Rory in good nick to win it insists Faldo

NICK FALDO is backing Rory McIlroy to complete the career Grand Slam this weekend after the Northern Irishman fired himself into contention for his first Masters title.

McIlroy withstood the worst Augusta National could throw at him on a testing day to shoot a 71 to stand at four under par.

McIlroy noted before the start of the tournament that, at 28, he is at the same age Arnold Palmer was when he won his first Masters, and despite overnight leader Jordan Spieth coming back to the mix after a ragged front nine, Faldo fancies McIlroy to go on and take his IN THE SWING: McIlroy is still at the heart of the action after two rounds of the Masters Green Jacket. “This man is ready. He’s on a mission this week,” said Faldo, the threetime champion here. It is four years since McIlroy last won a Major but he has opened up the possibility of another with his fast start. Every time he has been in the top five after the first round of a Major he has gone on to win it. He held a share of fourth at Augusta on Thursday night and pushed on again yesterday. It was no picnic for McIlroy and he missed a chance for a birdie at the 18th, but he fought hard, and with four birdies put himself at the heart of the action heading into the third round. PEP GUARDIOLA has raised the stakes ahead of today’s Manchester derby by revealing he was offered Paul Pogba in January. The City manager’s claim will embarrass United while escalating Guardiola’s war of words with Pogba’s controversial agent Mino Raiola. Pogba has been left out by Jose Mourinho on several occasions since Christmas, sparking suggestions the France midfielder, left, has fallen out with the United boss and is looking to move less than two years after his £89million move from Juventus.

But Guardiola’s revelation that the player’s high-profile representative has attempted to engineer a move across town to their arch-rivals will infuriate Mourinho, who, despite not being happy with Pogba’s form, has always insisted he does not want to sell a player he still sees as a key part of his future plans.

Raiola last week called Guardiola “a dog and a coward” for his treatment of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another of his clients, during their spell together at Barcelona. But Guardiola delivered a sarcastic response by saying: “If I was a bad guy, a coward, I don’t understand why he offered me Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan two months ago. I’m surprised because I am a dog.

“Why would he do that? He has to protect his players so he has to know he cannot bring them to a guy like me, a dog. And