Six players have pulled out of the Scotland squad for Friday's 2014 World Cup qualifying match in Croatia, team officials announced on Monday. Full-backs Lee Wallace and Danny Fox, centre-back Gary Caldwell, Celtic pair Scott Brown and James Forrest, and midfielder Liam Bridcutt are the players to have withdrawn due to either injury or fitness concerns. As a result, Motherwell full-back Steven Hammell and Aston Villa central midfielder Barry Bannan have been drafted into the squad by manager Gordon Strachan.

Outgoing Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson heads into retirement with the Premier League manager of the year award. Ferguson picked up the League Manager Association's honour on Monday. At the reception the 71-year-old said he was relieved celebrations to mark his retirement were over. "It has been overwhelming," he told the awards dinner in London 24 hours after his last match in charge of United, Sunday's 5-5 draw at West Brom. "The club has been fantastic and congratulations to West Brom with the way they handled yesterday.

Arsenal won the race for fourth place in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at Newcastle, while Alex Ferguson's career ended in remarkable fashion as Manchester United drew 5-5 at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. The win for Arsenal sealed the final qualifying spot for the Champions League. That left London rivals Tottenham, who beat Sunderland 1-0, in fifth place and forced to settle for a Europa League place. smg/dj

With Champions League qualification the only major issue still to be decided, focus on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday will fall on the characters bidding goodbye to English football. It is certain to be a momentous day at The Hawthorns, where Alex Ferguson will bow out after a record-breaking 26-year spell as Manchester United manager, while veteran midfielder Paul Scholes is also expected to play his final game for the club.