CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEKEND

DARBY INSPIRATION

When Craig noone headed home what proved to be Bolton’s winner against Derby, he ran to the stands to hug pal Stephen Darby. Former Bolton defender Darby was forced to retire last month after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Bolton players walked out with Darby’s name and no 23 on their backs and noone said: ‘To see him in the changing room today picked us up. I just ran straight to him, and I can’t remember much more about it.’

BENTLEY BACKED

BRENTFORD are three league games without a win after Daniel Bentley gifted Reading both goals in a 2-2 draw. The Bees keeper fumbled John Swift’s shot into the path of Jon Dadi Bodvarsson for the first and then fluffed a Swift free-kick for the second. Yoann Barbet spared his blushes with a late equaliser and boss Dean Smith said: ‘Daniel will be disappointed with the two mistakes but he has saved us plenty of times before.’

MONK’S FURY

You know things aren’t going well when the manager wants to haul off all 11 players at half-time. But that was Garry Monk’s frank assessment when Birmingham trailed basement-dwellers Ipswich 2-0. ‘I could have taken them all off at half-time — but I haven’t got 11 subs,’ he said. Whatever he said in the dressing room must have worked, however, as Lukas Jutkiewicz scored twice to earn a draw.