Stephen Kenny will not allow speculation over his future to become a distraction as the Republic of Ireland attempt to end a dismal Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on a positive note. Ireland face Group B minnows Gibraltar in Faro on Monday evening in their penultimate fixture, having won only one of the six which have preceded it with automatic qualification now beyond them and retaining only a slim chance of reaching the play-offs after Friday night’s 2-0 defeat by Greece. That has inevitably led to calls for the manager’s head, with the Republic having missed out on the finals of every major tournament since Euro 2016. However, asked if that noise might prove a distraction, Kenny, who last week received assurances from Football Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill, said: “No. “I have to be realistic. Jonathan Hill perfectly clarified it when he said that ‘Stephen would be the manager until the games in November’, and they’ll have a review and assess that. “At the moment, that’s out of my control. In this camp, it was important to try and win against Greece. We haven’t managed to do that, I understand that, that it’s not a good result for us. “But from my point of view, I am contracted to the end of the campaign so I just want to finish the campaign strong. If there is a play-off, we can assess that, but finish the campaign strong and take it from there.” Ireland’s only win so far came against Gibraltar in June, when goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah secured a 3-0 victory which was less comfortable than the scoreline suggests. Anything other than a repeat against a team which has lost all of its 43 European and World Cup qualifiers to date would represent fresh humiliation for an Ireland side which went down 1-0 at home to Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier in March 2021. However for Kenny, even that would do little to quell the tide of discontent which has swamped the positivity he had managed to establish after a shaky start in the job by convincing Ireland fans his new-look team would both excite them and get results. While they have at times done the former – but sadly, not recently – the have been largely unable to achieve the latter and have the Netherlands awaiting in next month’s final qualifier. He said: “We all have to get results, we understand that. I came into this camp thinking if we can get six points, we possibly have a chance to take it to Amsterdam, going into the last game. “We are hugely disappointed – we are, no doubt – to lose the game. What we have to do now is to perform tomorrow and win the game, and take that into November.” For Ireland’s players, the game represents an opportunity to take out their frustration on one of European football’s smaller nations. Midfielder Josh Cullen said: “Obviously the campaign hasn’t gone how we wanted it to. As players, the motivation is the same in every game. “The chance to play for your country is something that should never be taken for granted. Whether that’s against France or Gibraltar, you approach it with the same mindset, and we are itching to get back out there tomorrow night and get a win for our country.”

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Leeds were shoved to the brink of relegation from the Premier League after their ‘must-win’ match at West Ham ended in a 3-1 defeat. Sam Allardyce’s rescue mission reached crisis point after goals from Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini denied them the victory their new manager admitted they needed to have any realistic chance of staying up. Allardyce arrived at Elland Road as a last-ditch appointment with four games to go, but his first three matches have provided just two points. Now Leeds need to beat Tottenham next weekend and hope a Bournemouth side with nothing to play for can do them an almighty favour at Everton. Moreover, should Leicester beat Newcastle on Monday night, the Whites will start the final day second from bottom. They got off to a great start at the London Stadium as well, with Rodrigo volleying them into an early lead. But Rice, named West Ham’s player of the year before kick-off – six years to the day since he made his debut against Burnley – marked what is likely to be his last home game for the club by equalising with his 15th goal in claret and blue. The Hammers, safe from relegation and with a Europa Conference League final to look forward, should have been easy pickings. They even walked out carrying their children as mascots, giving a distinct end-of-season feel to proceedings. But Bowen’s 12th goal of the season and a late strike from Lanzini saw them sign off from the London Stadium with only their second win in six matches to leave Leeds in deep, deep trouble. Yet Leeds took a deserved lead after 17 minutes, albeit thanks to some awful defending. West Ham had conceded to a long throw at Brentford last weekend but clearly had not learned their lesson. Fiorentina, their European opponents in Prague next month, should take note. This time they somehow let a throw from Weston McKennie float on to the left boot of Rodrigo, who swept it first time into the net from 10 yards out. However, Leeds lost Patrick Bamford to injury moments later, and with him went much of their attacking spark. The Hammers may have been off the pace, but they equalised in the 32nd minute with a delightful goal from Rice. Pablo Fornals, the goalscoring hero at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night, scooped the ball over the Leeds defence to Bowen, whose chip across goal was sidefooted into the ground and up into the roof of the net by the England midfielder. Leeds should have gone back in front before half-time when Rodrigo robbed Kurt Zouma and cut the ball back but Wilfried Gnonto, on for Bamford, took an air-shot before Jack Harrison sliced his shot wide. Allardyce’s response on the touchline, throwing his arms in the air in frustration, said it all. Leeds, bafflingly, were the more passive team after the break with goalkeeper Joel Robles having to beat away a long-range drive from Lucas Paqueta and tip Tomas Soucek’s header over. They paid the price with 18 minutes left when Danny Ings played in Bowen, who slipped the ball past Robles. Then substitute Lanzini, another likely to leave West Ham in the summer, tucked in Paqueta’s cut-back – despite a VAR check appearing to show the Brazilian was offside – to send Leeds spinning to what looks likely to be an extremely costly defeat. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ronan O’Gara reveals Ireland ambition after latest Champions Cup success Champions Manchester City given rapturous reception ahead of Chelsea match Sir Mo Farah ‘sucking it all in’ after finishing eighth in his penultimate race

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Argentina has a new far-right president, and it was just a matter of hours before he became the internet’s new favourite meme. The populist leader Javier Milei is often compared to Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. He takes over from the centre-left economy minister Sergio Massa having received 55.7 per cent of the vote on Sunday. Milei is a self-described anarcho-capitalist and has made a lot of controversial pledges already, stating his intention to close the Argentinian central bank. However, at least from an outside perspective, it’s not his policies that are catching the eye of social media users. Instead, it's his incredibly hyper stage presence, with a penchant for calling people "s*** leftards". Others pointed to his appearance, comparing him to a character from 90s comedy series The Fast Show or a contestant on Bullseye. Another joked: "Argentina’s new president is the Welshest-looking man I’ve ever seen. He looks like he’s been chairman of the local rugby club for decades & is known to down a pint in less than 5 seconds while simultaneously smoking a fag." Safe to say, he's caused a bit of a stir on social media since the result was announced over the last few days. "Argentina's situation is critical," Milei said after the result. "The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism, no room for lukewarm measures." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings