Unlucky for Robbo but, for Beth, 13 is so lucky JOHN CROSS

He’s got his ear to the ground and his finger on the pulse

OXFORD boss Karl Robinson has been without THIRTEEN players during a crisis period for the club.

He’s been so stretched that it may have crossed his mind to promote

Beth Lumsden from the club’s women’s team – after all, the goalscoring midfielder has been training with the men for the past few weeks.

Lumsden (top) said: “It’s been such a good experience. I’ve done it for about three or four weeks, once a week. There’s a session in the morning, followed by a gym session, and an evening training session with the women as well. The men are a lot quicker. It pushes you to make decisions quicker and I take that into games.

“I’ve heard stories of women playing with the under-18s but I’ve never been offered this chance before. It’s been brilliant because we’re having a

good season, chasing promotion, and it can only help me improve.”

Lumsden also works in an estate agency run by legendary former Arsenal women’s boss

Vic Akers, who once set up a seven-a-side game between his women’s team and male journalists. The journos were thrashed and were lucky the score did not reach double figures.

League One Oxford have been without seven players through positive Covid tests, three more have been isolating, and three injured. With all three goalkeepers out, they signed Birmingham’s Connal Trueman on an emergency loan before beating Fleetwood 3-1.

Robinson (above) has rarely celebrated so much after the game.

To get a positive result with so many players missing was a real achievement.

GARETH SOUTHGATE’S two-year contract extension is an incentive-based deal and he will get more cash based on success rather than a fat pay rise.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has overseen a difficult year of losses, cuts and redundancies, so a lucrative new deal for the England manager

(right) would not have gone down well.

But they also invited staff to watch the unveiling press conference as details of the deal were discussed to put them in the picture. The FA, who have already postponed plans for a Christmas party, have got this one right.

WEST HAM captain Mark Noble does not play every game - but his influence on the dressing room is as strong as ever.

The Premier League club have won compliments for the spotless condition they leave away dressing rooms in following games.

That comes from 34-year-old Noble (above) laying down the rules.

The Hammers have been enjoying a brilliant season and it is no wonder boss David Moyes has been happy to have Noble around, with the values he instils.

THE remastered full-colour DVD of England’s 1966 World Cup Final triumph is out now.

Fittingly, all proceeds will go to the Alzheimer’s Society.

After so many of the Wembley heroes were affected by dementia, that is a clever idea and pre-christmas sales are going well.

Standard DVDS cost £19 and copies signed personally by hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst are going for £66.

Details here: www. finalreplay.tv/shop