Gullit lands Russian role

Former LA Galaxy boss Ruud Gullit will make his return to football after signing on as manager of Russian Premier League side Terek Grozny.

The 48-year-old has not managed since quitting the Galaxy in 2008, but has signed an 18-month deal with Terek, who finished 12th in the Russian top flight last season.

“I’m very happy with my contract of a year and a half. Next weekend I will join up with the team and we will begin preparing for the season,” Gullit said.

“I look forward to getting back into it and this is a beautiful, great opportunity for me.”

Gullit has reportedly been set the target of a top eight finish with the Chechen club, but could face a challenge settling into life in the war-torn Russian province.

The Dutchman made his name as a player with AC Milan, winning three Serie A titles and two European Cups during his time at the San Siro.

He has since gone on to manage some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord, before moving across the Atlantic to take the reins at MLS franchise Los Angeles.

Gullit will not have an easy start to his time in Russia, with Terek scheduled to face defending champions Zenit St Petersburg in their season-opener on March 10.

Adam calm amid transfer talk

Blackpool captain Charlie Adam insists the constant transfer speculation surrounding him is not affecting his game.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away from Bloomfield Road during the transfer window, with Aston Villa said to have had a bid of 3.5 million pounds rejected.

Several other clubs are also said to be interested, but manager Ian Holloway has made it clear Adam will only be leaving Blackpool if the club receives a big-money offer for the Scotland midfielder.

Adam said he was just doing his best to avoid all the rumours and was focused on getting the job done for Blackpool.

“It really isn’t difficult to ignore all the talk,” Adam told the Blackpool Gazette.

“I am a footballer and I want to keep playing well, and hopefully I can play for many years.”

“There is going to be speculation about lads at Blackpool because the players are playing well. You can’t stop speculation, so you just get on with it.”

“Everybody has something to say about football, everybody has an opinion. Some people like it, some people don’t. You get on with it.”

However, Adam, who has made 17 appearances for Blackpool this season, admitted the lure of playing for one the biggest clubs in the Premier League was strong.

“The bottom line is that everybody knows I want to play at the highest level. I want to play at the top of the tree, as they say,” Adam said.

“This has been a fantastic part of my life coming to Blackpool, and it has been fantastic being part of this club and working with this manager.”

“At the end of the day everybody has ambition and I want to play at the highest level I can. Hopefully one day it will happen.”

No malpractice in Bent deal, say Villa

Aston Villa have hit back at Sunderland, refuting suggestions of wrongdoing in the deal that lured star striker Darren Bent to the Midlands.

The England international made the stunning 18-million-pound move to Villa on Tuesday, and both Sunderland manager Steve Bruce and chairman Niall Quinn have been critical of Bent’s shock decision.

Bruce said he felt ‘let down’ by Bent, while Quinn called into question the way in which Villa went about luring the 26-year-old to Villa Park.

“Two or three weeks ago maybe, I went into the training ground and there was something up with him,” Quinn told Kildare TV.

“I looked at his demeanour and I thought, ‘It’s not right’. Having been in the game, you kind of know when someone’s got something going on in their heads.”

“It transpired that that’s what had happened. They were setting him up to try and come and he took the bait.”

“It’s hugely disappointing for us, but all we could do then was battle hard and, when the transfer request came in, that was probably the final nail.”

Clubs are not allowed to approach players prior to receiving official permission to do so, and Quinn’s suggestion of malpractice by Villa have been rubbished by the Birmingham club.

“We understand Sunderland Football Club’s need to explain to their naturally-disappointed supporters why Darren Bent has been allowed to leave their club,” a Villa statement read.

“It is disappointing, however, that Sunderland should try to besmirch the reputation of the player and Aston Villa Football Club in the process.”

“We wish to make clear that at no time did Aston Villa make an inappropriate approach to the player or unfairly compromise the business of Sunderland Football Club.”

“Darren only became aware of his possible transfer AFTER Sunderland’s game against Newcastle on Sunday and AFTER we had agreed with Sunderland the essence of the deal, which led quickly to Darren’s arrival at Villa Park on Tuesday.”

“It is only because of some comments emanating from the Stadium of Light that we have felt compelled to respond and set the record straight.”

Premier League preview: Fulham v Stoke

Stoke will be looking for revenge when they travel to Craven Cottage to do battle with struggling Fulham on Saturday.

Fulham visited Britannia Stadium last month with speculation rife over the future of manager Mark Hughes, but Chris Baird’s early double lifted them to a surprise 2-0 win over Tony Pulis’ side.

That win pulled Fulham out of the relegation zone and they now sit in 15th position, although the Londoners are just one point clear of the bottom three.

In their most recent league outing they had a goal from Andy Johnson to thank for rescuing a point in a 1-1 draw with Wigan at DW Stadium.

Stoke, meanwhile, have been one of the most consistent sides this season and continue to defy expectations with their eighth-place standing on the Premier League table.

Pulis’ men cruised to a 2-0 win at home against Bolton over the weekend before beating Cardiff by the same score on Tuesday to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Stoke manager has no fresh injury concerns, with strike duo Mamady Sidibe and Eidur Gudjohnsen the only players under a fitness cloud.

For Fulham, Belgian striker Moussa Dembele will be better for his half-an-hour against Wigan after returning from eight weeks out with an ankle injury, while David Stockdale will retain goalkeeping duties in place of Australia’s Mark Schwarzer who is competing at the Asian Cup.

Matthew Briggs’ calf injury rules him out, while Bobby Zamora and Philippe Senderos remain long-term absentees.

International friendly: Botswana 1 Sweden 2

Sweden continued their preparations for Euro 2012 qualifiers with a 2-1 win over Botswana in Cape Town on Wednesday.

It was a largely under-strength Swedish outfit which took on the Africans at the neutral venue in South Africa, but Erik Hamren’s side did enough to come away with a victory.

Helsingborg striker Alexander Gerndt opened the scoring on 34 minutes after he crept in behind the Botswana defence to put Sweden into the lead.

But the Africans hit back just two minutes after the restart when Joel Mogorosi found the back of the net to level the match at 1-1.

Former Southampton midfielder Anders Svensson settled the matter in the 74th minute, burying his strike to give Sweden back the advantage and ultimately the victory.

Sweden have one more friendly match, against Cyprus in February, before they resume their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Moldova on March 29.