekend determined to turn things around.

An impressive showing during a 2-1 victory over Swansea, coupled with a shock defeat for capital rivals Chelsea at Southampton, allowed them to clamber back into third spot in the Premier League standings.

Bale was at his talismanic best once again at the Liberty Stadium, as he scored one and made the other, and the Welsh winger is hoping Spurs can now end the season with a flourish.

He said: "It was important for us to get a win. We had lost our last three games in all competitions, so it was important to stop the rot and try to kick on.

"We're still in the running for our objectives and hopefully we can fulfil them.

"We're in a great position now for Champions League qualification and that's the most important thing.

"It was a great result for us, so hopefully we can keep this run going now."

Jan Vertonghen is also looking for Spurs to build momentum, and he could have a crucial role to play in their efforts after netting his fourth goal in his last five outings against the Swans.

He said: "I'm very pleased to score. For a club I don't think I've had such a run of goals, but I've always scored quite a lot of goals for a defender, so I would say it's a good run.

"I always try to score. I scored one and I wanted to go for a second one, but I don't care who scores.

"I'm just aiming for third or fourth place. If we finish in third or fourth place without me scoring again, I'll be happy."