WORLD CUP IS BULLY’S STAR PRIZE FOR FA
‘SEVENTH HEAVEN WOULD BE EUROPE’
since January and his body language has not looked great since his move to China collapsed.
But Hernandez only returned to training yesterday after scoring for Mexico against Paraguay, while Arnautovic has had more time to prepare after scoring twice for Austria against Israel.
Pellegrini added: “Always for a striker it’s good to score goals. I hope that Marko will return, improving what he did in the last game. Two goals will be important for him.
“Also, we must focus on Marko Arnautovic and what he did in the last game. Most parts of the team had a very poor performance, until the last 20 minutes, when we changed the score.
“It’s a difficult week because you don’t have the players – they have their minds with the national squads. But I hope from Saturday they will be involved again in our season.” MARCO SILVA is gunning for Europe as he faces a major summer of transition at Everton.
The Toffees boss (above) wants his team to aim for seventh place in the Premier League which could deliver a Europa League spot.
And as he prepares for a transfer window which will see major upheaval, Silva urged his players to keep fighting until the end of the season to maintain a feel-good factor at the club.
When asked if aiming for Europe was still realistic, he replied: “It is really important, and I am not talking just about the position in the table, but that optimism, too.
“It is everything that I want as a manager and what we want as a club. We want to make the fans proud and send them home after a match with a good feeling. We want them to enjoy what they are seeing and feel we did everything we could even if we didn’t achieve the results in some moments.
“That is what I want to give them and if we do these things then our position in the table will be good. I don’t doubt that.”
And Silva knows he may need European football to see him through a summer where he will have to wheel and deal to change his squad extensively.
He wants to bring in loanees Andre Gomes and Kurt Zouma (above) on a permanent basis, which could cost him £70million. THE FA have promoted from within to make Mark Bullingham their new chief executive.
Bullingham, 48, will succeed Martin Glenn, having joined the FA three years ago as Commercial and Marketing Director.
FA chairman Greg Clarke said: “Mark has played a key role in the recent success of the FA and under his leadership the organisation will continue to break new ground.
“I know Mark and his qualities well. He is undoubtedly the best person to lead the FA as we head into an exciting new era.”
Bullingham (above) is an FA Level 1 qualified coach, has managed under-9s and u-11s boys and girls teams and will take charge at the end of the season at a pivotal time for the FA.
England have just enjoyed their best World Cup campaign in 28 years, they have reached the Nations League finals, and the finals of the Euro 2020 tournament will be staged at Wembley.
England are also likely to bid for the 2030 World Cup while Bullingham’s expertise on commercial and TV deals might come into play with FA Cup TV rights and picking up the pieces after the Wembley sale fell through under Glenn’s watch.
Bullingham added: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be at the FA and I’m delighted to be given this opportunity.
“The to-do list is long but we know as a team, we can deliver huge progress.”