From the back pages, February 9: Billy Twelvetrees deserved to keep his starting place for tilt at Ireland says Stuart Lancaster

England head coach Stuart Lancaster admitted the impressive form of Billy Twelvetrees and Brad Barritt had contributed to his decision to start fit-again centre Manu Tuilagi on the bench against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday. (The Telegraph)

Sir Alex Ferguson has slammed the Premier League and Sky Sports for undermining Manchester United’s Treble bid. Fergie claims United’s chances of beating Real Madrid on Wednesday in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 tie have been dented by the decision to schedule their televised game against Everton on Sunday and as a 4pm kick-off. (The Mirror)

Roberto Mancini will be cheering Manchester United to Champions League success against Real Madrid next week - but only because it will give Manchester City more chance of retaining their Barclays Premier League title. (The Independent)

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Lewis Hamilton’s eye for detail extended as far as checking whether the sponsor stickers on his car were in the right place, according to his new boss. From an introduction to his Mercedes car that included a brake failure and a trip to the tyre barrier to more than 140 laps of solid honing of the machine that he hopes will bring him success in new colours. (The Times)

Jack Wilshere can be one of the best players in the world, reckons Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal youngster was named man of the match in England’s 2-1 win over Brazil on his first international start since 2011. And his Gunners boss reckons there is no limit to how far Wilshere, 21, can go in his career. (The Sun)

Sunderland winger James McClean has left himself open to further death threats and returned to Twitter, despite warnings from manager Martin O’Neill to stay off the social networking site. The Republic of Ireland international, who looks set to miss today’s home clash with Arsenal with an ankle injury picked up in his country’s win over Poland this week, has been urged to stay off Twitter after repeated clashes with supporters. (Daily Mail)

Sevilla are keeping a close eye on West Brom marksman Shane Long. The Irishman has carried a goal threat for the season for the Baggies, who have been one of the surprise packages in the Barclays Premier League. (The Express)