The 31-year-old spent almost six years at the DW Stadium but for the last two seasons has been a fringe member of manager Roberto Martinez's first-team squad.

He will join up with Wednesday in July, joining a club newly promoted to the Championship, on a two-year contract.

Kirkland, who counts Coventry and Liverpool among his former clubs and won an England cap against Greece in 2006, said on his new club's website: "This is a fantastic move for me and I am delighted to be here.

"There have been stories about injuries but I have been fully fit for the last two seasons at Wigan and really frustrated at being a number two.

"I'm chomping at the bit to start playing again and to join a club like Sheffield Wednesday at this time is a great move, although there is great competition for places, which is great."

Kirkland watched the celebrations as Wednesday earned automatic promotion from League One, as supporters flooded the pitch.

He added: "Everybody saw what happened at Hillsborough on the last day of the season and to think that I will be part of that is really exciting."

The Hammers missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season but they made up for it in style with a 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the play-off final at Wembley.

A year after they were relegated, goals from Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te, either side of Thomas Ince's equaliser, secured top-flight football and the estimated £90million booty that comes with it.

Vindication, then, for owners David Sullivan and David Gold, who opted for pragmatism over sentiment when they turned to Allardyce last summer to sift through the wreckage of Avram Grant's disastrous reign.

Vindication too, for Allardyce, back in among the elite at the expense of relegated Blackburn Rovers, whose controversial owners Venky's sacked him in 2010 for no apparent reason.

At the expense of Bolton Wanderers, the club he turned into a Premier League mainstay.

And, of course, at the expense of vanquished opponents Blackpool, who axed Allardyce after he narrowly failed to guide them to promotion in 1996.

West Ham may have taken the scenic route back to the promised land, but it has not always been so pretty this season.

Allardyce struggled to win hearts and minds at Upton Park, enduring a fractious relationship with the fans who were sceptical of his perceived direct style of play from the moment he was appointed.

At a club where winning ugly is frowned upon, drawing ugly was frankly unacceptable and home stalemates against lowly Crystal Palace, Doncaster Rovers and Watford were greeted with boos from the stands despite the Hammers' position near the top of table.

Allardyce quickly tired of being quizzed about the so-called 'West Ham way' and after one match he told supporters who chanted 'we play on the floor' that they were deluded.

Despite this depressing backdrop, the Hammers were still plodding along in second spot behind Southampton and looking set fair for a return to the top flight.

However, Reading's stunning end to the season changed all that as it came up on the rails to snatch the title, pushing Saints into second and West Ham into play-off purgatory.

Yet the Royals may have inadvertently done Allardyce a favour as what seemed the most joyless of promotion campaigns suddenly became interesting.

Far from wallowing in the disappointment of narrowly missing out automatically, 'Big Sam' came into his own.

Having limbered up with a 6-0 thrashing of Brighton and Hove Albion - without a long ball in sight, incidentally - West Ham calmly dispatched Cardiff 5-0 over two legs of a one-sided semi-final.

Such is the perverse nature of the play-off system, third place brought with it the reward of a first Wembley appearance since 1981 and 40,000-odd fans, including the sceptics and the booers, lapped it up.

The jeers turned to cheers as Kevin Nolan, the £4 million ($6.4 million) summer signing from Newcastle United, became the first Hammers captain to lift a trophy at the national stadium in 32 years.

Job done for Allardyce, whose next task will be to emulate the Bolton years - top-half finishes, mixing it with the big boys and regularly ruffling the feathers of the likes of Arsene Wenger.

He will fancy his chances, too. Self-doubt has never been an Allardyce failing. And if he can win over these West Ham fans, then you would not bet against him rising to any challenge.

The Portuguese winger, a bargain £500,000 ($803,000) January signing from Barnsley, earned the Hammers an estimated £90 million windfall with the goal which sank Blackpool.

Boss Sam Allardyce vowed to take the club back to what he calls the Promised Land at the first attempt after last season's relegation, and he was as good as his word as his side saw off Ian Holloway's play-off specialist side.

Carlton Cole had given them the lead in the first half, but Thomas Ince showed he has inherited his dad Paul's uncanny knack of irritating West Ham's fans when he equalised just after the break.

However, after an end-to-end second half it was Blackpool, which was unbeaten in its previous 11 play-off matches, that cracked as Vaz Te rifled in the winner four minutes from time.

It may have been a short-priced favourite having put eight goals past Blackpool in its league meetings this season, but West Ham looked extremely twitchy in the opening stages.

After just three minutes Matt Taylor's attempt to chest the ball back to Robert Green fell short and Stephen Dobbie sneaked in behind the left-back.

Fortunately for Taylor, the angle was tight and Dobbie's shot was kept out by a combination of Green and the near post.

Matt Phillips then twice squandered glorious opportunities to put the Seasiders ahead.

The winger latched onto a ball over the top only to shoot weakly at Green and passed up an even better chance moments later when Guy Demel slipped, allowing him time to curl a shot narrowly wide.

West Ham eventually settled into the game and a slick move between Cole, Gary O'Neil and Vaz Te ended with the latter hitting the side-netting.

Cole then headed O'Neil's cross over before Jack Collison curled a shot just too high.

And the goal West Ham had been threatening arrived in the 33rd minute when Taylor robbed Ince and charged down the left before sending a cross towards Cole.

The striker took the ball in his stride, held off the challenge of Seasiders defender Ian Evatt and swept the ball past Matt Gilks and into the net.

Vaz Te could have doubled the lead before half-time but he dragged his shot wide.

Instead, two minutes after the restart Blackpool hit the Hammers with a sucker-punch.

Cole gave the ball away near the halfway line and Matt Phillips raced forward before swinging in a diagonal cross over the heads of the West Ham defence and right to the feet of Ince.

The winger, whose every touch was jeered by the Hammers fans who never forgave Ince senior for the manner in which he left the club some 23 years ago, still had plenty to do.

But he found a superb finish his dad would have been proud of, firing the ball across Green and inside the far post.

With West Ham reeling, Blackpool almost went ahead moments later when Kevin Phillips played in Alex Baptiste, who dinked the ball over Green only for Taylor to clear the danger on the line.

Back came West Ham and Collison poked Taylor's low cross wide before Gilks made a fine save low down to deny Cole, while at the other end Dobbie missed his kick in front of goal and also forced a fingertip save from Green.

The Hammers were inches away from taking the lead again when substitute George McCartney overlapped down the left and crossed for Nolan, whose first-time volley was tipped onto the crossbar by Gilks.

But the winner arrived four minutes from time in the most dramatic of fashion.

Nolan crossed from the left and Cole's attempt was blocked by Gilks but the ball fell kindly for Vaz Te, who crashed it over the grounded Gilks and into the roof of the net.

The game looked to be heading towards injury time after Blackpool`s Thomas Ince cancelled out Carlton Cole's opener for West Ham early in the second half, but Vaz Te fired Sam Allardyce's side into the lead in the 87th minute to seal a dramatic win.

And Vaz Te, who joined West Ham from Barnsley in January after a season at Hibernian that appeared to have ended his attempts to be a top-flight player, hailed a superb team effort by the Hammers.

"It's a great effort form the lads," the striker told Sky Sports 1.

"Its not about the goal, we showed great character. I think we deserved it.

"We're a Premier League side and we deserved to go up.

"It's terrific really. I feel like I have been blessed with a second chance in my career and it's great to be here."

Vaz Te also revealed he intends to approach the Premier League full of confidence.

"It is another step, a big challenge. We must get there with the mentality that we're a Premier League side and not there to fight for relegation," he said.

"West Ham is a great club."

The Hammers boss is potentially 90 minutes from a return to the English Premier League, 18 months after he was sacked by Blackburn's owners Venky's.

Standing in his way in Saturday's (Sunday 00:00 AEST) play-off final are the Seasiders, the club where Allardyce cut his managerial teeth before he was also ruthlessly shown the door after narrowly missing out on promotion to Division One in 1996.

But the 57-year-old says he bears no grudges ahead of the £90 million ($145 million) promotion shoot-out.

"It's long gone, water under the bridge," he said.

"At the time it was devastating because I thought I might have been lost to football, I thought I might not get back into the game.

"Luckily that wasn't the case but the experience I gained as a manager has stood me in good stead to go on and do better things, so I have no axe to grind with Blackpool."

Allardyce is halfway through a two-year contract at Upton Park but knows questions will be raised about his position if, just as with Blackpool, his current team falter in the play-offs.

The Hammers, relegated 12 months ago, were pre-season favourites for promotion but were edged into third by Reading and Southampton.

Allardyce promised to take them back up within a year and is well aware of the price of failure - for both himself and the club.

"I would have thought that come Saturday we won't be talking my job, apart from taking the club back into the Premier League," he added.

"But if it is not the case for whatever reason, somebody will say, 'will your job be safe?'

"When that comes around I can answer it. For now, my focus is on the team and getting the best out of the team to try and win the most important game for this club since the last time Alan Pardew took them up through the play-offs.

"That is how important it is. It is important for the status of everyone at the club, particularly for myself and my staff and the players who require Premier League status again.

"It gives them a greater standing in the game. It gives us all a greater status in the game, a huge amount of revenue into this club and it gives us worldwide branding.

"We all know how important it is from both sides - the football side and the financial side."

Allardyce's side cracked under the strain of battling for automatic promotion from English football's second tier and allowed Reading and Southampton to secure the first two spots in the top flight.

But the east London outfit rebounded impressively in the play-off semi-final against Cardiff, cruising to a 5-0 aggregate victory that kept it on course for an immediate return to the Premier League after last season's relegation.

Now it must pass one final test against Ian Holloway's Blackpool, which was relegated along with West Ham 12 months ago and is also desperate to seize the financial rewards at stake in world football's single richest match.

Allardyce, boosted by the return to fitness of Wales midfielder Jack Collison, has no doubts West Ham's players are capable of dealing with the high-stakes clash.

"It's a fabulous game to be involved in, particularly for the players," Allardyce said.

"We are the favourites with all the pressure on us, so we have to handle that as we have done all season. Hopefully we can deliver and beat Blackpool for third time this season.

"We will treat them with the utmost respect and make sure we try to expose the weaknesses they have in their side if we can and as early as we can.

"We've got to live with the pressure to spur us on to give us our best performance. The pressure should bring the best out of us and not be one of those games where we actually freeze on the big stage."

While West Ham is the firm favourite after beating Blackpool 4-0 and 4-1 in their league meetings earlier this season, the Seasiders play an eye-catching brand of attacking football that, on Wembley's wide open spaces, could trouble the more rudimentary tactics employed by Allardyce.

One of Blackpool's key figures will be young winger Tom Ince, who is relishing his first taste of a major occasion after watching his father Paul play in so many during his illustrious career with Manchester United, Inter Milan, Liverpool and England.

Ince junior left Liverpool last year in a bid to get more regular first-team action and the switch to Blackpool has proved an inspired move.

The 20-year-old, whose father began his career with West Ham, admits it has been a significant advantage to have a parent who knows exactly what he is going through.

"I can't fault my dad," Ince said. "He's brought me up in the best way I could have ever wished for.

"With my dad it's father to son, but it's also player to player. I've been having that double advantage where someone can point me in the right direction both on and off the field.

"He'll be the first to praise me and the first to criticise me."

Ince senior is something of a hate figure at West Ham after the controversial manner of his move to Manchester United and his son would love to silence the critics with a Wembley win.

"They've got a lot of Premier League stars on big wages and a big budget. But that doesn't mean anything on the day," Ince said.

Seasiders defender Ian Evatt branded West Ham "disrespectful" after hearing of the photo, and also accused the east London club of being overconfident going into Saturday's (Sunday 00:00 AEST) Wembley showdown.

"If you listen to them, they're already up aren't they?" said Evatt.

"If I was them I wouldn't be counting my chickens just yet because what I have learned over the past five or six seasons is these players never give up.

"A guy has just told me that their new kit's come out with Premier League badges on, which I think is jumping the gun a bit and it's disrespectful towards our group of players.

"I'm not going to sit here and say Blackpool are going to win, but we're going to give them a better game than they think we're going to give them."

Yet West Ham's build-up to the final has been deliberately low-key, although the club has now been compelled to respond to Evatt's remarks.

A statement read: "West Ham United can confirm that reports of replica shirts being produced with Premier League badges on ahead of Saturday's play-off final are completely erroneous.

"The photograph of a shirt is a hoax and in no way connected to West Ham United Football Club.

"Comments made as to the conduct of our club in regards to our opponents on Saturday, Blackpool, are also false and have again, nothing to do with the club."

Ince, the son of former England international midfielder Paul, left Liverpool in the summer with a solitary Carling Cup substitute appearances to his name.

The 20-year-has gone on to establish himself as a key member of Ian Holloway's side, turning in a succession of dazzling displays on the way to Sunday's (AEST) npower Championship play-off final against West Ham United at Wembley.

"I can't fault my dad," Ince said. "He's brought me up in the best way I could have ever wished for.

"With my dad it's father to son, but it's also player to player. I've been having that double advantage and double guidance where someone can point me in the right direction both on and off the field.

"He'll be the first to praise me and the first to criticise me. I'll always get criticism and praise from my father as well as the gaffer."

Ince's elegant wing play is a far cry from his father's all-action, combative style - something that has resulted in some playful barracking from opposition players and fans during Blackpool's promotion push.

"A lot of this season I've been given a lot of stick from various clubs which isn't my fault," he explained.

"It's something I have to accept. I am who I am and I'm proud of that.

"It's great to have someone you can go home to and analyse your game."

The letter from Hunt to the club's Indian owners Venky's was written in December and stated he wanted them to sack manager Steve Kean.

The owners have stood by Kean however, despite Rovers being relegated, and reports that Hunt instead has parted company with the club have now been confirmed.

Blackburn said in a statement: "Blackburn Rovers Football Club can confirm that deputy chief executive Paul Hunt has left the club

Blues hit back to claim an absorbing 2-2 draw in the second leg at St Andrew's, but it was the Tangerines who progressed to the final against West Ham United at Wembley on May 19 having triumphed 1-0 in the first leg last Friday.

In the build-up to that encounter, Hughton said media talk linking him as the successor to England-bound Roy Hodgson at West Bromwich Albion was just that.

And his stance had not wavered after Birmingham's 62-game season came to an end.

"It's very difficult for me to comment on anything because anything's that's been mentioned at all has always just been speculation," Hughton said.

"And I think it's probably not fitting at this moment."

He added: "I'm sitting here and everything that's been said about me has very much been speculation. It's certainly not the right moment because it's about a group of players. I'm as devastated as they are because we've got so close."

Hughton has performed superbly in his first campaign in charge at Birmingham, battling the club's well-documented cash-flow problems and putting together a new-look side which went on to perform strongly both domestically and in Europe.

The bulk of City's squad was overhauled for this season to cope with the financial demands of dropping out of the top flight.

But Hughton does not envisage a repeat over the coming months.

"I don't see wholesale changes," he said. "We lost a lot of players this season and right at this moment I don't anticipate seeing another exodus.

"But, of course, I need to sit down with Peter (Pannu, vice-chairman) and Carson (Yeung, president) and see exactly where we are."

Blackpool deserved to progress based on the balance of play over both legs and will now look to clinch its second play-off final success in three seasons.

But it will be underdogs against a Hammers side who, as well as narrowly missing out on automatic promotion, swept past Cardiff 5-0 in their semi-final and beat the Seasiders 4-0 and 4-1 in their two regular-season league meetings.

Manager Ian Holloway said: "We're going to try to take on a team who finished 11 points above us and beat us 8-1 over the two league games.

"You don't get a bigger test than that but we're looking forward to it."

The Seasiders are just 90 minutes from making an immediate return to the English Premier League as it prepares to meet West Ham at Wembley on May 19 in the most lucrative match in world football.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg of its semi-final against Birmingham, Wednesday night's absorbing 2-2 draw at St Andrew's saw the Seasiders progress.

The club's relegation from the top flight on the final day of last season, after just one year among England's elite, resulted in the departures of prized asset Charlie Adam as well as the likes of David Vaughan and DJ Campbell.

It makes the Seasiders' progression to the showpiece final arguably even more remarkable than two years ago, when they went on beat Cardiff.

Holloway left comparisons down to other people, but said: "If you asked me last summer when I lost all those players, I would have said this was a dead duck but it certainly isn't.

"This club doesn't lie down, we keep going. We try and do it in a decent way.

"I'm very proud, I'm proud my lads came here and tried to pass the ball, you almost saw what we were like.

"But with the opposition, as any boxing fight will tell you, you could get knocked out at any second if you've got a weak chin. It looked like we might have one but we haven't."

Blackpool progressed after a pulsating night of action.

The visitor took firm control of the tie with two goals minutes either side of half-time from Stephen Dobbie and Matt Phillips, establishing a 3-0 aggregate lead.

Nikola Zigic gave the Blues a glimmer of hope before skipper Curtis Davies headed them level on the night in front of an electric home crowd, but the hosts could not find that crucial winner to level the overall tie and their 62nd match of a long season proved the last.

Holloway added: "I'm lost for words, first time in my life I think.

"It looked like we had done our job and were going to see it through, and what a comeback, it was quite amazing.

"I couldn't get any sense, I couldn't get any message out there, I tried a couple of substitutions and that still didn't stop the flow.

"If they had scored a third one I couldn't see us living with it, it was immense. I've never seen a game twist liked that so quickly."

Birmingham boss Chris Hughton admitted Blackpool deserved to progress on the overall balance over both legs but could not hide his pride at his team's fightback.

It was pride that was replicated in the stands at the full-time whistle as naturally disappointed home fans clapped their side off the pitch, singing the name of Hughton as speculation no doubt grows connecting him to the forthcoming vacancy at West Bromwich Albion.

Hughton said: "I'm just so pleased because the fact they scored just before half-time and just afterwards, there's a trail of thought that that's it, the tie's over.

"I'm just so pleased we were able to make a real fight of it towards the end. At 2-2 with 15 minutes to go...

"Over the two legs they were the better team, but we showed what we showed all season and that's a lot of character."

Blackpool secured its place at Wembley with a 3-2 aggregate win over Birmingham after Wednesday night's semi-final, second leg at St Andrew's finished 2-2.

But it will have its work cut out against the Hammers, who beat Ian Holloway's side 4-0 at home and 4-1 away in the league this season.

"We feel we've got a point to prove after they beat us convincingly in the two games in the league," Phillips told Sky Sports 1.

"We're going to go there and give it a good effort."

Goals from Stephen Dobbie and Phillips put Blackpool in command in the tie, but Birmingham hit back to level and force a nervy finish.

"It was a difficult test over both legs," Phillips added. "Coming here was always going to be hard but we dug in and showed what team spirit we've got."

Blackpool boss Holloway added: "Words are going to fail me. I'm so proud.

"We got ourselves in a brilliant situation and what a fantastic fightback that was. If they had got the equaliser I could not see us coming back.

"But we're going to Wembley again, it's just magnificent.

"Halfway through the second half I felt fine. Once they got a goal it changed everything. It got the crowd on their side and we forgot to play.

"At the end of the day it was about finishing with one more goal than them and I am very proud of my boys for coming through."

Leading 1-0 from Friday night's first leg, the Seasiders took firm control of the tie with two goals minutes either side of half-time from Stephen Dobbie and Matt Phillips.

Nikola Zigic gave Blues a glimmer of hope before skipper Curtis Davies headed the equaliser on the night - but the host could not find a crucial winner which would have levelled the tie on aggregate and taken the contest into extra-time, so their 62nd match of a long season proved the last.

Blackpool will now meet the Hammers at Wembley on May 19, with the most lucrative match in world football guaranteeing the winners an immediate return to the Premier League.

Both Blackpool and Birmingham, and respective managers Ian Holloway and Chris Hughton, had performed superbly in reaching the play-offs having rebuilt their ranks after relegation from the top flight 12 months ago.

But additional credit must now go to Holloway for guiding his side to the showpiece final for the second time in three seasons, although his side will have to improve upon 4-0 and 4-1 defeats to West Ham during the regular league season.

Holloway unsurprisingly kept faith with an unchanged XI from the first leg while counterpart Hughton made three changes - Zigic, Andros Townsend and Jonathan Spector coming in.

And the initial stages set the tone for a blistering encounter, with Blues having two sights of goal well blocked before Tom Ince forced Colin Doyle to save low at the other end.

Ince, man of the match at Bloomfield Road five days ago, soon found himself clean through again on the right but, with David Murphy pulling at his shoulder, the tricky winger was denied by Doyle.

Chris Burke whistled an effort narrowly wide before Marlon King, who twice hit the woodwork in the first leg, made it an unwanted hat-trick when he side-footed Murphy's excellent delivery into the ground and on to the top of the crossbar.

The game continued at a frenetic pace on a slick surface, Zigic testing Matt Gilks.

But just when it appeared as though it would remain goalless going into half-time, Blackpool doubled its aggregate advantage.

Ince's corner was only half headed out by Davies, who managed to block Alex Baptiste's subsequent overhead but the ball broke for Dobbie and his low shot agonisingly squirmed under Doyle at his near post.

Within three second-half minutes, the tie appeared all but over.

Phillips timed his burst to perfection to run off the shoulder of Murphy and bring down Stephen Crainey's long ball, with a trickling neat finish beating Doyle and crossing the line off the far post.

But Zigic gave Birmingham hope in the 64th minute with a well-taken finish having been put through by Burke.

King wasted a great chance to level things on the night having directed substitute Nathan Redmond's cross straight at Gilks.

But Davies succeeded where King failed soon after, heading home Jordon Mutch's corner.

The centre-back wasted a similar chance in the 78th minute as City pressed for a goal to level the tie.

But, despite five minutes of injury time, it failed to arrive and Blackpool was left celebrating while Blues fans chanted 'there's only one Chris Hughton', with speculation linking their manager to the vacancy at West Bromwich Albion.

Two days after Kean was ushered off the pitch by a bodyguard after Rovers' defeat to Wigan which sealed its exit from the Premier League, the Scot insisted he and the club's Indian owners Venky's were not going anywhere.

"It is very simple. The owners are here for the long term, I am here for the long term," Kean said. "We are now taking one step backwards to push forward. I am confident we can get there.

"We have the basis of a good young side, we just have to add more experience.

"I said a number of weeks ago, it is a changing time for the club.

"We have got new owners and I still think I am new into the job.

"Moving forward, I think it is going to be an exciting time for the club.

"We have taken a massive step back but we have to make sure we get back at the first time of asking.

"The owners are not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere."

Kean's words of defiance came amid reports that deputy chief executive Paul Hunt had been sacked by the club.

It came after the emergence late Tuesday of a letter written by Hunt in December last year which urged the club's owners to sack Kean.

The letter also warned of the grave financial consequences for the club if it dropped out of the world's most lucrative league.

However, neither Kean nor anyone associated with Rovers was able to confirm Hunt's departure on Wednesday. "I am aware of the speculation but I can't, at this moment, confirm it," he said.

Meanwhile, former Rovers icon Alan Shearer, the star of its title-winning campaign in 1995, expressed sympathy for Kean over the club's plight while criticising Venky's stewardship.

"I have to say, I feel sympathy for Steve Kean because he was thrown into the lions' den really - you get on with it, you are the face, you are speaking about everything, whatever is right or wrong," Shearer told Talksport radio.

"There is only the owners you can blame really - they are the only guys you can look at. What disappoints me is that nobody really hears from them."

In front of its Upton Park home crowd, the Hammers won 3-0 for a 5-0 aggregate victory.

It will now face either Birmingham City or Blackpool, both also relegated last term, in the play-off final at Wembley on May 19.

The match is often billed as 'the richest game in football' as a place in the English Premier League is worth an estimated $144 million to the winning club.

Having suffered the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion behind Championship winner Reading and runner-up Southampton, West Ham wasted little time feeling sorry for itself.

The side came into the match on the back of a 2-0 first-leg win in Cardiff courtesy of two Jack Collison goals and the tie was put beyond any lingering doubt when midfielder Kevin Nolan opened the scoring in the 15th minute.

Ricardo Vaz Te made it 2-0 five minutes prior to the break before Nicky Maynard set the seal on an emphatic victory with a 90th-minute goal against a Cardiff side already beaten by Liverpool in this season's League Cup final at Wembley.

For Cardiff defeat means more play-off heartache, having lost in the semi-finals to Reading last season, after being beaten in the 2010 Championship play-off final by Blackpool.

Blackpool, who was relegated from England's top flight after the 2010-2011 season, will now take its slender advantage to St Andrews next Wednesday (Thursday AET) for the second leg.

On Thursday, West Ham beat play-off opponent Cardiff 2-0 away in the Welsh capital to take a major stride towards securing a place in the play-off final at Wembley on May 19.

The clubs will meet for the second leg at West Ham's Upton Park on May 7.

Championship winner Reading and runner-up Southampton claimed the two automatic promotion places on offer and are assured of playing in the lucrative English top flight next season.

But the four clubs immediately below the Saints must battle it for the one remaining spot in the top flight via the playoffs, which culminate with the Wembley final.

The 24-year-old has passed his medical and put pen-to-paper on a four-year contract at Elland Road after an undisclosed fee was agreed with Pompey.

A £500,000 ($790,000) deal took Pearce to Fratton Park from Bournemouth at the start of this season and the highly-rated centre-half made 44 appearances on his way to being named the club's player of the season.

United boss Warnock told the club's official website: "He's just the type I look for when I go into a club at Championship level.

"He fits the bill for everything - hunger, ability and so on. A lot of plusses."

Collison gave the London club a ninth-minute lead when he followed up from close range after his initial effort was palmed away by Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall after good work out on the left by Ricardo Vaz Te on Thursday (Friday AEDT).

And Collison doubled the Hammers' advantage four minutes before half-time when his shot from 20 metres deflected in off the head of Cardiff's Liam Lawrence to leave Marshall stranded.

The clubs will meet for the second leg at West Ham's Upton Park on May 7.

Championship winner Reading and runners-up Southampton claimed the two automatic promotion places on offer and are assured of playing in the lucrative Premier League next season.

But the four clubs immediately below the Saints must battle it for the one remaining spot in the top flight via the playoffs, which culminate with a final at Wembley on May 19.

Although West Ham - which finished third - has struggled at home this season, Cardiff now faces the prospect of more play-off heartache having lost in the semi-finals to Reading last season after being beaten in the 2010 play-off final by Blackpool.

Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) sees Blackpool at home to Birmingham in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, with both clubs eyeing a swift return to the Premier League following relegation last season.

The Hammers are the favourites to progress to the Wembley final having been in the top three for the majority of the season and narrowly missing out on automatic promotion to Southampton.

With the Bluebirds hosting the first leg at Cardiff City Stadium there are many who believe the Welsh side will need to establish a lead to take into Monday's return clash at Upton Park if it is to see off Sam Allardyce's charges.

But Mackay said: "We have to win the tie. It is not about winning a home game.

"Will it be cagey? I don't know, I'm not going to second guess how West Ham are going to play.

"Each of us have been better away from home so it will be interesting.

"But it's a 180-minute game of football. Nothing will be decided until 6.15pm on Monday.

"When you get to this stage it is about who is the calmest on the day, who gets that bit of luck, but also who tactically gets it right over the 180 minutes.

"But we are looking forward to it because it's something we've worked towards all season."

For Cardiff the play-offs have only provided misery in recent seasons.

The Bluebirds lost out to Blackpool in a thrilling Wembley final two seasons ago, before being downed by Reading at the last-four stage last term.

The club, then under the guidance of former boss Dave Jones, had to watch as Welsh rivals Swansea took the tag of being the first side from the principality to make it to the promised land of the Premier League.

But given the major overhaul that took place last northern summer after Mackay's arrival, there are many in the squad who were not involved in those previous disappointments.

And manager Mackay points to Cardiff's run to the Carling Cup final as proof they can handle the pressure.

"That's in the past, you have to take the individual games on their own merit," he said.

"As far as we're concerned this is a group that has got to a Carling Cup final and taken a club like Liverpool all the way to penalties.

"That shows there's a strength in character here to enable us to handle a two-legged semi-final."

The Hammers were pipped to automatic promotion by Southampton on the final day of the season and will now have to get back to the top flight the hard way, starting with a semi-final first leg in Cardiff on Thursday night (Friday AET).

And Allardyce's assistant Neil McDonald says the former Bolton manager has quickly got over the disappointment of missing out on the top two.

"He's been exactly the same as he's always been, on the training ground every day as usual, he's been fantastic," said McDonald.

"I don't think we could have a better man in charge for this. He's so calm, so detailed, there is nothing we haven't looked at, we are ready for everything.

"We don't just have a plan A, we have a plan B and a plan C. If we have to do something we have never done before we will do it.

"He is ready for anything. That's what makes him so good, so experienced, and that's why he has been a manager for a long time."

The Hammers have made it to three finals, two play-offs and once in the FA Cup, in the last eight years.

But they were all played at the Millennium Stadium so the club have not actually been to Wembley since Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds and Co were beaten by Liverpool in the 1981 League Cup final.

Their fans will be eyeing a long overdue trip to the national stadium, but for West Ham's players there will be no time for a spot of sightseeing.

"Some teams will see it as a day out but it's business for us, we have a job to do," added McDonald.

"If we are fortunate enough to get through it won't be a day out for the players, that's for sure, it will be business as usual and just classed as another away game.

"We'll look forward to the day when we can talk about the final, but we have two very difficult games first."

The side secured its place in the top six with victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday and faces West Ham in Thursday's semi-final first leg at Cardiff City Stadium.

Palace was the opponent when Cardiff was attempting to reach the Carling Cup final earlier this season, with the Welsh club recovering from a 1-0 deficit after the first leg to eventually prevail on penalties and reach Wembley.

And Mackay believes that experience means his side has an inner strength to draw on against the London side, which narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to Southampton.

He said: "Going into a two-legged semi-final in a pressure situation is something we have had recently and there was an intensity about those semi-finals against Crystal Palace because of the prize at the end of the day, and this will be a very similar situation.

"Myself and some of the staff and the players have been through these situations before and to have it happen to us recently helps and gives us a strong mentality.

"We have been to the Carling Cup final and taken it all the way to penalties against Liverpool so there is a strength of character here at the moment that will enable us to handle a two-legged semi-final."

Mackay, who was at West Ham when the club tasted play-off glory in 2005, said: "There is more pressure on West Ham because of the nature of the club.

"I was at West Ham, I had a fantastic time there, and there is an expectation level, they are a club with a huge support, a demanding support which expects to be in the top division.

"That has not changed. They have been in the top three or four all season and that means there is an expectation level there and they are quite rightly favourites."

The club announced its retained list today and revealed the 41-year-old, capped 53 times by his country, would not be offered a new deal.

James, who counts Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City among his former clubs, was signed by Steve Coppell in August 2010 during the former City manager's four-month spell in charge.

The former Watford trainee had only recently returned from the World Cup in South Africa, where he featured in three of England's four matches, keeping two clean sheets.

Manager Derek McInnes has decided to consider alternative options and James was among eight players informed their futures lie away from Ashton Gate.

During his two seasons with the club, James made 81 league appearances and played a substantial part in its successful battle against the drop in this campaign.

As a sign of McInnes' desire to look to the future, youth team keeper Lewis Carey has been offered a professional deal.

After enduring a nervy start in which Coventry created chances, Southampton took control of its fate with two goals in three minutes.

Billy Sharp stuck out a toe to turn Adam Lallana's volleyed shot past Joe Murphy in the 16th minute and moments later Jose Fonte's stooping header found the net to make it 2-0.

When Jos Hooiveld lashed in a third just before the hour mark and Lallana notched a fourth moments later, the party got under way.

The Saints return to the top flight after seven years in the lower leagues.

That meant West Ham United had to settle for third place even as a Carlton Cole brace sank Hull City 2-1 at Upton Park.

Cole headed in Matt Taylor's cross late in the first half, and then turned in Henri Lansbury's pass early in the second.

Corry Evans scored a header for Hull with nine minutes to go and Richard Garcia thought he had a late equaliser, but it was ruled out for offside

Cardiff City wrapped up the final playoff spot but made its fans sweat first before beating Crystal Palace 2-1.

It fell behind at Selhurst Park when Wilfried Zaha linked up with Darren Ambrose to score a fine goal on the break after 13 minutes.

Cardiff struggled to impose itself but Peter Whittingham scored a free-kick from a tight angle with his trusty left foot eight minutes into the second half and Don Cowie then volleyed in a second after the hour mark to turn it around.

Middlesbrough had needed Cardiff to drop points and to beat Watford but got neither as it went down 2-1 at Vicarage Road, where Troy Deeney snatched an 88th-minute winner moments after Marvin Emnes had cancelled out Chris Iwelumo's close-range finish.

Champion Reading fell to a 2-0 defeat at Birmingham City, substitute Adam Rooney firing in the opener after 24 minutes and Wade Elliott making sure with a 75th minute penalty after a handball by Jay Tabb.

The result meant only three points separated the Royals from third-placed West Ham at the season's finish.

The win lifts Birmingham into fourth above Blackpool, who were held 2-2 at Millwall.

Andy Keogh put the host team in front after 12 minutes but Ian Evatt headed Blackpool level quarter of an hour later, and Nouha Dicko grabbed the winner 20 minutes from time.

However, Harry Kane's 83rd-minute strike denied Blackpool fourth place.

Leicester City's season has not gone to plan, but it at least signed off with a win, beating Leeds United 2-1 at Elland Road.

Martin Waghorn put Leicester ahead late in the first half and although Danny Webber's 82nd minute strike looked to have earned the hosts a draw, Harry Panayiotou won it with almost the last kick of the game.

Rock-bottom Doncaster Rovers ended its spell in the Championship with a 3-1 defeat at home to Ipswich Town.

Tommy Smith headed the visitor in front after 10 minutes and Ryan Stevenson scored from range after half an hour, his shot striking the bar and bouncing back but only after crossing the line.

Fabien Robert pulled one back for Rovers but it was not enough to prevent a 26th defeat of the season as a Jason Scotland penalty 11 minutes from time gave Ipswich the breathing room it would need before Habib Beye's last-minute strike sent Rovers fans home with some consolation.

Portsmouth, which will join Doncaster in League One next season, lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest which got a late brace from Dexter Blackstock, while there was a stalemate between Barnsley and Brighton & Hove Albion at Oakwell.

Danny Ings' 76th-minute strike looked like giving Burnley a 1-0 win over Bristol City but Ryan Taylor levelled five minutes later to earn a point.

Derby County and Peterborough United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, with David Ball's 82nd-minute goal cancelling out Theo Robinson's early opener.

The Hammers had to take all three points at the Walkers Stadium otherwise Southampton would have been assured of the second and final automatic promotion spot behind already crowned Championship winner Reading.

Leicester led when Ben Marshall's cross was headed home by Jermaine Beckford in the 34th minute but five minutes later Winston Reid equalised from Matty Taylor's centre.

Jack Collison settled the match in West Ham's favour with a 25-yard shot shortly before the hour mark.

West Ham is two points behind Southampton going into this weekend's final day.

The London club needs to beat Hull City on the final day and hope Southampton loses to relegated Coventry City.

If the Saints draw, West Ham would need to win by three or four goals - depending on how many Southampton score - to clinch promotion.

Teams that finish third, fourth, fifth and sixth in the regular Championship season will then enter the play-offs, which culminate in a Wembley final for the prize of the third and last promotion place in the lucrative Premier League.

West Ham is looking to bounce straight back to the top flight after its relegation at the end of the 2010-2011 season while it is seven years since south coast side Southampton last played in the Premier League.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart was selected between the posts while there were also places for defender Vincent Kompany and midfielders Yaya Toure and David Silva.

Tottenham Hotspur had three players included, with England internationals Kyle Walker and Scott Parker joined by last year's PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale.

Wayne Rooney was the only representative from champion Manchester United with the league's top goalscorer, Arsenal's Robin van Persie, joining him in attack.

UEFA Champions League-chasing Newcastle United has been the surprise package of the season and was represented in the XI by Argentina defender Fabricio Coloccini.

Everton fullback Leighton Baines was rewarded for another impressive season by being handed a place, meaning there were no representatives from Champions League semi-finalist Chelsea.

Champion Reading has only one player in the Championship team of the year - experienced defender Ian Harte.

Southampton has goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, midfielder Adam Lallana and forward Rickie Lambert in the team.

James Tomkins and Mark Noble were West Ham United's two representatives with the rest of the team made up of individuals from different clubs.

Crystal Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne, Curtis Davies of Birmingham City, Cardiff City's Peter Whittingham, Blackpool winger Matt Phillips and Jay Rodriguez of Burnley completed the side.

Ched Evans, who was convicted of rape earlier this week, was named alongside Sheffield United team-mates Harry Maguire and Stephen Quinn in the League One team.

Charlton Athletic, which secured the title on the weekend, has four players in the side with Ben Hamer, Michael Morrison, Rhoys Wiggins and Johnnie Jackson making the cut.

Top goalscorer Jordan Rhodes and defender Jack Hunt were Huddersfield Town's two players with Milton Keynes Dons duo Stephen Gleeson and Darren Potter also included.

Paolo Di Canio has guided Swindon Town to promotion from League Two and two of his side, Paul Caddis and Matt Ritchie, have been named in the team of the year from the fourth tier.

Fourth-placed Torquay United was the best represented with Robert Olejnik, Kevin Nicolson, Eunan O'Kane and Lee Mansell all selected.

Kyle McFadzean and Tyrone Barnett from Crawley Town were also in the team along with Ian Sharps of Shrewsbury Town, Marlon Pack from Cheltenham Town and Barnet striker Izale McLeod.

Premier League team of the year: Joe Hart (Man City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Vincent Kompany (Man City), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Leighton Baines (Everton), David Silva (Man City), Yaya Toure (Man City), Gareth Bale (Tottenham), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

Championship team: Kelvin Davis (Southampton), Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace), James Tomkins (West Ham), Curtis Davies (Birmingham), Ian Harte (Reading), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Peter Whittingham (Cardiff), Mark Noble (West Ham), Matt Phillips (Blackpool), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Jay Rodriguez (Burnley)

League One team: Ben Hamer (Charlton), Jack Hunt (Huddersfield), Michael Morrison (Charlton), Harry Maguire (Sheff Utd), Rhoys Wiggins (Charlton), Johnnie Jackson (Charlton), Stephen Quinn (Sheff Utd), Stephen Gleeson (MK Dons), Darren Potter (MK Dons), Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield), Ched Evans (Sheff Utd)

League Two team: Robert Olejnik (Torquay), Paul Caddis (Swindon), Kyle McFadzean (Crawley), Ian Sharps (Shrewsbury), Kevin Nicholson (Torquay), Matt Ritchie (Swindon), Marlon Pack (Cheltenham), Eunan O'Kane (Torquay), Lee Mansell (Torquay), Izale McLeod (Barnet), Tyrone Barnett (Crawley)

The 24-year old Belgian joined the Hammers in September 2010 to serve as cover for first-choice keeper Robert Green, but made just three appearances for the play-off chasing east London club.

A statement on whufc.co.uk read: "West Ham United would like to thank Ruud for his contribution and wish him all the best for the future."

Saints could have sealed their own promotion to the Barclays Premier League and extended the title race into the final round of matches but were undone 2-1 at the Riverside.

Things looked good for Southampton when Billy Sharp put it in front in the opening minute, only for Nicky Bailey and Merouane Zemmama to nick it for playoff chasing Boro.

Reading had earlier drawn 2-2 with Crystal Palace, enough to leave it four points clear at the top with a game to play.

The Royals had Jason Roberts sent off on the stroke of halftime with the score at 1-1 after Wilfried Zaha's 14th-minute strike and Kaspars Gorkss' swift equaliser.

Reading went ahead through Adam Le Fondre but were pegged back by Glenn Murray 16 minutes from time.

Nigel Adkins' men go to Middlesbrough in the knowledge that victory will guarantee promotion from the Championship after Tuesday's win at Peterborough, in which Sharp scored twice.

Sharp, who has now scored seven goals for the Saints since his January move from Doncaster, told his club's official website: "For myself and a lot of the players here who haven't played in the Premier League, it would be a dream.

"Hopefully we will get there, and it would be an honour to play there. I've still got improvements to make to my game, but you can only improve when you get to the top level, so hopefully we will do that."

With West Ham not playing until Monday, attention also focuses on the play-offs with Birmingham knowing victory at Brighton will guarantee its top six place, although it has been hit by the loss of Steven Caldwell for the rest of the season.

Blackpool and Cardiff will also secure their play-off places with wins. Blackpool is at home to Lancashire rival Burnley, while Cardiff entertains Leeds.

Sir John and prospective owner Anton Zingarevich, whose takeover was due to be completed in March, have big plans for the Royals after their return to the big time, which was secured by a 1-0 home win over Nottingham Forest.

Promotion could be worth as much as £90 million ($139.18 million) to the Berkshire outfit, which needs a maximum of four points from its remaining two games to clinch the Championship title, but there will be no wild spending.

Sir John told BBC Radio Berkshire: "I have put a lot of money into this football club, which I'm quite happy about.

"And I hope the Zingarevich family will take Reading on to a different level and into Europe and beyond.

"It's all well getting to the Premier League, but you need deep investment to stay there. We have found very pleasant people in the Zingarevichs, who will continue to do things the Reading way.

"It bodes well for Reading and I hope they will take the club much further.

"I'll be staying on as chairman. If anything, it [the takeover] is a fantastic insurance policy.

"We will strengthen as we see fit. We have already strengthened and that will carry on.

"What I don't want is people thinking Reading are an open cheque book. We will be as careful as we have been in the past."

Reading, of course, is now worth significantly more than when Sir John agreed a price with Zingarevich back in January, but he will not try to seek a better deal.

He said: "The club is more valuable now, but I have struck a deal, and a deal is a deal."

A delighted Zingarevich, who hopes to finally complete his takeover imminently, revealed planning for life in the top flight is already under way with plans for player recruitment and a potential extension to the 24,000-capacity Madejski Stadium in hand.

He told BBC Radio Berkshire: "The Premier League is where you want to be as a football club owner.

"I think there is a lot to develop here, but the infrastructure that is already in place is key.

"We have already started looking at upgrading the Academy and the training facilities.

"If we stay up the first year, then we will upgrade the stadium. There are a lot of things to do, but there is a lot of potential."

Director of football Nicky Hammond will work hand in hand with manager Brian McDermott as the club attempts to develop on the pitch, and he too is expecting evolution rather than revolution.

He told Sky Sports: "There are two games to go and we are top, and we want to stay there. In the first instance, that's the most important thing.

"Then we will sit down over the next couple of days and start to look at the numbers and plan going forward.

"But it will be the Reading way. We always do it in a sensible fashion, not cavalier.

"In my conversations with Anton over the last number of weeks, I don't anticipate that will change too much, really."

Victory sparked massed celebrations on the pitch and in the home dressing room, where one man decided he could not miss out.

Midfielder Jem Karacan started the night in hospital after undergoing surgery to repair his broken ankle, but was determined not to miss the celebrations.

He told Sky Sports: "As soon as I knew we had been promoted, I said, 'Right, get me out of here'.

"I asked the nurse to discharge me - I don't think she was too pleased about it - and my mum took me down to the stadium.

"I was pushed in the wheelchair into the changing room and saw all the boys, and that was it, really, the best day ever.

"A little tear came to my eye. My sister was screaming more than me, I think, and my mum. They were just absolutely delighted.

"Noel [Hunt] wheeled me through in his pants and just seeing all the lads, it was amazing, the chairman, the new owner - it was just brilliant to see the gaffer.

"It was just the best feeling ever."

A Mikele Leigertwood goal 10 minutes from time earned Reading a return ticket to the big time four years after it was relegated.

There was still time after Leigertwood's goal for Forest substitute Marcus Tudgay to see a possible equaliser cleared off the line by Reading defender Alex Pearce, but it hung on for a win which, combined with West Ham United's draw at Bristol City, ensures it a top-two finish.

It sits three points clear of Southampton with two games left to play in the title race.

The final whistle sparked a mass pitch invasion by excited home fans and then an appearance in the directors' box by the Reading players.

There was also some joy for Forest which, despite its defeat, is guaranteed survival in the Championship thanks to results elsewhere.

A delighted McDermott said: "This is my best moment in football. My worst was on the pitch at Wembley on May 30 (last year's play-off final defeat to Swansea City).

"We are in the Premier League now and I can celebrate for the next two months. I need to get away for a while in the summer and have a break.

"Tonight was the most important three points we have got this season because it has seen us over the line.

"I don't know how I am supposed to be. I had the worst summer last season after losing the play off final against Swansea but this will be a good summer.

"I didn't actually know the West Ham result until after our game had finished but I sensed it from the way the crowd was reacting.

"It's really strange. It doesn't seem real at the moment and it doesn't feel as if it is happening to me.

"Now I will simply concentrate on our next game at home to Crystal Place because that's in my nature.

"I thought we were a bit nervous tonight and we weren't as fluid as we can be.

McDermott praised Jason Roberts, saying: "Jason has been crucial to us but we were doing well before he arrived.

"I have been lucky with my players and staff. They have carried me on.

"We have had difficult times and had to sell our best players but now it will be a good summer.

"The players will have tomorrow off but then it's back into training for the next game."

Before Leigertwood scored the winner George Elokobi had come close to putting Forest in front with a shot that hit the Reading bar while at the other end Lee Camp made a superb save to keep out a Hayden Mullins effort.

The win was Reading's first home victory over Forest in seven years.

Losing manager Steve Cotterill said afterwards: "I don't think we deserved to lose.

"From 70 minutes onwards I thought we looked the better team and were going to win the game.

"It's a measure of how far we have come as a team in recent weeks is that we were on the road to (League) One and now after playing the top team in the league the lads are sitting in the dressing room disappointed that we didn't win the game.

"But congratulations to Brian McDermott and the Reading boys on their promotion. They deserve it.

"I watched Brian walk round the Wembley pitch after the play off final and he looked so upset. I rang him the next day to try and cheer him up.

"He has the right sort of boys at this club so congratulations to him and to all of them on gaining a thoroughly deserved promotion."

Leigertwood's late strike, coupled with West Ham United's inability to beat Bristol City at Ashton Gate, means Brian McDermott's men cannot now be caught by the third-placed Hammers with two games to go.

Neil Adkins' Southampton also took a giant stride towards the top flight with a 3-1 win at Peterborough United to move five points clear of the Hammers.

Jos Hooiveld and Billy Sharp settled any nerves by putting Saints 2-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes, and after Sharp added his side's third in the 57th minute, Tommy Rowe struck a late consolation.

Sam Allardyce's West Ham United looks almost certain to have to settle for a place in the play-offs after being held 1-1 at Bristol City.

James Tomkins headed the visitor in front, but Cole Skuse equalised in the 29th minute.

City needs one more win to secure survival after Portsmouth continued to keep its faint hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Scott Allan and Greg Halford scored for Pompey before Darren Ambrose pulled one back from the spot.

Coventry City's Championship future is also hanging by a thread after a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall.

Gary McSheffrey missed a penalty for the Sky Blues before Shane Lowry's 66th-minute header gave the Lions victory.

Chris Hughton's Birmingham City failed to claim the win that would have guaranteed it a play-off berth after being pegged back at Ipswich Town.

Chris Burke put the Blues in front in the 45th minute, but Jay Emmanuel-Thomas equalised 15 minutes from time.

Blackpool consolidated its own play-off place with a 1-0 win over Leeds at Bloomfield Road.

Martinez Angel scored the winner 11 minutes from time, shortly before Leeds defender Darren O'Dea was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Cardiff City stayed sixth after goals from Joe Mason and Mark Hudson gave it a 2-0 home win over Derby County, but Middlesbrough lost ground as it was held to a goalless draw by already-doomed Doncaster Rovers.

Matt Fryatt's hat-trick gave Hull City a 3-1 win over Barnsley, for whom Andy Gray scored late on, but the Tigers retain only a mathematical hope of clawing into the play-off places.

Brighton & Hove Albion's top-six hopes are over despite coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Watford, Inigo Calderon and Will Buckley scoring late after Sean Murray and Troy Deeney had given the Hornets a half-time lead.

Leicester City's slim hopes were also ended as it was held to a goalless draw by Burnley.

The trouble left a 33-year-old man in hospital with injuries to his head and neck following the fight at The Circle Club in Manchester in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Diouf, a former player with Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool and Rangers, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of violent disorder.

Five other men were also arrested and all have been bailed until May 23, pending further police inquiries.

Ferdinand, the brother of Manchester United and England star Rio, was questioned under caution by officers on Sunday.

Diouf and Ferdinand were team-mates when both played for Sunderland.

Diouf, 31, originally form Senegal, is now with Doncaster Rovers, who was relegated from the npower Championship on Saturday.

Ferdinand, 27, currently plays for Queens Park Rangers, who is fighting against relegation from the Barclays Premier League.

Police are investigating whether a bottle was used in the fighting.

The Circle Club, a members-only bar, has in the past attracted professional footballers from both Manchester United and City, actors from Coronation Street and reality stars from Big Brother.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "A fight had taken place and a 33-year-old man was injured.

"He was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries to the side of his head and to the side of his neck, and he remains in a serious but stable condition.

"Six men were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, five of whom have been bailed until May 23 pending further police inquiries.

"Another man has assisted the investigation, which is ongoing."

No-one at the Circle Club could be contacted for comment.

The bottom side looked like earning at least a temporary reprieve as it opened up a 2-0 lead at the Keepmoat Stadium with goals from Habib Beye and Fabien Robert inside the opening five minutes.

But all began to go wrong as Beye conceded the first of two penalties early in the second half to earn a red card.

Greg Halford tucked away both spot-kicks and although James Coppinger put Doncaster back ahead, Pompey substitutes Dave Kitson and Marko Futacs sealed its fate in the closing minutes.

Portsmouth itself remains seven points off safety with just nine points to play for while the other side in the bottom three, Coventry City, could only manage a 1-1 draw at Burnley.

Charlie Austin gave the Clarets a 20th-minute lead at Turf Moor with the Sky Blues, who are four points from the crucial 21st place, replying through Clive Platt.

At the other end of the table West Ham United tightened its grip on third place with a 6-0 hammering of play-off hopeful Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ricardo Vaz Te set up victory with two goals inside the opening eight minutes and completed his hat-trick just after the hour.

Kevin Nolan was also on target as the Hammers established their early stranglehold while Carlton Cole struck and Gary Dicker turned into his own net in the second half.

Sixth-placed Cardiff City gained ground in the play-off race as Birmingham City and Blackpool, in fourth and fifth respectively, were held to draws.

Liam Lawrence struck for Cardiff after 69 minutes to secure a 1-0 victory at Barnsley.

Birmingham City had to come from behind to claim a point and a 2-2 draw with Bristol City at St Andrews.

The Robins led through Stephen Pearson and Jon Stead but Marlon King and Nikola Zigic secured the draw.

Blackpool's trip to Nottingham Forest ended in a goalless stalemate.

Middlesbrough kept its play-off hopes alive with a 1-0 win at Derby County thanks to a Curtis Main strike 10 minutes from time.

Billy Paynter and Ross McCormack scored two apiece as Leeds United beat Peterborough United 4-1 at Elland Road. The visitor had been level at half-time after a Joe Newell effort.

Hull City's downturn continued as it was held 1-1 by 10-man Watford at Vicarage Road despite taking an early lead through James Chester.

Troy Deeney claimed an equaliser for the Hornets, who held on after the dismissal of Adrian Mariappa for two bookings in quick succession.

A strike from Harry Kane and a penalty from Andrew Keogh helped Millwall to a 2-1 home win over Leicester City, whose late reply came from Daniel Drinkwater.

Jason Scotland cancelled out a Chris Martin goal as Ipswich Town came from behind to draw 1-1 at Crystal Palace.

Brian McDermott's side replaced Southampton at the top of the Championship thanks to substitute Adam Le Fondre's double in the closing stages at St Mary's and the Royals now need four points from their final three matches to seal their return to the top flight.

Former Blackburn Rovers striker Jason Roberts had put Reading ahead in the first half and, although Rickie Lambert levelled for the Saints soon after the interval, it was Le Fondre who won it with a fine finish 18 minutes from time before adding a second goal in stoppage time.

After a slow start to the season, Reading has produced a remarkable run of 14 wins from the last 16 league matches and McDermott's men, who are nine points clear of third-placed West Ham United, look odds-on to play in the Premier League for the first time since 2008.

In contrast, second-placed Southampton - beaten for just the second time in the last 16 league matches - faces a slightly more nervous sprint to the finish line as it chases the second automatic promotion place.

Although it has led the league for much of the season, Nigel Adkins' side will be only three points ahead of West Ham with three matches left if the east London club wins its game in hand at home to Brighton.

Southampton made a fast start in front of packed St Mary's and Lambert, the division's leading scorer, quickly tested Federici from a tight angle.

Federici was called into action again to tip an Adam Lallana drive around the post before reacting quickly to stop Lambert nodding home moments later.

But Southampton paid the price for failing to make pressure pay as it fell behind to a classic sucker punch in the 19th minute.

Jimmy Kebe's superb cross from the right flank was met at close range by Roberts, who beat Jose Fonte to the ball and headed home.

Southampton looked for an immediate response and Lallana saw a goalbound chip tipped over the ball by Federici.

Lambert wasted a glorious chance to equalise in first-half stoppage time when he headed over at the far post but made amends three minutes after the restart.

Billy Sharp collected the ball in the box and pulled back for Lambert, whose powerful drive deflected off Kaspars Gorkss and past Federici.

But McDermott made the decisive intervention when he sent on Le Fondre for Jay Tabb midway through the second half.

Former Rotherham forward Le Fondre has made several crucial appearances from the bench this season and he struck again in the 72nd minute.

Jimmy Kebe ran onto Noel Hunt's pass and flicked the ball back into the centre of the penalty area and, with Southampton's defenders unable to react quickly enough, Le Fondre pounced to drive a superb strike into the top corner.

Le Fondre wrapped up the points in stoppage time when Fonte let the ball bounce in his own area before trying to head clear and the striker nipped in to slot home another cool finish.

The Reds are short of cover after first-choice keeper Jose Reina and his deputy Doni were sent off in successive games.

Those suspensions have left third-choice Brad Jones, who came off the bench against Blackburn Rovers, as Kenny Dalglish's only senior stopper ahead of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Everton.

Dalglish is unable to move for an emergency loan signing and has turned to Hungarian Gulacsi, who is available for Wembley duty after not being selected for either of the Tigers' two FA Cup ties this season.

The 21-year-old has made 15 Championship appearances for the East Yorkshire outfit, which has also made loan moves this season for Arsenal's Vito Mannone and Sunderland's Trevor Carson after Gulacsi failed to impress.

A statement on Hull's official website read: "Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi is set to be recalled from his loan spell with the Tigers by parent club Liverpool. The Hungarian stopper will return to Anfield later today."

Federici produced a superb second-half penalty save from Ashley Barnes before pulling off a string of memorable stops as the Royals registered their fourth win in the row to tighten their grip on an automatic promotion place.

Reading is six points clear of third-placed West Ham with only four games remaining, and the win sets up a potentially-decisive showdown with Southampton on Friday evening (Saturday morning AEST).

Reading's winner came after only 14 minutes after its first foray of the match when Ian Harte's free-kick took a massive deflection to sail into the net past stranded Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan.

The defeat - Brighton's first at home for 10 games - left the Seagulls two points behind sixth-placed Cardiff with plenty to do if they are to force their way into contention for a play-off berth.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) says research commissioned by them concluded that trouble on match days could be attributed to football.

Assistant chief constable Andy Holt, who leads ACPO on football policing, told BBC Radio Five Live: "My personal view is that the clubs should bear a greater burden of the costs for the overall policing of football."

Presently, clubs are responsible for the costs of policing in and around stadiums, and any further demands could lead to conflict with the football authorities.

ACPO has yet to publish the research but Holt defended the move to investigate the situation, saying: "This research is about enabling us to have an informed discussion with football clubs to determine the most fair and equitable way of policing football.

"We have a very productive working relationship with the football clubs and I want that to continue.

"But it is still the case that on occasion we have violence and disorder in town centres and transport interchanges that are associated with rival football fans, that causes a problem to local communities and is a drain on police resources.

"I think it's right and proper that we understand the extent of that problem which is why we commissioned this research, and we use the results of the research to inform our discussions with the clubs."

He added: "We were always challenged when we said that football contributed to an increase in crime and disorder on match days, and hard-headed businessmen in the Premier League and the Football League quite rightly said, 'What evidence do you have of that?'

"Most senior football commanders would say, 'I know there to be an increase in crime and disorder', but they didn't have the empirical evidence to prove it."

The research was conducted by a team from University College London, led by Professional Nick Tilley.

Holt said: "I'm quite comfortable that that research will stand scrutiny as entirely correct and it shows that on a match day there is an increase in crime and disorder associated with football in a wider area than just the footprint.

"There are some clubs that cause very few problems to police forces up and down country. Other clubs, that is not the case.

"You have to have a negotiation with individual clubs that will come up with an appropriate response.

"I can't sit here and say you're going to have the same costing and charging regime across the piece.

"The ACPO policy remains extant. We have an agreement that stemmed from a judgement which involved Greater Manchester Police and Wigan Football Club. We stand by that, but in future discussions we will be making reference to the research that we've commissioned."

Lambert's two finishes each side of half-time took his goal tally for the season to 30 and lifted Southampton three points clear at the top of the Championship.

Reading can draw level with Saints if it wins at Brighton, but Nigel Adkins' side looks set to be promoted with this kind of form.

Lambert opened the scoring in the 39th minute when Danny Butterfield's cross was missed by Paddy McCarthy, with the 30-year-old burying his header past Julian Speroni.

Lambert increased Southampton's lead 10 minutes after the restart with another well-taken strike.

Played in by Jack Cork, the striker sidestepped McCarthy on the edge of the area before driving a low shot into the far corner.

Elsewhere, 10-man Blackpool kept its play-off hopes alive after coming from behind against Barnsley to snatch a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road.

Keith Southern was sent off by referee Andy D'Urso before half-time with Barnsley midfielder David Perkins giving the visitor the lead shortly after the interval.

Ian Holloway's fifth placed side pushed for an equaliser and it came courtesy of Matt Phillips with just under 20 minutes remaining.

Cardiff remains in the final play-off place after Malky Mackay's side was held to a 1-1 draw by his old club Watford in Wales.

A Kenny Miller goal just before half-time put Cardiff ahead, but the Hornets secured a point thanks to a late Nyron Nosworthy equaliser.

Middlesbrough wasted a chance to boost its play-off hopes as Hull came from behind to win 2-1 at the KC Stadium.

Tony Mowbray's team took an early lead through Marvin Emnes, but on-loan Manchester United striker Joshua King levelled after 58 minutes and Matt Fryatt bagged an 88th minute winner for the host.

Bristol City boosted its survival chances with a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Coventry at Ashton Gate.

City moved four points clear of third bottom Coventry thanks to goals from Jon Stead, Yannick Bolasie and Chris Wood.

Doncaster's slide towards League One continued as the division's bottom team was beaten 2-1 at home by Burnley.

Nottingham Forest won 1-0 at Peterborough, Leeds lost 2-0 against Derby and Leicester won 2-1 at Ipswich.

It was United's 10th home reversal of the season, with goals from Craig Bryson and Steven Davies confirming its position of Championship also-rans.

Warnock, known as a promotion expert, was given the Elland Road reins after Simon Grayson's sacking in February and has spent the last seven weeks running the rule of the squad he inherited.

He now feels he has got its number and has vowed to put things right over season break.

"The end of the season can't come quickly enough," the veteran manager said.

"I said to (Derby manager) Nigel Clough at the end, 'Enjoy this, Nigel, because you'll never see another Leeds United team or a Neil Warnock team like this'."

"We had a lot of players playing today that know they won't be here next season. We've not got enough Leeds United-type players."

"We don't revel in the atmosphere and that's what we will do next year. We will revel in it."

Last week's 2-0 defeat at Reading saw United receive criticism in some quarters, with its robust, tough-tackling display reminiscent of days gone by when the club picked up its 'Dirty Leeds' tag.

Michael Brown did his best to add to that today, getting sent off 26 minutes in for a studs-up tackle on Theo Robinson.

Although Warnock felt referee Oliver Langford was right to dismiss the midfielder, the Leeds boss was unhappy with the official for comments he claims were made before kick-off.

"I don't think you can complain about the sending-off," Warnock said.

"We all saw (Manchester City striker) Mario Balotelli's tackle at the weekend and I think refs have been watching it. You don't have to put them in that situation and Michael is wrong to do so. Putting his foot high gave him an excuse."

"But the referee said to Danny Pugh in the tunnel before the game, 'I saw your game on Friday'. I think that's pre-meditated, totally wrong and out of order."

The win was Derby's sixth in 10 matches and, had it had more than four games remaining, a play-off push may not have been out of the question.

Derby is five points shy of sixth place as things stand, with Nigel Clough preferring to look ahead to next season.

"I want to try to keep these lads together," Clough said.

"Two or three of them are out of contract. I want to try to keep them and the spirit together and take the confidence into next August."

"If we had another four games, maybe (the play-offs would be an option), but we might just run out of time."

Clough also hinted that he agreed with Langford's decision to dismiss Brown, adding: "We are 40-odd yards away and can see a raised foot, the referee is four yards away."

"It looked a bit similar to the tackle Mario Balotelli made yesterday and didn't get sent off for."

Brian McDermott's side currently occupy the second automatic promotion berth in the npower Championship table following a 2-0 win over the Yorkshire club at the start of the Easter weekend.

And despite the difficult nature of the win, Federici is looking ahead to the fixture at Brighton & Hove Albion.

"It was a tough game on Friday, you're going to get that from a Neil Warnock side. He's a good manager, but you always know you're in for a fight," Federici told Reading's official website.

"But we have licked our wounds and now we're really looking forward to the game on Tuesday night - it's all about a big game at Brighton.

"People are saying about how many wins we need, but we'll concentrate on this one win right now and focus only on Tuesday night."

The Football League calendar always throws up a tight fixture schedule around Easter as Australia international Federici is all too aware.

"I've lost track of the days to be honest, with so many games," he said.

"I'm always at the training ground every day anyway it seems - I'm going to have to set my bed up there I think."

Brighton started the season well but has fallen away of late and now sit on the periphery of the play-off places.

However, manager Gus Poyet is looking forward to facing a strong Reading outfit.

He told the club's official website: "We have a chance to test ourselves against the best team (in the Championship) and it will be good to see how the players perform against them.

"I hope that tomorrow shows that we want to compete at the same level as these teams for the next few years."

Poyet also praised his Reading counterpart's dealings in the January transfer window - a part of the game the Uruguayan believes is becoming more and more crucial to success.

"Reading were there or thereabouts and you knew something could happen, but then in January they made a massive impact, especially with the signing of Jason Roberts," he said.

"It looks like Brian knew exactly what was needed because the rest of the team was performing well, there was just something that was missing.

"He has got that now so credit to him as manager. Recruitment nowadays is probably the most important part of football and he has done a fantastic job for Reading."

There is also a big fixture towards the bottom of the table as Portsmouth host Millwall hoping its late derby-day dramatics against Southampton can give them the momentum to mount a late survival challenge.

Pompey was 2-1 down at St. Mary's before David Norris struck in the final minute to earn what could prove to be a pivotal point for Michael Appleton's side.

But former Ipswich midfielder Norris told portsmouthfc.co.uk he is not going to be dwelling on the moment.

"We hope the Southampton game can be a turning point," he said.

"We didn't overdo our celebrations because we've now got a big game against Millwall.

"If we had a whole week before games then we might have enjoyed it a bit more, but now we've got to look to build."

Portsmouth is now six points from safety but its turbulent season - which saw it deducted 10 points for re-entering administration - could still be saved with a little consistency, according to Norris.

He said "That's what we haven't been able to do this season and it's the reason why we're still in trouble.

"We seem to go from a good result to a bad result. If we want to stay up then we know we have to go from a good result to another good result.

"We've lacked consistency and that has to change in our remaining five games of the season. If we can string a few good results together then we can still stay in the Championship. That's what we're determined to do."

Millwall sit 19th in the table but is only five points clear of the relegation places, and will be looking to pull further clear of the bottom three with a victory over Appleton's side.

Reading's win over Leeds United on Saturday nudged Brian McDermott's side a point ahead of the Saints at the summit but their rivals responded with a Billy Sharp brace in the south-coast showdown that ended 2-2 at St Mary's.

Sharp must have thought his late second had secured all three points, after Chris Maguire spectacularly cancelled out his opener, but Pompey responded again with David Norris firing home from outside the box deep into injury time.

Cardiff City climbed back into the playoff places with a 2-0 win over top-six rival Middlesbrough.

The Welsh side arrived at the Riverside in eighth position, two points behind its opponent and sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, but usurped both come the end of the day after first-half goals from Ben Turner and substitute Joe Mason.

Centre-half Turner headed the opener from a Liam Lawrence corner after 11 minutes before Mason, on for the injured Kenny Miller in the sixth minute, tapped in from close range from another Lawrence assist with 19 minutes on the clock.

That was the end of the scoring, though Adam Hammill and Lukas Jutkiewicz hit the woodwork for Boro in the second half.

Birmingham strengthened its grip on a playoff spot with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, whose record at St Andrew's was extended to eight defeats in its last nine visits.

Chris Burke and Keith Fahey struck within two minutes of each other midway through the half before David Murphy got on the scoresheet in the 32nd minute. All three goals were excellent finishes from outside the box.

Palace pulled a goal back on the stroke of half-time through Owen Garvan and it was another outstanding goal from long range.

Leicester City kept up its push for a top-six place with a 4-0 win over bottom side Doncaster Rovers.

Danny Drinkwater gave them the half-time lead with a 33rd-minute effort from the edge of the area and Lee Peltier, Ben Marshall and Paul Gallagher struck in the second half to secure a comfortable margin of victory for the Foxes, who trail the playoff places by five points.

Rovers ended the day seven points adrift of 21st-placed Coventry City, which was prevented from moving further clear by Emile Sinclair's brace for Peterborough.

Cody McDonald's header and Gary McSheffrey's penalty saw Andy Thorn's team come from behind after Sinclair's superb 25-metre opener early on, but the former Macclesfield striker earned Posh a point in the 76th minute.

Hull City's losing run continued as Harry Kane's 25th-minute header and Andy Keogh's penalty gave Millwall a 2-0 win at the New Den, while Derby County and Ipswich Town drew 0-0 at Pride Park.

Chris Wood marked his return to the Bristol City team with the goal that lifted the Robins out of the relegation zone and dragged Nottingham Forest back into trouble.

Wood, on loan from West Bromwich Albion, kept his cool to score from the penalty spot early in the second half after Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp had a rush of blood and upended birthday boy Jon Stead eight yards out.

The striker came off the bench to net twice in the final six minutes of a pulsating and at times ill-tempered clash at Madejski Stadium as the visitor paid the price for the early sending-off of defender Zac Thompson.

Playing his first match since January 31, the youngster was sent off by referee Darren Drysdale after just 12 minutes, leaving Leeds to absorb wave after wave of Reading attacks.

Ian Harte's teasing cross evaded everyone before striking a post after 20 minutes while, after the break, Alex Pearce saw his header cleared en route to goal.

Leeds had its chances to win it late on, with Ross McCormack and Robert Snodgrass going close without success.

Le Fondre thought he had put his side ahead with eight minutes remaining, only to be denied by an offside flag, but he made the most of his next two sights of goal to fire the Royals to the division's summit.

West Ham United won 4-0 at Barnsley to set a new club record of 12 wins on the road in a season.

Skipper Kevin Nolan scored his 11th goal of the campaign to give the visitor a seventh-minute lead, with Nicky Maynard (23) and Mark Noble (35) adding further goals before the break.

Ricardo Vaz Te, facing his former club, rounded the off the scoring in the 55th minute to keep the Hammers in the hunt for promotion.

Blackpool moved level on points with fourth-placed Birmingham after a 2-0 win at Watford.

The Tangerines went ahead in the 25th minute when Stephen Dobbie produced a superb finish when he swept the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Blackpool doubled their lead with Dobbie's second goal of the game. Thomas Ince knocked the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak prompting the Hornets goalkeeper to bring down the Tangerines striker.

Dobbie stepped up to take the spot-kick and calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, rolling the ball home.

Brighton occupies the final playoff place but it had a disappointing afternoon, losing 1-0 at Burnley.

The host team scored the only goal in the 23rd minute, Charlie Austin converting Josh McQuoid's right wing pass.

The result leaves the Seagulls in the top six on goal difference alone.

Carlisle accepts that taking a hard line could spark a flurry of red cards and suspensions but he is convinced the sport would soon see the benefits and improve as a spectacle.

Last weekend saw two high-profile Premier League players accused of diving in the penalty area while there were also three instances of top-flight players arguing with team-mates.

Confrontations between rival players and the haranguing of referees are also not uncommon and Carlisle feels action should be taken.

Carlisle said: "I genuinely believe if the FA, the Premier League and referees just took a zero tolerance line to diving and confrontation, either player to player or surrounding referees, you would see a month of madness.

"You would see red cards flying around left, right and centre but it would stop it because players would be missing two games, three games - then five, six, seven through suspension.

"They would miss key games and clubs would then take a stance on it. I believe you would then see it wiped out.

"If you just took the hard line, said we're not taking it any more, you might have a month of seven-a-side games but after that, because of the financial and professional ramifications, you would see a dramatic difference in players' behaviours."

As a current player himself, Carlisle accepts his views may not be welcomed by all his fellow professionals, but he feels he has a duty in his role with the union to help project the game positively.

The 32-year-old, currently on loan with League Two Northampton Town, said: "I have to be mindful of my position as chairman of the PFA.

"I want our players to represent the game in the best possible way.

"I want them to be leading lights for future generations and want the game in England to be of the highest integrity in the world.

"To that end, we want it to be the cleanest game we have, the most genuine in the world, and that is the way forward."

Carlisle is helping promote the PFA's endorsement of the 'Know the Score' campaign to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

Players, managers and match officials are being encouraged to wear a silver 'Star of Hope' badge this weekend to highlight the case.

Carlisle said: "It is probably one of those campaigns that people don't pay any attention to until they are affected themselves.

"But with 'Know the Score' you can prompt families to take a more proactive assessment of their health.

"The earlier you catch any cancer signs, the greater your chances of survival."

England and Manchester City midfielder James Milner is also backing the campaign and Carlisle is pleased to see players getting involved with such worthwhile causes.

He said: "Because these guys play a sport they have a platform to convey a message to hundreds of millions of people on a weekly basis, not just at one-off events where they might be able to access that wider audience.

"We don't want members to feel they are taken advantage of, or there is anything expected, but we do want the boys to do more.

"There were 35,000 social inclusion visits last year, from a member base of 3,000.

"That is phenomenal and the players do fantastic work year on year, yet there is so much more we can do.

"The more work lads do like this, the better their image will be in society."

AZ was held to a 2-2 draw at Vitesse as Holman was sent from the pitch, fuming, in the 63rd minute when he was shown a second yellow for a tackle on Renato Ibarro, deemed a trip.

The decision angered Holman and AZ coach Gertjan Verbeek, leaving the side with 10 men for the last half-hour of the match.

Holman's team-mate, Niklas Moisander, later criticised the referee's decision.

"I think we (would) have won with 11 men," he told De Telegraaf after the game.

"But Brett Holman was an easy second yellow card.

"The referee seemed to occasionally lose. He dealt the cards very easy."

Aston Villa-bound Holman, 28, claimed two of the six yellow cards shown with four going to AZ, as the team slipped into second place behind Ajax.

Elsewhere in the Eredivisie, Tommy Oar came off the bench for Utrecht on Friday evening (Saturday morning AEDT) to secure a 3-2 victory over Excelsior with a goal in the 89th minute.

In the English Championship midfielder Mile Jedinak has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury.

The Sydney-born 27-year old missed this round's 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and has joined a long list of his countrymen sidelined due to injury.

Jedinak will not return to the pitch for some time after sustaining a groin injury during the club's loss to Derby County last week, clubcall.com reported.

A handful of Aussies in the Championship are out due to injury, including Middlesbrough's Rhys Williams, who the club hopes will return late in the season from an ankle ligament injury.

Williams' team-mate and fellow Australian Scott McDonald overcame medial ligament damage to come on as a substitute in Middlesbrough's 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Reading remains in second place in the Championship after its 4-2 win over West Ham United, thanks in part to Adam Federici's impressive performance.

The 27-year old had a tireless 90 minutes at Upton Park, which saw him concede goals in the eighth and 77th minutes, but took clean saves including that of a James Tomkins' shot early in the second half.

Billy Sharp missed a penalty for the Saints after 16 minutes, and just six minutes later they conceded a spot-kick of their own for Morgan Schneiderlin's challenge on Gary Taylor-Fletcher.

Stephen Dobbie was more successful from the spot, and then added another goal after 31 minutes to put the Seasiders in control.

Ian Evatt then posted a third in the 53rd minute to move Blackpool into the play-off places.

Southampton sits two points clear of Reading, which came from a goal down to beat West Ham United 4-2 in its promotion clash at Upton Park.

Carlton Cole broke the deadlock for the Hammers in the ninth minute with a left-footed finish after a headed knockdown from Kevin Nolan, who had hit a post just seconds earlier.

But Kaspars Gorkss headed home Ian Harte's inswinging corner in the 44th minute before Noel Hunt converted on the stroke of half-time to give the Royals the lead.

Harte added a penalty after 59 minutes to further stretch the advantage, but the Hammers responded with a Ricardo Vaz Te header after 77 minutes.

Mikele Leigertwood's strike six minutes from time eventually wrapped up the win for Reading, which moves four points clear of its opponent in the second automatic promotion place.

Brighton & Hove Albion and Middlesbrough had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium in the clash between two play-off hopefuls.

Marvin Emnes gave Boro a 62nd-minute lead but that was cancelled out by Inigo Calderon 12 minutes later.

At the other end of the table, Coventry City climbed out of the drop zone for the first time since October with a 2-0 win at out-of-form Hull City.

The Sky Blues led thanks to Liam Cooper's own goal after 13 minutes, with Cody McDonald securing their first away victory of the season four minutes from time.

Bristol City slipped into the bottom three despite a 1-1 draw at home to Derby County.

Craig Bryson scored in the 20th minute for the Rams but Brett Pitman replied after 74 minutes.

Fellow struggler Portsmouth suffered a humiliating 5-1 loss against Burnley at Fratton Park.

The scores were all square at the interval after David Norris' close-range finish cancelled out Kieran Trippier's strike for the Clarets.

But Danny Ings fired Burnley in front once more two minutes into the second half before a Charlie Austin hat-trick - including two goals in the final minute - left Pompey humiliated.

Two goals from Chris Iwelumo earned Watford a 2-0 win at Leeds United, which had Paul Connolly sent off in the dying stages.

Radoslaw Majewski scored a second-half hat-trick as Nottingham Forest eased its relegation fears with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Cardiff City's play-off challenge took a further dent as it recorded its fourth successive draw in a goalless stalemate with Millwall.

Daryl Murphy scored the only goal as Ipswich Town beat Barnsley 1-0, while Peterborough United was also a 1-0 winner over Leicester City courtesy of Paul Taylor's strike.

The Hammers' frustration looked set to continue in a goalless first half against Peterborough United at London Road but Ricardo Vaz Te headed the opener on 51 minutes and Gary O'Neil added his side's second in the 57th minute.

Middlesbrough missed the chance to leapfrog Brighton & Hove Albion into fourth place as it was held 1-1 at Ipswich Town. Lukas Jutkiewicz put Boro ahead in the 63rd minute but Grant Leadbitter equalised 11 minutes later.

Crisis club Portsmouth clambered off the bottom of the table with its second win in two home games. Chris Maguire and Joel Ward both scored in the first half to down Hull City 2-0.

Doncaster Rovers fell to the foot of the table after a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace extended its winless run to six games. Jermaine Easter put Palace ahead on 57 before Chris Brown equalised late on.

Nottingham Forest nudged closer to safety after a goalless draw at Leicester City, which is now four places adrift of the play-off places.

Erik Huseklepp, after Marlon King had missed a penalty, gave the host a 68th-minute lead before, 10 minutes later, Cardiff skipper Mark Hudson drew the visitor level at St Andrew's with a fine volley.

The draw left both sides level on 60 points but Birmingham's vastly better goal difference gave it the final play-off place with seven games left as it tries to return to the lucrative Premier League.

Birmingham forced the only save of the first half when Guirane N'Daw's weak shot was easily fielded by David Marshall.

The host, on the defensive for most of the opening period, had the chance to take the lead after the break when Jordan Mutch was brought down in the box by Dan Cowie.

But King's poor penalty was saved by Marshall, diving to his right.

However, the home side did take the lead when it hit Cardiff on the counter-attack.

Chris Burke beat Kevin McNaughton, Cardiff's lone defender as it attacked at a corner, and provided the perfect pass for Huseklepp to beat Marshall at the far post.

But Peter Whittingham created Cardiff's equaliser 12 minutes from time with a chip over the home defence that Hudson volleyed in from 18 yards out.

Both teams had chances to add further goals but Marshall and Birmingham keeper Boaz Myhill kept the scores level with smart saves.

Sharp, who joined Saints from the Yorkshire club in January, scored in the 58th and 75th minutes to secure a fourth straight win for Nigel Adkins' team and extend second-bottom Doncaster's run to one win in 14.

Reading remains Southampton's closest challenger as it beat play-off hopeful Blackpool 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium.

The Royals responded well to their midweek defeat at Peterborough United and led 2-0 through goals from Ian Harte (30) and Alex Pearce (35) but Lomana LuaLua gave the Seasiders hope with a goal four minutes before the break.

Mikele Leigertwood's strike on the hour mark made sure of the win for Brian McDermott's team, which extended its lead over third-placed West Ham United to four points after the Hammers could only take a point at Burnley, their fifth draw in a row.

They looked as though they would leave Lancashire with nothing after falling behind to goals from Marvin Bartley (25) and Martin Paterson (36) but two goals in two minutes from Kevin Nolan and James Tomkins (68 and 70) brought them back into the match.

The gap between third and fourth remains seven points as Brighton & Hove Albion was held 1-1 at Nottingham Forest.

Sam Vokes gave the Seagulls a 63rd-minute lead but the sending-off of Matthew Sparrow was quickly followed by Joel Lynch's leveller in the fourth minute of injury-time.

Middlesbrough moved above Blackpool into fifth thanks to a 1-1 draw at Bristol City, a result which left both sides without a win in four matches.

Hogan Ephraim marked his Robins debut after a loan move from Queens Park Rangers with an early goal but substitute Malaury Martin equalised for Boro.

Coventry City is now just one adrift of Bristol City in the first position of safety after following four successive draws with a 2-0 win over bottom side Portsmouth. Gary McSheffrey (55) and Oliver Norwood (77) grabbed the goals for the Sky Blues.

Hull City remains two points outside the play-off places after a 2-1 defeat at Leicester City.

Matty Fryatt put the Tigers 1-0 up with an eighth-minute goal against his old club, but the Foxes fought back through Lloyd Dyer (18) and Ben Marshall (19) and took the points despite the 57th-minute dismissal of Neil Danns.

Hull has now won just one of its last nine games.

Derby County ended Crystal Palace's 10-match unbeaten run with a 3-2 win at Pride Park. The Rams raced into a 3-0 lead with goals from Steve Davies (6), Jeff Hendrick (29) and Theo Robinson's 49th-minute penalty but the Eagles threatened a comeback as Chris Martin (79) and Darren Ambrose (90) pulled goals back.

Watford extended its unbeaten run to six with a 2-1 win over Ipswich Town. Paul Jewell's men led through Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (18) put Watford hit back through Sean Murray (71) and Troy Deeney won it eight minutes from the end.

Leeds United stayed 10th after a 1-0 win at Millwall. Ross McCormack's 16th league goal of the season in the 65th minute won it, but Darius Henderson had a penalty saved by Leeds goalkeeper Andy Lonergan seconds later.

Barnsley ended a seven-match winless run as David Cotterill's 24th-minute goal was enough to see off Peterborough United at Oakwell. The Tykes had Nathan Doyle sent off in the 32nd minute.

Reading beat play-off contender Blackpool 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium.

While the 27-year-old Aussie conceded a 30-yard effort from Lomana Tresor LuaLua in the 41st minute, Reading never looked in doubt, leading from the 30-minute mark.

There was to be no more passing Federici, who saved an impressive Kevin Phillips header in the 58th minute and a Matthew Phillips cross which came right on the full-time whistle.

Reading is now four points clear of West Ham United and trails leader Southampton by five points.

Elsewhere in the Championship Australian players were largely absent through injury including Scott McDonald and Rhys Williams.

The duo both failed to make the team for Middlesbrough which posted a 1-1 result with Bristol City.

McDonald has returned to training after medial ligament damage but is still 10 days away from full fitness. Williams' ankle ligament injury remains in plaster, but perhaps only for another 10 days, and he could be back in action two weeks after that, come reports from the club.

Richard Garcia remains out of action for Hull City. The 30-year-old attacking midfielder is back training after about a year out with a knee injury and is confident of a return.

Patrick Kisnorbo remains on the sidelines for Leeds United as does defender Shane Lowry, on loan to Millwall from Aston Villa.

In the Bundesliga, Nikita Rukavytsya helped Hertha Berlin to a 3-1 victory over Mainz.

The former Perth Glory star crossed to Anis Ben-Hatira who blasted home from seven yards in the 41st minute for Hertha's first away goal in 2012.

The midlands outfit had appeared to be a contender for an automatic spot after an 11-game unbeaten league run which was brought to an end by Nottingham Forest in late February.

Since then, Chris Houghton's side has won just once in five games to slip out of the play-off places and ahead of Monday's opponent only on goal difference.

By the time the teams meet at St Andrew's, they could find themselves further adrift of the top six but Myhill is only concerned about claiming three points.

He told www.bcfc.com: "You want to play in games that are crucial and this is what they are at this stage of the season - that's great, it's what you live for as a player.

"Other teams' results will play a big part in what we're trying to do, but first and foremost we'll just try and win our game - until you're in a situation where mathematically the other results are paramount to what you want to achieve, it's neither here nor there.

"We just need to make sure that we're doing as well as we can in training, take it into the game on Sunday and try and get three points."

Similarly, Cardiff has paid the price for a poor run which has seen it win once in seven games.

It had appeared to be heading for victory in midweek against Coventry but its struggling visitor pulled back a late equaliser for the south Wales club's second consecutive draw.

Manager Malky Mackay admits to annoyance with the Bluebirds' recent form, telling www.cardiffcityfc.com: "I'm as frustrated as our fans by the fact that we had the opportunity to take fourth spot in our last two games and didn't do that.

"We'd have loved to have been two points better off but with eight games to go, there's still everything to play for.

"We have absolutely no fear and we know the measure of every side we have to play having already played them once before this season.

"They are all going to be tough games now but Manchester United aren't among them: neither are we playing the two form sides in Southampton or Reading.

"We're up there and we're looking forward to the challenge which we are taking head on."

The Hammers, along with three other un-named rivals, have submitted applications to lease the stadium in Stratford.

West Ham won the original contest to move to the stadium last year, but that deal collapsed after a number of complaints and the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) decided to start the process again, instead offering candidates a temporary lease, rather than permanent residency.

The Championship club has applied for a 99-year lease - the maximum on offer - but insists it will only move there if the stadium is converted in to a 'world-class' 60,000-seater football ground after the 2012 Games.

One gripe West Ham fans have is the running track will remain at the stadium as part of the OPLC's commitment to ensuring an athletics legacy in the capital.

The Hammers are confident they will be able to fill the stadium regularly and create a vibrant atmosphere to match the one they currently have at Upton Park, but Barry Hearn, chairman of Leyton Orient - which officially withdrew from the campaign - thinks otherwise.

"This represents a quantum change in the experience of a football punter and frankly it could be the demise of West Ham if they move there," Hearn told Press Association Sport.

"It's a huge slap in the face to their fans and their history.

"The stadium is a magnificent athletics stadium, a magnificent building. It's just not built for football.

"The pitch is 40 to 50 yards away from the front row of seats. I personally find that abhorrent.

"It is designed for athletics. Football grounds have steep stands but this one doesn't. The view from the lower tier is dreadful.

"It's not a white elephant. It's a white elephant that they're trying to make into a pink flamingo.

"If you're talking about atmosphere, then forget it.

"You would have to rebuild the entire stadium to create any atmosphere in that place."

Hearn feels Leyton Orient was never taken as a serious candidate despite being the closest club to Stratford out of the original bidders for the 2012 showpiece.

"We organised a £30,000 ($45,514) survey of the effect that West Ham will have on moving to Stratford and the results are pretty disastrous," he added.

"The whole thing has been totally bonkers. No one has talked to little Leyton Orient about it.

"This stadium is going to kill the area and kill our football club, but no one wants to listen.

"The people who are organising this are ignoring us. They don't care about us. It's total, complete b******t."

West Ham believes that leaving Upton Park - its home for the last 108 years - to move to Stratford is 'an opportunity too good to miss'.

Its current stuttering form means it may well miss out on promotion to the Premier League, but the club's board is confident that it has the ability to make the move financially viable due to its business acumen.

The Hammers will consider bidding for naming rights but are not thought to be keen on sharing the stadium with another football club or rugby team.

Their commitment to keep the running track has ensured they received the support of UK Athletics, which has bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships, and West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is confident the move is right for the club.

She said: "From the outset it has been my firm, unwavering belief that the stadium can truly become a multi-use destination of which east London and the nation as a whole can be proud.

"I have never lost sight of our vision to play our part, along with the stadium's major stakeholders, in ensuring it grows into a global asset, the 'jewel in the crown' of the (Olympic) Park that will be watched by the world.

"Our vision for the stadium has always been about standing up for the promises made for London back in Singapore in 2005 and what they meant for our future generations.

"We are honoured to have once more received the support and backing of our friends at UK Athletics."

The OPLC is expected to announce a verdict before this summer's Games, which start in July.

Foster was allowed to make the temporary switch to Albion after Blues were relegated from the Premier League last May and he has impressed Hodgson.

But Hodgson hopes to find out whether he can bid for Foster on a permanent basis before promotion contender Birmingham knows which division it will be in next season.

When asked if a deal can be completed, Hodgson said: "It will depend on Birmingham and how they see the situation.

"The initial arrangement was that they were fearful he would lose his value playing in the Championship. That's why they went along with the loan to us.

"They did it because they believed they would bounce straight back to the Premier League and they would then get their Premier League keeper back.

"I don't know what's happening at Birmingham and if their ideas have changed.

"We could be talking about someone who's literally not for sale and, if he is for sale, at what price, and would it be at a price West Brom would be prepared to pay."

Hodgson added: "As far as I'm aware these discussions will have to be sooner or later because we need a keeper for next season.

"If it's not going to be Ben, it will have to be somebody else. There are keepers out there that we think we could possibly sign.

"Ben has got better as the season has gone on and we're quite happy with him. It will soon be a case of saying to Birmingham 'what are your intentions'?

"We need to do that fairly quickly I think. We might need an answer before Birmingham know what division they will be in next season.

"Some of the people we have our eye on are not going to wait forever.

"I don't want to fall in between two stools, waiting while Birmingham decide Ben's fate and suddenly we end up with no one.

"I would like that situation cleared up very quickly, and what I'm talking about might promote a discussion between the two clubs."

Kevin Phillips and Jermaine Beckford each scored twice as Blackpool and Leicester played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Bloomfield Road.

After a dour opening half hour, the evergreen Phillips nodded Blackpool ahead from a corner, only for Beckford and David Nugent to respond with goals either side of half-time to put Leicester ahead.

Substitute Roman Bednar made it 2-2 with 21 minutes remaining, before another replacement, Leicester's Ben Marshall, crossed for Beckford to head his second.

There was to be another twist in the tale, however, as Phillips popped up in stoppage-time with a close-range equaliser to boost his side's play-off hopes.

The result left Blackpool fifth in the table, but just one point ahead of eighth-placed Cardiff, who was held 2-2 by struggling Coventry.

Oliver Norwood foun the back of the net in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to rescue a point for the visitors, who twice came from behind.

Cardiff took the lead just after the quarter-hour, with Sky Blues forward Cody McDonald putting through his own net.

Gary McSheffrey missed a 51st-minute penalty and hit a post for Coventry before it equalised, Jordan Clarke on target with 20 minutes remaining.

Peter Whittingham looked to have won it for Cardiff late in the game, only for Norwood to strike at the death.

In the day's other game, Michael Chopra's 14th goal of the season earned Ipswich Town a 1-0 win over Burnley.

Ipswich had Grant Leadbitter sent off late on for a second bookable offence.

Forest had stormed into a 3-1 lead before being pegged back level but McCleary's second-half heroics and a further brace from Dexter Blackstock earned Forest one of its most famous wins.

Robert Snodgrass had put Leeds in front after six minutes but Adlene Guedioura equalised two minutes later and McCleary scored his first on the stroke of half-time to give Forest the edge.

In a stunning spell of five goals in eight minutes, Blackstock put Forest further ahead, Luciano Becchio and Michael Brown pulled it level for Leeds, then McCleary completed his hat-trick to make it 5-3 on the hour-mark.

McCleary added his fourth on 71 minutes and Blackstock completed the rout with his second and his side's seventh nine minutes from time.

Southampton took advantage of slip-ups from promotion rival Reading and West Ham United to stretch its lead at the top to five points with a straight-forward 2-0 win at Hull City.

A 14th minute own goal from Jack Hobbs gave Saints a 14th-minute lead and Jos Hooiveld added his side's second on the 59th-minute mark.

Reading suffered its first loss in 11 Championship games in a surprise 3-1 reverse at Peterborough United. Noel Hunt put the Royals ahead but goals from George Boyd, Tyrone Barnett and Paul Taylor won it for Posh.

West Ham United stays third after its fourth consecutive 1-1 draw. Abdoulaye Faye's 67th-minute header gave it the lead at home to Middlesbrough, but Bart Ogbeche's 84th-minute equaliser earned Boro a point.

Crisis club Portsmouth claimed its first win in 10 in emphatic fashion with a 4-1 win over promotion-chasing Birmingham City.

Nikola Zigic gave Birmingham a seventh-minute lead but Chris Maguire and David Norris turned it round for Pompey. After Blues had David Murphy sent off, the host made sure with further strikes from Kelvin Etuhu and Marko Futacs.

Brighton & Hove Albion was the main beneficiaries of the night as it jumped from ninth to fourth with a 2-0 home win over Derby County. Inigo Calderon opened the scoring on 10 minutes and Ashley Barnes added a second on 66.

Millwall eased its relegation fears with goals from Andrew Keogh, Harry Kane and Darius Henderson giving it a 3-0 win over fellow struggler Doncaster Rovers.

Watford won 2-0 at Bristol City thanks to a David James own goal and a strike from Sean Murray, while Sean Scannell's last-minute header earned Crystal Palace a 1-0 win over Barnsley.

A report claimed the Old Firm giant was so keen to join English football that it was in talks over a move into League One.

Club sources have insisted that is not the case and Clarke himself said it would be 'disrespectful' to the Scottish football authorities to enter into any such talks.

Clarke said: "We have absolutely no intention of having any discussions with any club from another national league regarding membership of our competition.

"This would be highly disrespectful to the Scottish FA and Scottish Premier League and will not be countenanced by the Football League."

Torres had a hand in four of the quintet of goals the Blues scored, but his biggest and most telling contribution was a brace, having already teed-up Salomon Kalou and Raul Meireles after Gary Cahill's opener.

His first goal ended a wait of some 25 hours and 41 minutes since he last found the target, and he had always looked like ending his drought after an impressive all-round display.

"I think the whole team, the club and supporters are happy (for Torres)," said Di Matteo, who has won all four games since taking over from Andre Villas-Boas a fortnight ago.

"He works so hard for the team, he is a great team player. You get rewarded when you work hard in life and I think we are all happy that he helped us win."

And, the Italian now believes that the striker's fortunes could continue to improve.

"Hopefully his confidence is going to be high," he added.

"I didn't mind when he wasn't scoring because as long as we win as a team that is what matters to me."

Di Matteo also hopes that the run of form his side is on can help it continue to banish some of the negative headlines that have blighted it of late.

He said: "It was a wonderful team performance which is reflected in the scoreline. We just wanted to get to the next round.

"I think that every game we have won so far has given individually the players, and the team as a whole, a little more confidence and every win just confirms and cements it."

But despite the turnaround in form which has seen the Blues progress into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and reach the FA Cup semi-final, the 41-year-old refused to accept it was his influence that has made the difference.

"I wouldn't want to take any credit," he said.

"It is the boys' belief and work-rate they put in on a daily basis - I always believe we have quality in the team to score at least one goal so as long as defensively we can keep it tight and solid we will always have a chance."

Di Matteo made seven changes from the side that earned a 4-1 win over Napoli in midweek, with Cahill one of the players brought into the side.

The ex-Bolton Wanderers defender admitted his thoughts were with hospitalised former team-mate Fabrice Muamba and revealed a T-shirt after opening the scoring with a message to the 23-year-old midfielder.

Di Matteo revealed he spoke to Cahill before the game and was delighted with the England international's contribution.

He said: "We checked with him before the game.

"He was shaken like the whole football community and our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Fabrice, but he managed to focus on the game and had a very good game as well."

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson felt his side let itself down defensively against its Premier League opponent.

"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb," he said.

"Going into the game I think we always knew it would be important to make Chelsea work hard to be in front and we didn't do that.

"It was always going to be a tough ask but we always had to keep things tighter than we did. To concede from two set-plays is particularly disappointing."

Despite the defensive frailties Pearson was happy with the attacking aspect of his team, which was highlighted with its two goals scored by Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall.

Pearson added: "I felt we created a number of chances throughout the game and our attacking play at times was very good, but unfortunately when you play against quality players like we have today and the defensive side of your game is not spot on you're going to get punished."

Early goals from Gary Cahill and Salomon Kalou set the Blues on their way as Roberto Di Matteo maintained his 100 percent winning start to his tenure as Chelsea boss.

Torres added the third after 67 minutes to end a spell of 25 hours 41 minutes of football for Chelsea without scoring.

His second came five minutes from time as he flicked home a near-post header with Raul Meireles also scoring in the last minute.

Jermaine Beckford and Ben Marshall grabbed the consolation goals for Leicester, which will now go back to trying to force itself into the Championship play-off picture.

Torres has shown glimpses of his former self in recent weeks and the Spaniard was instrumental again against the Foxes with his goal coming after several decent efforts and good link-up play.

Chelsea started the better of the two sides with Torres looking lively from the outset.

It did not take long for Chelsea to take the lead as Cahill rose at the far post to head home Juan Mata's 12th-minute corner to open the scoring.

The ex-Bolton Wanderers player celebrated by revealing a shirt in support of former team-mate Fabrice Muamba.

Torres was again involved as Chelsea doubled the advantage six minutes later as he broke into the Leicester half and outpaced Paul Konchesky before sliding in Kalou, who finished calmly past Kasper Schmeichel.

Moments later Torres should have broken his duck as he was found in the centre of goal by Mata, but headed straight at Schmeichel.

The visitor struggled to keep possession for any meaningful length of time as its supporters continued to cheer them on from the packed Shed End.

The Foxes responded and Beckford fired wide before Neil Danns had their first decent effort on goal in the 33rd minute as he forced Cech into a smart save at his near post.

Chelsea sat back and allowed Leicester to keep possession in and around its penalty area but restricting it to long-range efforts.

Cahill then took the ball away from Danns' toe as he broke into the box as Chelsea eased to half-time.

Florent Malouda was introduced by Di Matteo at half-time and stung the palms of Schmeichel with a long-rang effort on 51 minutes.

Torres had another chance just before the hour mark but his left-footed effort was deflected clear as the Chelsea supporters willed him to find a goal.

The visitor then started to come forward with more purpose as David Nugent was stopped on the edge of the box before Lloyd Dyer flashed a shot just wide.

The moment the home supporters had longed for came in the 67th minute as Torres squeezed Meireles' pass into the corner to score his first goal in over 25 hours.

The Spaniard almost grabbed another but his effort two minutes later just cleared the crossbar.

That goal seemed to killed off the game as a contest but Beckford managed to force Cech into a good save with 15 minutes remaining as the Leicester players looked to give their travelling support something to remember from the afternoon.

That moment came only moments later when Beckford, who scored on his last appearance at Stamford Bridge, powered home after Danns' effort had crashed against the post.

The three-goal margin was soon restored through Torres, who scored his second of the game with a near-post header from a Meireles corner with five minutes remaining.

Leicester substitute Marshall then scored arguably the goal of the game as he bent an effort around Cech and into the corner.

Torres showed he has an unselfish side as he passed up the opportunity of a hat-trick to set up Meireles to score low under Schmeichel.

Lambert, who was named npower Championship Player of the Year earlier this week, gave his side a 16th-minute lead but Millwall hit back and was leading 2-1 within 12 minutes after an own goal from Jose Fonte and a Paul Robinson strike.

Millwall retained that advantage until the 85th minute but, just when the leader looked in danger of suffering its first defeat in 10 matches, Saints star Lambert turned the match on its head with two penalties in three minutes to earn his side a 3-2 win and take his goal tally for the season to 28.

The last-gasp victory kept Southampton two points clear of Reading, which continued its superb form with a 4-0 away mauling of Barnsley.

All four goals came in the second half with Jobi McAnuff (47), Jem Karacan (49, 65) and Jason Roberts (90) helping Brian McDermott's side claim its ninth win in 10 league matches.

The Royals are now three points clear of third-placed West Ham United, which was held 1-1 at Leeds United.

Leeds had looked set to end West Ham's seven-match unbeaten run when Luciano Becchio nodded the host ahead with seven minutes to go, but loan defender Danny Collins netted a last-minute equaliser to earn the Hammers a potentially crucial point.

Birmingham City climbed back up to fourth spot after recording a 3-0 home win over Middlesbrough, which slips to sixth but is level on 59 points with the Blues.

Winger Chris Burke set up Birmingham's opening two goals for Nikola Zigic and Marlon King to take his tally to 13 assists this term - the highest of any Championship player - before Keith Fahey wrapped up the scoring on the hour.

The other side currently in the play-off spots is Blackpool, which moved up to fifth with a 3-1 home win over 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion.

Brighton had taken a seventh-minute lead through Joe Mattock but Blackpool drew level through Ian Evatt before Kevin Phillips put the host ahead before the break.

The visitor lost Gonzalo Jara Reyes to a 57th-minute red card, and Blackpool added a third late when Phillips struck his second to take his tally to 15 for the campaign.

Doncaster Rovers, which halted Reading's eight-match winning run in midweek, remains in trouble near the foot of the table after going down 2-1 at home to Derby County.

Derby took a 2-0 lead through Theo Robinson and Gareth Roberts goals at the start of either half, and Doncaster could only net a 67th-minute consolation through El-Hadji Diouf.

Doncaster slips into the bottom two after Coventry City claimed a point from a 0-0 draw at Watford, while bottom-placed Portsmouth also played out a goalless draw against fellow struggler Bristol City.

Crystal Palace's home match with Hull City was another to finish 0-0, but there were five goals at Portman Road where Ipswich Town beat Peterborough United 3-2 in pulsating contest.

The host, which lost 7-1 in the reverse fixture, scored through Grant Leadbitter (15), Daryl Murphy (77) and Aaron Cresswell (85) with Peterborough's goals coming from Tyrone Barnett (34) and Emile Sinclair (83).

Brian McDermott's men could have gone level on points with leader Southampton but were left fighting to avoid defeat after Kyle Bennett gave the host a 27th-minute lead at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Alex Pearce headed home Ian Harte's free-kick in the 51st minute to claim a point for Reading, which is now two points adrift of Saints while Doncaster remains in the relegation zone.

Hull City jumped three places into the play-off zone with an emphatic 3-0 win at promotion rival Cardiff City.

Kevin McNaughton's sixth-minute own goal helped the Tigers on their way and James Chester and Aaron Mclean made sure with further efforts in the 47th and 55th minutes respectively.

Chris Hughton's Birmingham City dropped to eighth after a 3-1 defeat at Leicester City. Wade Elliott's 20th-minute penalty put the Blues ahead but Jermaine Beckford equalised on 34 minutes and late strikes from Jeffery Schlupp and Beckford again sealed the Foxes' win.

Jake Buxton headed home a Ben Davies free-kick deep into injury-time as Derby County grabbed a dramatic 1-0 win over neighbour Nottingham Forest at Pride Park.

Forest had Marcus Tudgay sent off in the last minute but the game looked destined to end goalless until Buxton's strike. The defeat leaves Forest four points clear of the relegation zone.

After two first-half goals from Leeds on Sunday, Williams produced his side's best attempt with a bullet header in the 53rd minute that went just wide of the post.

A short time later the Socceroos utility stretched to play a pass, injuring himself in the process

Despite attempts to play on, a struggling Williams was substituted in the 63rd minute.

The West Australian missed his side's 2-0 victory over Barnsley mid-week after being sent off for a second bookable offence in a match against Portsmouth.

Boro remains in fourth position.

Lallana latched on to a Rickie Lambert header to score the first after 35 minutes and was on target from close range in the 54th minute as Nigel Adkins' men took their unbeaten run to nine league matches.

Second-placed West Ham United is only ahead of Reading on goal difference as the Hammers drew with Doncaster Rovers while the in-form Royals beat Leicester City.

Sam Allardyce's men made a great start as Kevin Nolan scored in the ninth minute, but Rovers hit back through James Coppinger (73).

Reading recorded its eighth straight win to join West Ham on 66 points, as goals from Mikele Leigertwood (15), Jason Roberts (75) and Simon Church (89) put it in control before Neil Danns scored a late consolation for Leicester City.

Two own goals from Bristol City helped Cardiff City back into the play-off places at Ashton Gate.

Stephen McManus and Kalifa Cisse scored into their own net either side of a Jonathan Stead strike for the host, which huffed and puffed tirelessly without any luck in a 2-1 defeat.

Blackpool dropped out of the play-off places after a 3-1 defeat at Peterborough United.

Posh were looking to avoid a third straight loss and led 2-0 at half-time with goals from Tyrone Barnett (27) and Paul Taylor (43). Nouha Dicko pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, but George Boyd's 86th-minute strike from Tommy Rowe's cross made the points safe for Darren Ferguson's team.

Brighton & Hove Albion is up to fifth as Vicente's double in the final 15 minutes earned it a 2-0 win over Portsmouth, which has now failed to win any of its last eight.

The midlands derby between Coventry City and play-off hopeful Birmingham City at the Ricoh Arena finished 1-1 as Gary McSheffrey and Marlon King scored against their former clubs. The result left the Sky Blues still in the bottom three.

Hull City stayed ninth after it was pegged back from 2-0 up to draw 2-2 at home to Ipswich Town. Goals from Robbie Brady (17) and Robert Koren (54) put the Tigers in charge but Grant Leadbitter scored twice in three minutes for Paul Jewell's men.

Watford won 2-1 at Derby County as goals from Sean Murray and Troy Deeney inside the first 15 minutes gave it the perfect start at Pride Park. Ben Davies replied for the Rams after half-an-hour.

Derby's east midlands rival Nottingham Forest won 3-1 at home to Millwall to boost its survival hopes. It led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Garath McCleary (25) and Danny Higginbotham (38) before Darius Henderson's 14th goal of the season gave the Lions hope with 26 minutes left. However, Forest wrapped it up with a 20-yard strike from Andy Reid 10 minutes from time.

Burnley and Crystal Palace drew 1-1 at Turf Moor with a penalty apiece. Jay Rodriguez scored from the spot in the second minute with his 15th of the season, but the Eagles hit back through Darren Ambrose's 63rd-minute penalty and held on to make it just one defeat in 10 league games despite the dismissal of Wilfried Zaha.

The result saw the London side move to within a point of leader Southampton, with the Hammers having a game in hand over their south coast rival.

Only the top two teams at the end of the regular season are guaranteed automatic promotion to the lucrative Premier League.

West Ham piled on the pressure before falling behind to Watford teenager Sean Murray's second-half sucker punch and it wasn't until three minutes from the end of normal time when Vaz Te struck.

In the nine minutes of stoppage-time that ensued, West Ham thought it should have had a penalty when the Hornets' Carl Dickinson handled but home fans at Upton Park had to settle for a point.

Brighton & Hove Albion remains in front of Cardiff City and on the fringe of the play-off places after a 2-2 draw with the Welsh side.

Vokes tapped home from Ashley Barnes' pass in the 89th minute to salvage a share of the points for the Seagulls after Peter Whittingham's strike looked to have won the game for the visitor.

Earlier, Barnes had levelled for Brighton after Joe Mason's opener for the visitor.

Di Matteo decided to leave experienced trio Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien out of his starting line-up along with England striker Daniel Sturridge for the fifth-round replay.

But he is adamant all the players are 'on board' for the challenges they will face in the next two-and-a-half months after starting the post Andre Villa-Boas era with a victory.

Di Matteo said: "We faced a difficult task today given the events of the last couple of days and it was important for us to get through to the next round. We had to do a job today.

"Was it a brave selection choice? It was nothing to do with bravery. They were all on board. They know the targets we have to achieve.

"They are big players for this club. We have a squad and we have to utilise the squad. We have to try and get the best out of these players.

"It was a question of freshening up the team a bit, giving it some energy and fresh legs for a game like this. We had to fight today."

Di Matteo, who is in charge for the remainder of the season, admitted: "It has been a difficult time.

"It's been difficult for the whole club. When events like this happen ... we've lost a great guy (Villas-Boas).

"But you have to deal with it. Tonight we had to focus on this game and move on as a club, put it to one side and move forward."

One bonus for Di Matteo was the return on the bench of skipper John Terry just two weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

Di Matteo said: "John has done very well and is determined to help the club, and we're pleased to see him. He's available.

"We have to take him with small steps because he's done well to come back in just over two weeks. But it was good to see him."

Di Matteo side-stepped questions over whether he would be interested in taking the role on a permanent basis - if offered the chance.

He said: "Would I take it? I'm very tired tonight. I have to think about Stoke City from an hour's time onwards, and that's all I'm thinking about.

"Think whatever you want to think. I'm not thinking about anything else."

City boss Chris Hughton praised his team's efforts before being beaten by second-half goals from Juan Mata and Raul Meireles in what was its 47th game of the campaign.

He said: "We gave it a real good go but needed to stay in the game at 0-0 longer in the second half. The first goal gave them a lift and the second was real quality.

"We have really enjoyed the cup runs in the Europa League and the FA Cup. People say they may have impacted on our hopes in the league.

"But I think they have had a positive impact on us and there is no shame in going out to a Chelsea side full of quality."

Saints looked on their way to another priceless victory when Rickie Lambert lashed home his 25th goal of the season in the 74th minute - but Scotland struck five minutes from time to claim a 1-1 draw.

Southampton is now just two points above second-placed West Ham United, which has a game in hand, and three over third-placed Reading, for whom Noel Hunt hit a first-half winner in a 1-0 win over crisis club Portsmouth.

Pompey slumped to the bottom of the table after a 2-1 win for Doncaster Rovers at fellow struggler Nottingham Forest. Frederic Piquionne and Kyle Bennett struck either side of the interval before Dexter Blackstock's late consolation.

Also at the bottom, Cody McDonald rescued a potentially priceless point for Coventry City with a last minute equaliser against Crystal Palace. A fourth-minute penalty from Darren Ambrose had given Palace the lead.

Goals from Seb Hines and Bart Ogbeche moved Middlesbrough up to fourth with a 2-0 win over Barnsley, while Blackpool blew a second-minute lead through Thomas Ince at Derby County, with a Steve Davies brace giving the Rams a 2-1 win.

Bristol City grabbed a dramatic 3-2 win over Leicester City. Lloyd Dyer's opener for the Foxes was cancelled out by Kalifa Cisse and Brett Pitman for the home side. Neil Danns equalised before Jon Stead won it for City in the 79th minute.

Hull City and Leeds United shared the points in a dire goalless draw at the KC Stadium, while Millwall continued its recent recovery with a 3-0 win at Peterborough United with goals from Hamer Bouazza, Andy Keogh and Harry Kane.

After a goalles first half, caretaker boss Roberto Di Matteo saw Mata break the deadlock eight minutes after the restart.

Then a superb 59th-minute strike from Raul Meireles doubled Chelsea's lead to secure a home quarter-final tie with Leicester City. It could even afford to see a Mata penalty saved by City goalkeeper Colin Doyle.

Di Matteo left Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Daniel Sturridge out of his starting line-up although skipper John Terry was a surprise substitute after his recent knee operation.

There was little to choose between the sides in the opening period when Nikola Zigic posed problems for Chelsea.

But the visitor stepped up a gear after the interval and only poor finishing prevented it from adding to its tally as injury-ravaged City ran out of steam.

Chelsea was the first to threaten and Mata raced clear but opted to shoot with Salomon Kalou unmarked in the centre and Doyle turned his effort around the post.

A neat flick from Zigic found Wade Elliott in space behind the Chelsea defence but his low first time ball was in front of the run of Morgaro Gomis.

City was causing problems and Nathan Redmond got clear in the box after more good play by Zigic but David Luiz got across to intercept as he prepared to shoot.

Zigic was unhappy when caught by the boot of Luiz and he was left with blood pouring from his face and required lengthy touchline treatment.

Dangerman Zigic created another opportunity for Elliott and his shot on the turn was gathered by Petr Cech.

Zigic became the first player to be yellow carded after a late tackle on Gary Cahill.

Cech produced a superb save to keep his side on level terms after 39 minutes.

Zigic's glancing header from a Jordon Mutch cross had Cech back-pedalling and he finger-tipped his effort over the bar at full stretch.

Mata was Chelsea's most potent player but he shot straight at Doyle from the edge of the box.

Fernando Torres had his first opportunity on the stroke of half-time after a quick turn but he dragged his shot across the face of goal.

Chelsea enjoyed a spell of possession at the start of the second period and Pablo Ibanez produced a superb tackle to deny Mata inside the box after he played a one-two with Kalou.

But after 53 minutes Mata broke the deadlock for Chelsea.

Ramires made good ground down the right before sending in a cross which was challenged for by Kalou.

The ball broke invitingly for Mata who poked it past Doyle into the corner of the net.

Mata missed another great chance two minutes later when he headed wide at the far post from a deep centre by Branislav Ivanovic.

A superb strike from Meireles doubled Chelsea's lead after 59 minutes.

Ramires teed up the midfielder and his 25-yard strike flew past Doyle into the top corner of the net.

Torres was yellow carded for chopping down Jonathan Spector.

The Spaniard won his side a 67th-minute penalty after he was brought down by Guirane N'Daw who was yellow carded.

But Doyle repeated his penalty save from Mata of the first tie at Stamford Bridge.

Sturridge should have made it 3-0 but mis-kicked with the goal at his mercy from Torres' centre.

Mutch had a great opportunity to reduce the arrears from Chris Burke's pass but lofted his shot over the bar.

Sam Allardyce's second-placed side kicked off four points behind the Saints and only one ahead of third-placed Reading in the race for promotion to the Premier League.

But it underlined its promotion credentials with a comfortable victory over a Cardiff side that was desperately close to beating Liverpool in the Carling Cup final last weekend.

Former Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan, who returned from a three-match ban at the Cardiff City Stadium, coolly slotted past David Marshall two minutes before half-time to put the Hammers ahead.

Cardiff struggled to recreate the battling display that led it to be defeated only on penalties against Liverpool at Wembley and Marshall had to save well from Nicky Maynard to keep the score down.

The Bluebirds briefly looked like staging a comeback as Peter Whittingham struck the inside of a post from a free-kick.

But Allardyce's team, which still has a game in hand on Southampton, sealed the points in the 77th minute when defender George McCartney beat Marshall from a tight angle.

Neil Warnock tasted defeat for the first time since becoming Leeds United manager as Southampton extended its lead at the top to four points with a 1-0 victory at Elland Road.

Rickie Lambert scored his 24th goal of the season after getting on the end of Tadanari Lee's flick-on in the first half to give the Saints their 19th league win of the season and pile the pressure on second-placed West Ham United, which visits Cardiff City on Sunday lunchtime (local time).

Reading boosted its promotion hopes thanks to Adam Le Fondre's winner at Millwall.

Andrew Keogh put the home side on course for a shock victory against the league's third-placed side before Hal Robson-Kanu equalised for the Royals in first-half injury-time.

The visitor dashed the home side's hopes of getting anything from the game when Le Fondre latched on to Jason Roberts' pass and beat David Forde to seal the win for Brian McDermott's team.

Birmingham City surrendered a two-goal lead and dropped to sixth after drawing 2-2 at Derby County.

Andros Townsend's wicked shot flew in off Erik Huseklepp to give the Blues the lead before Marlon King doubled the home side's lead.

Steve Davies turned home Ben Davies' cross to pull one back for the Rams on 61 minutes and Theo Robinson equalised shortly after to deny Chris Hughton's side a win.

El-Hadji Diouf's second-half penalty denied Brighton & Hove Albion the chance to climb into the play-offs as Doncaster Rovers drew 1-1 with Gus Poyet's side at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Craig Mackail-Smith bagged yet another goal to put the south-coast side ahead but Diouf spoiled the visitor's party by scoring from the spot.

Watford completed a remarkable comeback to grab all three points in its clash against Burnley at Vicarage Road.

Nyron Nosworthy headed in to his own net to put Burnley 2-0 up after Jay Rodriguez's opener before the former Sunderland defender scored at the right for the Hornets to make it 2-1.

Substitute Alex Kacaniklic equalised for the home side with 18 minutes to go and Troy Deeney scored to make it 3-2 soon after.

More than 16,000 fans turned out to support financially-stricken Portsmouth but the vast majority of them went home unhappy after seeing the south-coast side beaten 3-1 by 10-man Middlesbrough.

Pompey's administrators warned this week that the club may not be able to afford to see out the season and its troubles went from bad to worse on the pitch when Boro raced in to a 2-0 lead after goals from Barry Robson and Matthew Bates.

Greg Halford gave Portsmouth a glimmer of hope when he scored from the penalty spot but Marvin Emnes dashed any hopes of an upset with an 83rd-minute goal which lifted Tony Mowbray's men to fifth. Boro had defender Rhys Williams sent off at the end.

Craig Davies' second-half strike for Barnsley denied Nottingham Forest a third straight win at Oakwell - Forest had gone ahead in the 32nd minute through Garath McCleary.

Leicester City achieved back-to-back league wins for the first time this season as it ran out a 2-0 winner over Coventry City in the midlands derby at the King Power Stadium.

Neil Danns missed an early penalty for the Foxes but it mattered little as they opened up a two-goal lead thanks to goals from David Nugent and Jermaine Beckford while Sammy Clingan missed from the spot for the away side.

Michael Chopra, Tommy Smith and Andy Drury gave Ipswich Town a 3-0 win over Bristol City.

Pompey's financial position has been the stuff of nightmares since 2009, when former owner Sacha Gaydamak admitted he no longer had the funds to run the club.

A succession of collapsed sales and two administrations have followed, finally leading present administrator Trevor Birch to say Portsmouth have insufficient funds to get through the season and face a very real possibility of becoming the first professional club in England to go out of business in the middle of a season since Aldershot in 1992.

Much of the blame has been laid at the door of Portpin Ltd, and its shareholders Balu Chainrai and Levi Kushnir, whom are alleged not to have the club's interests at heart.

However, in a detailed statement, released to Press Association Sport this evening, Chainrai and Kushnir have defended their position.

"Portsmouth FC has reached a critical juncture," said the statement.

"It is with an increasing sense of real frustration that we feel the process of finding an equitable solution is being derailed.

"This is a tough but not unsolvable situation. However, if people are more concerned with chasing shadows and hearsay in anticipation of being unable to complete the assignment instead of rising to the challenge of and actively finding suitable buyers, the club will cease to exist.

"There are no winners when a business dies.

"We need to collectively find a solution to save the club."

In its statement, Portpin say it has not received a penny of the money promised by the now discredited CSI group when they agreed to buy Portsmouth in 2011.

Instead, it has banked just one interest payment of £240,000, which was done shortly before it was asked to provide further financial assistance after CSI, 80% owned by Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Antonov, failed to pay December's wages on time.

Even after the club entered administration once more last month, there were some nasty surprises waiting as a potential short-term way out of the present situation was sealed off once it was established that a parachute payment of £2.2million had been promised to Gaydamak as part of the sale to CSI.

Portpin have been attacked for the deal.

However, in its statement, Portpin say that the club could not have been sold to CSI without Gaydamak receiving "new security over the new club by way of assignment of the Premier League parachute payments".

And it insists if it had not gone through Portsmouth, who tonight loaned skipper Liam Lawrence to Cardiff to help ease its financial burden, would have almost certainly been liquidated.

But for Portsmouth and its fans, it proved to be a brief reprieve, with Birch now tasked with finding a buyer who can unravel the present situation, which includes a further sum in excess of £10.8million that CSI raised to buy players without any obvious way of paying it back.

Portpin insist it can be done. However, not with the kind of attitude they feel Birch has adopted.

"We do not understand PKF's approach," said the statement.

"Daily, we find ourselves attacked in the press by PKF.

"The ultimate irony here is that PKF acted as financial advisor to CSI in the acquisition of the club from us.

"If they had felt anything was untoward in the history of the club and its financing, they would have flagged that to their client at that time and advised against the purchase.

"As clearly evidenced in their due diligence report to CSI on the acquisition, they supported the purchase entirely.

"It is therefore quite peculiar that PKF is now pleading ignorance to terms that were agreed in not only the first CVA but also to the purchase of the club by CSI less than five months ago.

"We honestly felt we had put Portsmouth in as sound as possible a financial position when we sold it to CSI.

"You can imagine our surprise, then, when CSI got into extreme financial distress and we were forced to once again become reluctant owners.

"We do not want to see the club be forced into liquidation, as the current administrator appears to be suggesting.

"Given that no creditor or new buyer has agreed to step forward yet in this short time to fund this administration process run by PKF, it appears that liquidation may be the only way PKF would be able to get paid.

"Otherwise, we don't understand why after only two weeks on from their appointment - Trevor Birch and PKF want to register on their record a liquidation of this very proud club.

"We, on the other hand, call on all parties involved to work together to try to find any other solution that liquidation of a football club that has been in existence since 1898."

It emerged the 36-year-old former England and Liverpool striker was in training with Ian Holloway's side with a view to a permanent deal.

Speaking after the Seasiders' 1-1 draw with with Hull, Holloway confirmed discussions with Fowler were due to take place.

"My chairman has got to talk to the boy himself tomorrow," he said. "I don't put pressure on my chairman. I don't understand what Robbie wants, it's none of my business. I've only spoken to him about football.

"I think he knows he could do it, I think he knows he would enjoy it and I think he knows I know he could do it.

"So it's all about him really. I don't know what he's been paid in the past and I don't know what he's thinking about now, but I just hope with all my heart that he's the same as the rest of my lads and wants to come here and work for me and don't really care about the money."

"He might just want to be part of something that might be special in his life right now, because we might have a chance of going up again and I think it would be an even bigger miracle than when we did it before."

Having seen Fowler at close quarters this week, Holloway is in little doubt that the striker can still be an asset at Championship level.

"I still think he's got loads of mileage in him," he said. "Wouldn't that be nice if I took off Kevin Phillips and popped on Robbie Fowler? Am I at Blackpool or not?

"He's the first trialist I've ever asked for his autograph!

"The whole place has got a lift. It wouldn't work if he didn't have that appetite to keep going and keep playing and keep doing it. He could easily retire if he wanted to. I love his enthusiasm."

On the field, Blackpool dominated for the majority of its contest but only had Tom Ince's fine first-half strike to show for its endeavours before succumbing to Hull's spirited late rally.

Matty Fryatt reacted quickest to steer home James Chester's knockdown in the 90th minute to leave fourth-placed Blackpool without a home win in their last three attempts.

"I think we played a lot better tonight than we have in recent weeks," Holloway added. "I thought we put a very strong defensive unit under more pressure than I've seen anyone put them under in the last couple of months.

"I feel pretty aggrieved that we haven't got all three points.

"I was delighted with the performance. I thought on a really bad surface we took the element of us making mistakes out of it."

Hull boss Nick Barmby praised his side's resilience after a difficult opening period.

"I'm pleased with the character we showed. First half it was a mixture of Blackpool playing well and us being very sloppy," he said.

"To come back into the game and play the way we did second half shows the character of the boys.

"We passed the ball a lot better second half, created a number of chances and the subs came on and injected a bit of pace and energy into us.

"Our starting positions were a lot better second half and we caused them a lot of problems."

The central England clubs missed a March 1 deadline to file reports with the Football League, which oversees the second-tier League Championship in which both play.

Birmingham, which was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, blamed Friday's decision on delayed auditing following the arrest on money laundering charges of owner Carson Yeung.

Coventry said it is waiting for its owner to approve its budget.

"We have to be able to show committed funding out for the next financial year and, at this stage, we could not do this," Coventry chief executive Tim Fisher said.

"There is nothing untoward about this and it is perfectly normal to be negotiating funding with the owner. We would hope to secure funding commitments in the very next few weeks.

"The owner has previously funded the club for a period of more than four years and is currently reviewing our budget proposal for the coming year."

Although regular transfers are not possible between the end of the January transfer window and the end of the season, clubs can still sign out-of-contract players or bring in players on loan.

"While the situation is far from ideal, we are confident it will be resolved very soon," Fisher said.

Hong Kong-based Yeung was charged in June with five counts of money laundering involving more than $US92 million ($A85.5 million).

Yeung acquired Birmingham in October 2009 in a takeover worth $130 million but, despite ending a 48-year streak without a major trophy by winning the League Cup, the club was relegated from the Premier League last season.

The charges against Yeung involve money deposited in bank accounts from January 2001 to December 2007.

"The delay in filing the financial statements is occasioned due to the delayed audit processes ... due to the arrest and freezing of the assets of the club's main benefactor and changes to banking arrangements," Birmingham said in a statement.

"The draft financial statements are prepared and it is understood that these will be finalised and published by the end of April."

Birmingham recently signed three players. Peter Ramage joined on loan from Premier League side Queens Park Rangers, while Caleb Folan and Cian Hughton were free agents.

The Football League has already deducted 10 points from Portsmouth, which won the FA Cup in 2008 but was relegated two years later, after the club entered bankruptcy protection.

Pompey's administrator said this week the club may not have enough money to stay in business until the end of the season.

The 36-year-old has played in Australia and Thailand since leaving English football four years ago after a brief spell at Blackburn Rovers.

He was set to appear in the new Premier League Soccer (PLS) competition in India before its latest postponement forced him to head back to north-west England, where he made his name with Liverpool.

Now Fowler is training at nearby Blackpool, which was relegated from the lucrative English Premier League last season and is pushing for an immediate return to the top flight from the second-tier Championship.

In a series of posts on its official Twitter page, Blackpool said: "Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has trained with the club today (Thursday) with a view to signing a permanent deal.

"No deal has yet been agreed but (Blackpool manager) Ian Holloway revealed in his press conference the striker has impressed and is close to full fitness."

Blackpool faces Hull on Saturday (AEDT) but the club dismissed suggestions Fowler would sign in time to face a side managed by former Liverpool teammate Nick Barmby.

Birch says Pompey, which entered administration last month, will not receive parachute payments from the Premier League as it will go straight to former owner Sacha Gaydamak.

In a statement on the club's website, www.portsmouthfc.co.uk, Birch said: "Following our discussions with the Premier League and Football League over the past few days, it has emerged that Portsmouth Football Club is unlikely to receive any further parachute payments or other league funding.

"We had previously stated that there was a real danger of the club running out of cash before the end of the season.

"The risk of this happening increases substantially without the money from the football authorities. Unless something significant happens, there is a real possibility that we may not be able to fulfil the season's fixtures.

"One potential issue appears to come from the assignment of £2.2million of parachute payments that was made by the old company to a previous owner. We have instructed lawyers to challenge this, but the process may take time."

The loss to Liverpool on penalties was the Bluebirds' third straight defeat in a final at the new stadium, having also missed out on the 2008 FA Cup and 2010 Championship play-off final there.

Cardiff is currently sixth in the Championship, ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion and Middlesbrough on goal difference only.

Its form has taken a dip in the last month and it has lost four of the last five matches in all competitions.

But with automatic promotion looking unlikely, with second-placed West Ham United eight points to the good, Tien Ghee would have no worries about going back to Wembley for another play-off final in May.

"This is football. If we need to do it, coming to Wembley, then we will continue to do it until we succeed," he said.

"Coming to Wembley is special, it means we are competitive.

"I've been here twice now and not many teams get the chance to come here. But I don't take Wembley for granted.

"I would like to do it a little bit easier if I could because my heart couldn't take it."

Asked whether he felt Cardiff could still claim an automatic promotion spot, he added: "It is a very difficult, tight league but we will do our level best.

"This is football. Anything can happen."

Tien Ghee, who was part of a consortium headed by multi-millionaire Malaysian owner Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee which bought the club in 2010, stressed they had a long-term strategy and were prepared to be patient.

"I just extended (manager) Malky Mackay's contract," he said.

"This shows I am here for the long term and I just want to see this Welsh club go up.

"We are going to do our very best to do that.

"It was a disappointing way to lose (to Liverpool) of course, but we feel we had the moral victory and we are very happy."

Less than 14 months after Dalglish answered the SOS call of owner John Henry, the Scot guided Liverpool to a Carling Cup triumph over Cardiff City at Wembley.

That it had to come from behind before drawing 2-2 and then survive the shock of failing to convert its first two penalties in a shoot-out that saw it squeeze home 3-2 matters little. Silverware is back on the sideboard and Dalglish intends it to remain there.

"Although we have won something today, that is not us finished," he said.

"We don't want to stop here, we want to keep going. It (Liverpool) means an awful lot to a lot of people.

"All we do is try to make them as happy as we possibly can. Today we have been able to do that. Hopefully it makes up for some of the days when we have not been able to."

After Martin Skrtel had levelled Joe Mason's surprise opener, Dirk Kuyt thought he had won it in extra-time, only for Cardiff to bravely rally and Ben Turner to take the contest to penalties.

Steven Gerrard was amongst those to miss but the fact his cousin Anthony failed at the at the last to give Liverpool the cup made it a bitter-sweet occasion for the Reds skipper.

"The game had to be settled some way and we feel for Anthony Gerrard, who missed the vital one that meant we won the trophy," said Dalglish.

"We are delighted to have won the trophy. Throughout the whole competition, we have deserved it. We have played well and come through some really hard games."

Dalglish refused to take personal credit for the transformation in Liverpool's fortunes since he replaced Roy Hodgson.

And, whilst he accepted the euphoria at winning a trophy could inspire his players to more, the Scot insists nothing will be achieved without a strong team ethic.

"I don't think anyone who has ever won a trophy has come away from it saying they didn't enjoy it," said Dalglish.

"If you do something and you enjoy it, you are going to want more of it. It is logical. The idea six years ago was not to go six years without winning a trophy.

"We are where we are now because of the work everyone has done, not just me.

"The owners, the supporters, the players, everyone has chipped in.

"We have said that all along. The closer we are, the stronger we will be together."

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay refused to dwell on the bleak outcome. Instead he heaped praise on his own players for the defiant manner of their display.

"The boys are disappointed but they have lost with dignity," he said.

"We had belief we could win this game and to take one of the top teams in England to penalties makes me very proud of that group of players."

Mackay reflected on the moment two minutes from the end of the game, when Kenny Miller turned to shoot inside the Liverpool box but missed, as the point when he thought the cup was won. Instead, Cardiff had to drag itself through an additional half-hour, and the mentally draining pressure of penalties and now must pick itself up for a Championship promotion fight.

Whilst it would be tempting to suggest Cardiff's hopes may suffer as a direct result of this disappointment, Mackay does not feel that is a fair assessment.

"Maybe if we had been beaten five or six, the question would have been valid," he said. "As it is, I don't think it is.

"We can take a lot of self-belief from getting to the final of a 92-club competition and taking a team at the top of the Premier League to penalties.

"We have 14 games to go and we are among 10 teams who can get into those play-off positions.

"We will patch up our squad and give it the best shot we have got from now until the end of the season."

The 26-year-old, on as a substitute in extra-time, missed the penalty in a shoot-out which gave the Merseyside outfit a record eighth League Cup.

It was cruel not only on the defender - who was consoled by his cousin at the end - but the rest of his team which had seen its early lead overtaken but remained resilient and found the strength to snatch an equaliser with two minutes of an absorbing final remaining.

Joe Mason had given the Bluebirds a first-half lead but goals from Martin Skrtel and, in extra-time, Dirk Kuyt had put Kenny Dalglish's side within touching distance of the trophy before Ben Turner pegged it back.

So it went to spot-kicks, where Liverpool had lost only two in 12 previously, and although the early efforts were poor, Glen Johnson scored the fifth and Gerrard missed.

Its first visit to Wembley in 16 years was eventually worth the wait and the hope at Anfield, and among fans, will be that this cup will be the start of another era filled with silverware.

Over the last 40 years the Reds have won a trophy early in the decade and gone on to add to it.

In Dalglish they certainly have someone who knows plenty about accumulating cups of every kind and this victory put him alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho as the only managers to win all three major domestic competitions.

Liverpool also equalled Manchester United's record of 15 domestic cup wins.

Things looked like they would go to plan for Dalglish's side when the Cardiff crossbar was rattled inside two minutes.

Steven Gerrard raced 60 yards on a quick counter-attack but Johnson's shot which beat goalkeeper Tom Heaton and came back off the crossbar, with Gerrard blazing over the rebound, was the closest it came to threatening Cardiff's goal in the first half.

The Bluebirds created two better chances and, crucially, converted one.

Having snatched at a shot from Don Cowie's clever movement and backheel Kenny Miller did not make the same mistake twice.

The former Rangers front man was afforded all the time and space he required in the 19th minute when he picked up the ball just outside the area.

When Daniel Agger eventually closed him down Miller slid a pass into the space behind the centre-back where Mason collected and fired beyond Jose Reina.

The rest of the half saw Liverpool dominate but rarely trouble Cardiff.

Stewart Downing was its most creative outlet with a succession of crosses from the left but the Bluebirds dealt with them well enough, relying on Liverpool's over-complication and profligacy.

Charlie Adam flashed a low drive narrowly wide of Heaton's left-hand post while late in the half Andy Carroll was denied a clear close-range shooting opportunity when Cardiff captain Mark Hudson's outstretched leg hooked the ball away.

Liverpool fans tried to evoke memories of their second-half comeback in Istanbul in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final with a rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' at the break.

The situation was not quite as dire as that night but certainly Dalglish's side needed to find more composure and its clinical side.

Luis Suarez was starting to have more of an influence and drew the first real save from Heaton with an angled shot and was denied by Kevin McNaughton's perfectly-timed intervention just as he was about to unload from close range.

The appearance of former Cardiff striker and boyhood fan Craig Bellamy for the ineffectual Jordan Henderson brought, probably for the first time in cup final history, a standing ovation from both sets of fans.

Liverpool's salvation, however, was to come from an unexpected source.

Downing's 60th-minute corner was nodded on by Carroll to Suarez whose header came back off the post and Skrtel showed the composure in front of goal unbefitting a centre-back by taking a touch and slamming home the equaliser.

Turner had a chance to be Cardiff's hero with six minutes to go but planted his far-post header into the side-netting.

Miller should have won it for the Bluebirds in normal time when a quickly-taken free-kick caught the defence napping but the Scot, in acres of space in the penalty area, shot over with the goal at his mercy.

Barely a minute into extra-time Andrew Taylor cleared Suarez's header from a Bellamy corner off the line before Anthony Gerrard finally got the chance to square-up against his more illustrious cousin when Hudson was forced off with cramp.

Three minutes into the second period of extra-time Liverpool took the lead when Kuyt drilled home the rebound from his own cross.

The Dutchman then headed a shot off the line but got himself in a tangle at the resulting corner to allow Turner to force penalties.

In the shoot-out which followed Steven Gerrard and Adam missed for Liverpool, Miller, Rudy Gestede and Anthony Gerrard for Cardiff.

Lambert glanced in a header for the opener and good build-up play from Morgan Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana set up the striker to double Saints' advantage.

He then rounded off his treble in the 73rd minute to send the Saints a point clear of West Ham United, which played out a goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace.

The promotion-chasing Hammers had goalkeeper Rob Green to thank for keeping them in the game in the first half, and then some wayward finishing - substitute Sam Baldock went close twice - cost them after the break.

Reading moved into third place with a 2-0 victory at play-off rival Middlesbrough.

Alex Pearce's knock-down was swept home by Noel Hunt via the underside of the bar to give Reading an 18th-minute lead.

A free-kick from Ian Harte 10 minutes from time then put the result beyond Boro, which slips four points behind its opponent.

Birmingham City dropped a place to fourth after a surprise 2-1 loss at home to lowly Nottingham Forest.

Dexter Blackstock fired Forest in front after 29 minutes, with Chris Burke equalising for the home side 10 minutes into the second half.

However, Blackstock struck again after 63 minutes to move Forest three points clear of the drop zone.

Millwall also put breathing space between itself and the bottom three with a 3-1 win at Burnley.

First-half goals from Andy Keogh and Josh Wright put the Lions in the driving seat with Harry Kane putting the match beyond Burnley after 70 minutes.

A last-minute penalty from Jay Rodriguez proved little more than a consolation for the home side.

Blackpool moved into the play-off places with a 3-1 victory at Bristol City.

The visitor was trailing to Jon Stead's first-half strike, but turned things around after the interval with two goals from Thomas Ince plus a Kevin Phillips effort.

Ashley Barnes scored twice as Brighton & Hove Albion maintained its play-off push with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Ipswich Town.

Craig Mackail-Smith gave the Seagulls the lead after 20 minutes with Barnes adding his double in the second half.

Doncaster Rovers remains at the foot of the table after conceding in the dying seconds in a 1-1 draw with Peterborough United.

Giles Barnes scored in first-half injury-time to give Rovers the lead, but that was cancelled out by Tyrone Barnett.

A last-minute goal by Clive Platt snatched a 1-0 victory for Coventry City against Barnsley, while the match between struggling Portsmouth and Leeds United finished goalless.

Wolves is on the hunt for a new boss after the sacking of Mick McCarthy after five-and-a-half years in charge.

Steve Bruce and Alan Curbishley have been touted as the frontrunners for the vacancy at the Premier League struggler but Poyet also appears to have been on the radar at some stage.

Wolves had previously denied reports it has made an approach for Poyet who, though, spoke after his side's 0-0 draw at Hull City.

"There was an approach but it came and went.

"I didn't have any decisions to make, anything to think about. I was not involved at all.

"It was not difficult for me, I was not involved at any time."

The Uruguayan signed a five-year deal with the Championship Seagulls in September 2011 and despite admitting he is keen to manage in the top flight, he feels he could fulfil his ambitions at the Amex Stadium.

"I've said a few times that we all aim for the same - players want to play at the highest level, I want to manage in the Premier League," the former Chelsea midfielder added.

"At the moment the easiest way will be in the next two or three years or whatever it takes with Brighton.

"If we don't then I need to move on because I want to manage at the top. I'm not going to lie to people. I don't want to wait 20 years but it doesn't need to happen now.

"If something happens or comes along I will think about it, talk to the chairman - he's the main one - and we'll see. These are all the things you cannot control so I'm relaxed about it."

Having led Brighton to the League One title last season, earning the manager of the year award along the way, the 44-year-old is content to continue shaping the south coast club's future.

"I'm very lucky where I am," he added. "I can get the players for the style I play, I can get involved in the new academy and part of the building of the new training ground.

"It's a great place to be. I'm saying I'm not in a hurry, I signed a long-term contract because I want to be here."

Morrison, who completed an undisclosed switch to Upton Park from Manchester United at the end of January, is reported to have made the comment in response to another Twitter user.

The 19-year-old was also warned as to his future conduct by the FA after he admitted a charge of using abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation.

Morrison was charged by the FA last Wednesday and quickly admitted his actions ahead of Wednesday's punishment, for which he requested a non-personal hearing.

An FA statement read: "West Ham United's Ravel Morrison has been fined £7,000 and warned as to his future conduct after he admitted a charge of using abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation.

"The charge was in relation to comments Morrison made on Twitter."

Morrison, who is yet to make his Hammers debut, has not enjoyed the smoothest of starts to his career with the Championship club having also been involved in various off-field controversies while at Old Trafford.

Manchester United allowed the teenager to leave despite him being rated as one of the finest prospects to come out of the club in recent years.

The Championship club has announced McDermott, who was operating under a 12-month rolling contract, has committed himself to the Madejski Stadium until the northern summer of 2015.

Wolves had identified McDermott as a potential candidate to replace the sacked Mick McCarthy but those hopes have now been dashed.

A Reading statement read: "We are delighted to announce that manager Brian McDermott has this afternoon agreed a new contract to keep him at Madejski Stadium until the summer of 2015.

"Brian is one of the brightest managers outside the Premier League, and it is a major coup for the club to have secured his services for another three and a half years.

"Since the announcement of potential investment from Thames Sport Investment Ltd, securing Brian on a long-term contract has been one of Sir John Madejski and Anton Zingarevich's top priorities.

"With speculation this week linking our manager to the Premier League, the timing of this agreement is absolutely perfect for our club."

McDermott replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager in January 2010 after an initial successful caretaker spell which included a shock FA Cup win over Liverpool at Anfield.

McDermott steered the Royals to last season's play-off final, where they lost to Rodgers' Swansea City, and they are making another strong promotion challenge this season.

The statement from Reading added: "Both the club and TSI share the view that stability is an absolute cornerstone of success.

"This (contract) agreement shows the strides we are making now that TSI is on board, and the bright future ahead for our club.

"With a win percentage of close to 50%, Brian's record as our manager is nothing short of phenomenal.

"With 50 points from the last 25 games, his team are very well positioned in the npower Championship. The new contract reflects his track record and ability, and protects both him and the club for the long term."

Reading chairman Sir John Madejski said: "I am absolutely delighted that Brian has signed and this is a very, very important day for our club.

"Everybody knows how highly we rate him and he has more than repaid the faith we showed when we appointed him. He is a top manager.

"In the space of two years he has not only taken us to the play-off final and to two quarter-finals of the FA Cup, he has done so in a manner befitting Reading Football Club.

"He is extremely well respected by the staff, players and of course the supporters and I know this news will be very well received by our fans."

Madejski added: "From day one both myself and Anton wanted to secure Brian's services as it was only a matter of time before he was mentioned in connection with other clubs.

"These processes take time and we have today come to a fantastic agreement that puts our club on an even more secure footing going forward.

"With the team doing so well at the moment, it is truly a very exciting time to be a Reading fan and I for one cannot wait for the rest of the season."

McDermott's commitment to Reading was a second blow to Wolves after Alan Curbishley rejected a second bid from it to become McCarthy's successor.

The identities of those made redundant has not been divulged, with no-one at the Championship club available to comment on speculation chief executive David Lampitt is one of those affected.

Pompey's players and staff have not been paid since December and the cost-cutting measures also involve this continuing for some at the club, most likely high earners, on an 'ongoing basis', while a host of full-time staff are also being asked to go part-time.

The moves come after Portsmouth entered administration for a second time in two years last Friday, resulting in an immediate 10-point deduction which has subsequently plunged the south-coast outfit into the Championship's bottom three.

In a statement on the club's official website, joint administrator Trevor Birch revealed the financial meltdown at Fratton Park 'is more serious than many people had expected' and added the club could run of of money within the next couple of months.

Birch's statement read: "We have had no choice but to take the difficult decision to make a number of redundancies across all levels and departments within Portsmouth Football Club.

"Additionally, we are asking certain employees to defer wages on an ongoing basis and are asking several members of staff to move from a full-time to a part-time role.

"These measures are painful for everyone involved with the club, but they are essential for Portsmouth's survival, which is our main objective.

"They are in no way a reflection of the performance of the club's hard-working staff, who have remained loyal and supportive throughout this difficult time.

"Our initial analysis of the club's financial position has revealed that the situation is more serious than many people had expected."

The statement continued: "We have been brought in to try to rescue a business with significant financial problems. To put it bluntly, Portsmouth Football Club has a Premier League cost base but only Championship income. This is not a sustainable situation and one that needs to be addressed urgently if the club is to continue to exist.

"As things stand, there is a serious risk that the club could run out of cash within the next couple of months. I recognise that this is not the news that anyone wants to hear but burying our heads in the sand will not help anyone.

"Today's redundancies will make a difference to the club's financial position but there are sure to be further challenges ahead of us. Portsmouth's survival depends on us being able to find a buyer for the club before the money runs out."

The initial plan was to appoint a manager with top-flight experience and former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce remains in the wings waiting to see if he will be granted a second interview.

But Wolves owner Steve Morgan and chief executive Jez Moxey have now turned their attention to the leading lights of the Championship and are set to seek permission to speak to McDermott.

Brighton & Hove Albion's Gus Poyet is also attracting interest although Wolves has denied reports it has made an approach.

But in any case a compensation figure believed to be around £2 million ($2.97 million) - Poyet still has four years left of his contract - is likely to prove a stumbling block.

Sacked Huddersfield Tow boss Lee Clark is the bookmakers second favourite behind Bruce but is believed not to have been approached.

It is McDermott who is understood to be at the forefront of Wolves' current plans and being only on a one-year rolling contract means compensation would be considerably less than that for Poyet.

He led the Royals to the play-off final last May and has mounted another strong promotion push this season after the £9 million ($13.35 million) sale of striker Shane Long, to West Bromwich Albion, and defender Matt Mills, to Leicester City.

The former Arsenal winger has shown himself capable of working under financial constraints and brought in Kaspars Gorkss and Adam Le Fondre as replacements for Long and Mills for a total £1.2 million ($1.78 million).

McDermott replaced Brendan Rodgers as Reading caretaker manager in December 2009 and earned the job on a full-time basis the following month after Reading achieved a shock FA Cup win over Liverpool.

He will also have the support in the Wolves dressing room of striker Kevin Doyle and midfielder Stephen Hunt who worked with him at Reading.

Bruce impressed when meeting Morgan and Moxey last Friday and has the Premier League experience earned during 10 years with Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.

But there has been a negative reaction to his possible appointment from some sections of Wolves fans.

McCarthy's number two, Terry Connor, is currently in charge of the squad preparing for this weekend's trip to Newcastle United but progress in finding McCarthy's successor is slower than initially anticipated.

Green was dismissed for hauling down Roman Bednar with his side 2-1 ahead and midfielder Henri Lansbury was forced to take over in the net, but Sam Allardyce's side eventually eased home to leapfrog Southampton in the table.

James Tomkins headed home a Mark Noble free-kick in the 28th minute and Nicky Maynard added a second goal four minutes later before Kevin Phillips responded for the home side on the stroke of half-time.

The Hammers were holding on after Green's red card until Gary O'Neil drilled home his side's third in the 74th minute to increase the advantage. Ricardo Vaz Te struck the visitor's fourth in injury-time.

Chris Hughton's Birmingham City jumped to third after a convincing 3-1 win over Barnsley at Oakwell.

A Rob Edwards own goal after eight minutes put Birmingham in front and despite Craig Davies' equaliser, the visitor guaranteed the points through Keith Fahey's 27th-minute strike and a late Nathan Redmond effort.

Two goals from Marvin Emnes moved Middlesbrough back into the play-off zone and heaped more woe on struggling Millwall as Tony Mowbray's men triumped 3-1 at the New Den.

Emnes' first-half double put the visitor well in control and despite a goal for Millwall from Darius Henderson just before the break, Curtis Main sealed the points by firing home four minutes from time.

The 29-year-old Poland international has made 61 appearances for the Red Devils since arriving in the northern summer 2006 but has not featured for the first team this season, with David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard the first two choices between the posts for manager Sir Alex Ferguson after Edwin van der Sar's retirement.

Kuszczak started his professional career with Hertha Berlin and moved to England in 2004 when he signed for West Bromwich Albion. He switched to Old Trafford in July 2006, initially on loan from the Baggies before penning a permanent deal the following northern summer.

Both clubs confirmed the deal, with Watford adding that he will wear the number 35 shirt and was taking part in his first training session on Tuesday afternoon.

Kuszczak will battle for the gloves with former England Under-21 keeper Scott Loach, who has played in 31 of the Hornets' 35 games so far this term.

The deal, expected to be signed soon, would see Manset play alongside Nicolas Anelka, who arrived in China last week to play for Shenhua - the most high-profile foreign footballer ever to sign for the Chinese league.

Manset, 22, is currently on the books of Championship club Reading and will reportedly be loaned to Shenhua for six months.

The short-term contract is designed to give Manset a chance to play in the English Premier League next season, the official Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted a Shenhua official as saying.

The Shanghai club declined to comment on Tuesday.

Shenhua has already signed up four other foreign players, including former Chelsea striker Anelka.

The others are Joel Griffiths, Brazilian Moises Moura Pinheiro and Serbian national Mario Bozic, according to Shenhua.

Anelka has also expressed hopes that his former team-mate, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, will join him at Shenhua but he said it would be up to management. Shenhua has confirmed it is in talks with Drogba.

The 23-year-old Australia international, who has attracted attention from a host of Premier League clubs in recent months, has opted to remain at the Riverside Stadium after starring in Boro's Championship promotion bid this season.

Williams said: "I've always said I wanted to stay. I'm happy here and that's the main thing. I'm settled and get on well with the manager and the lads.

"I've no reason to leave, except for my dream of playing in the Premier League - and I want to get there with his club."

Liam Bridcutt twice found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, whilst Lewis Dunk's disastrous attempt at controlling a Luis Suarez cross also ended in calamity.

In front thanks to Martin Skrtel, only to be pegged back by Kazenga Lua Lua's excellent effort, Liverpool cruised home with Andy Carroll capping an outstanding display with his third goal in 10 games before setting up Suarez, who had earlier missed a penalty, to complete the Reds biggest win since September 2009.

"I watched the goals on the computer," said Poyet.

"There are a few funny ones in there. They were comic goals.

"I haven't spoken to the players about it. There were so many individual mistakes it would take all day.

"I made changes at 3-1 and I am responsible for what happened afterwards. But I don't like it and I didn't enjoy it.

"I learned a lot. I hope my players did the same."

Brighton certainly learned that Liverpool can manage perfectly well without the assistance it was offered.

Despite the visitor's best efforts, fair and foul, Carroll refused to be shackled, Steven Gerrard was his usual rampaging self and Suarez, after all that recent controversy, edged further towards top form.

It was the trio's first start together and the timing was perfect given Liverpool will look to secure its first trophy since 2006 when it takes on Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final at Wembley.

"The three of them are fantastic footballers and they played really well today," said Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish.

"The more any team gets iconic players like they are on the pitch the better chance they have of being successful.

"But we have got more than three players.

"The fact we have done as well as we have and that was the first time the three of them have started a match tells you how well the other boys have done.

"We will stand and be counted as a squad and I don't think we have done too badly this year."

Dalglish confirmed absent duo Craig Bellamy and Daniel Agger should both be fit for Liverpool's first Wembley appearance since 1996.

And Carroll has certainly done his chances of a starting berth no harm whatsoever with a powerful display.

Were it not for his £35 million ($51.46 million) pricetag, the former Newcastle United star might be judged rather less severely by his critics.

However, Dalglish insists Britain's costliest player has nothing to prove on Merseyside.

"We have always been positive, and we always will be," said the Liverpool boss.

"We will always be supportive of any player who comes to this football club.

"It doesn't matter what his name is. We will judge him and we will judge whether we are happy or unhappy."

Suarez will have to get used to being jeered by opposition fans given the Brighton supporters abused him, even though their manager Poyet has been one of his fellow Uruguayan's staunchest supporters.

And, after Dalglish admitted to the error of asking Suarez to take Liverpool's penalty after Dirk Kuyt had been fouled in the box, even Poyet admitted he was delighted that Suarez got his name on the scoresheet.

"Yes," he said. "Especially after the penalty.

"It wasn't a matter of conceding one more. He needed it. It was important for him."

Liam Bridcutt twice turned the ball into his own net, the first, just before half-time after Kazenga Lua Lua had levelled Martin Skrtel's early header, proving crucial.

Lewis Dunk also scored an own goal, although Reds boss Kenny Dalglish will be more pleased that man-of-the-match Andy Carroll was also on target before setting up Luis Suarez, who had already missed a penalty he was urged to take by Dalglish.

Stevenage defied the odds and put on an impressive display to hold Tottenham Hotspur to a goalless draw in its fifth-round tie at the Lamex Stadium.

The League One side started the day 47 places below Spurs in the league ladder, but it more than held its own with some dogged tackling and confident passing in midfield.

Carlo Cudicini saved well from Scott Laird's header in the first half and Joel Byrom blasted just over in the second period while Tottenham had a goal ruled out for offside.

Crawley Town was unable to provide an FA Cup upset as 10-man Stoke City secured progression to the quarter-finals, a 2-0 winner in Sussex.

Stoke was on the backfoot for most of the opening 45 minutes and its League Two opponent went close when Peter Crouch hit his own crossbar.

Stoke's task became harder when it had Rory Delap sent off for a challenge on David Hunt after 17 minutes, but Jon Walters netted a penalty as half-time approached before Crouch added a second goal seven minutes after the restart to seal the win.

With title rival West Ham United not in action, the Saints went two points clear at the summit having played two more matches.

Jos Hooiveld got the ball rolling in the 15th minute before second-half strikes from Aaron Martin, Adam Lallana and Tadanari Lee.

New Leeds United manager Neil Warnock was on hand to watch the club come from two behind to claim a dramatic 3-2 win against Doncaster Rovers in Neil Redfearn's final match as caretaker boss.

Mamadou Bagayoko scored in each half to give Rovers control of the match, but Andros Townsend hit back within a minute of the second and Adam Clayton levelled 10 minutes from time.

Luciano Becchio then struck nine minutes into injury-time to secure the points.

Nottingham Forest moved off bottom spot and to within three points of safety with a 2-0 defeat of fellow relegation battler Coventry City at the City Ground.

Forest has struggled for goals all year but first Garath McCleary (74) and then Robbie Findley (86) found the target against the Sky Blues.

Fourth-placed Cardiff City was brushed aside with surprising ease by Ipswich Town, which celebrated a 3-0 win at Portman Road.

Lee Martin scored in each half and Michael Chopra netted three minutes after the interval to down the Bluebirds.

Peterborough United also won 3-0 against visiting Bristol City, which now sits fourth bottom.

Lee Tomlin (7, 84) started and finished the scoring, with David Ball notching after 62 minutes.

Crystal Palace romped to a 4-0 home win over Watford, Chris Martin scoring twice.

Wilfried Zaha had broken the deadlock in the 22nd minute and Kagisho Dikgacoi rounded off the scoring just after an hour's play.

Portsmouth, which this week entered administration again, had Dave Kitson sent off for two cautions after 42 minutes but held on with a man down for over half-an-hour against Barnsley.

Jim O'Brien eventually made the numbers count in the 76th minute and Matt Done made it 2-0 in the closing seconds.

The result at the New Den comes as a welcome respite for Coyle after last weekend's Premier League defeat to Wigan Athletic left Bolton languishing in 19th place and he was quick to single out Miyaichi for individual praise.

"His second-half performance against Wigan last week was terrific, and from that moment there was no doubt he was going to start today," he said.

"He showed what a talent he is. There's other stuff he can learn, but he's brave and tough - he stood up to some of the treatment he got today - and he always plays with a smile on his face, which I absolutely love."

Coyle revealed he has been a long-term admirer of the precocious 19-year-old and was determined to bring him in on loan from Arsenal.

"First and foremost I am a football fan and I want to be excited by some of the players I've got in my team, and Ryo Miyaichi certainly does that," he said.

"In football terms he is a baby, a kid. I saw when Arsenal brought him in and then watched him on loan at Feyenoord last year, and he always caught my eye.

"I spoke to Arsene a few times about him and did everything I could to get him to the football club."

Miyaichi opened the scoring for Bolton in the fourth minute after a quick free-kick from Sam Ricketts and the tie was sealed when David Ngog scored a long-range effort in the second half.

The performance pleased Coyle who was expecting a tough match.

"I know from both my playing and coaching days how difficult any cup tie can be," he said.

"I've been an underdog many, many times. I think we started well. It probably took Millwall 15 or 20 minutes to get into the game, but when they did they had a few corners and a bit of pressure.

"We stood up to what was always going to be a difficult test. We defended well - Tim Ream had a terrific debut."

Millwall boss Kenny Jackett questioned the decision that led to the opening goal and felt his side's lack of a cutting edge cost it.

"Whether it was a free-kick or not is debatable but they took it quick and to give a Premier League side a start like that is disappointing and gave them something to hold onto - basically after that their game plan was to sit deep," he said.

"We had a lot of good possession and some good moves without being able to get that goal. There were some key moments - their fullback (Gretar Steinsson) nearly scoring an own goal in the first half and then a good double-save by the goalkeeper.

"We need one of those moments to break for us because that would have obviously got us back into the game."

Jackett wants his team to learn from the game but insisted his players can be proud of their efforts.

"They have got a good ball retention about them and the first pass is always very safe and it is something we have to learn from," he said.

"It was a good run in the FA Cup and we haven't disgraced ourselves today but we have to look forward very quickly now."

The match came only three days after the Gunners' crushing 4-0 UEFA Champions League defeat against AC Milan and a week after its last-gasp Premier League win at the Stadium of Light.

Again it was Sunderland which took the lead through Kieran Richardson's volley five minutes before half-time but this time there was no way back for Arsene Wenger's side and the 2-0 result was sealed by an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain own goal in the 78th minute.

Daniel Sturridge rescued Chelsea from humiliation but it did nothing to ease the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas as Birmingham City secured a shock FA Cup fifth-round replay with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The home side's season was in danger of hitting a new low when its latest defensive calamity allowed David Murphy to give the visitor a surprise half-time lead.

Colin Doyle also brilliantly saved a Juan Mata penalty and, although Sturridge eventually equalised, Chelsea simply did not do enough to find a winner.

Chelsea and Birmingham will be joined in the hat for the quarter-final draw by Leicester City, which stunned Premier League Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road thanks to David Nugent's second-half strike.

Canaries captain Wes Hoolahan earlier slotted home an equaliser from the rebound after his spot-kick had been saved by Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, that goal cancelling out Sean St Ledger's opener.

There were no such worries for Everton or Bolton Wanderers against Championship opposition, though, the top-flight clubs securing 2-0 wins over Blackpool and Millwall respectively.

Royston Drenthe fired home in the first minute for the Toffees at Goodison Park before Denis Stracqualursi was the quickest to react in a goalmouth scramble to double the lead five minutes later. Kevin Phillips missed a late penalty for the Tangerines.

Bolton Wanderers appeared to enjoy the distraction of the cup as it clinched its place in the quarter-finals against Millwall at the New Den.

Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyaichi showed strength, speed and great composure to curl the ball into the far corner in the fourth minute and David Ngog gave it breathing space with a second goal just before the hour.

The widely-travelled 63-year-old has agreed a contract which commits him to the Elland Road club until the end of next season.

Leeds chairman Ken Bates said: "We believe the appointment is arguably the most important we have made.

"The objective was to appoint a manager who had for a proven track record of getting teams promoted and in Neil we have a man whose record is second to none.

"We want to be in the Premier League and we will support Neil in the quest to get us there."

The 63-year-old is a free agent after losing his job at Queens Park Rangers last month and has been linked with the vacancies at Wolverhampton Wanderers and former club Huddersfield Town, both of whom parted company with their managers.

But Elland Road seems to be Warnock's next home, with United owner Ken Bates looking to fill the gap created by Simon Grayson`s departure on February 1.

Warnock was photographed meeting Bates and Leeds chief executive Shaun Harvey in Bates's home city of Monaco and Press Association Sport understands he has been interviewed for the post.

Writing in his column in the Independent, Warnock admitted he is ready to return to the dugout.

"It's been an interesting week," he said.

"There are possibilities cropping up that may offer the chance to get back into the game and I have to admit they whet my appetite.

"There are good clubs looking for a manager - my old club Huddersfield, one of the top six clubs in England in Leeds, as well as Premier League Wolves.

"All top clubs and each offers a different opportunity for the right person. I'm not writing anything off regarding taking a job on until the end of the season."

A High Court hearing in London confirmed Championship club Portsmouth had gone into administration, a development which brings with it an automatic 10-point penalty from Football League chiefs.

However, Pompey may face an even bigger points deduction given it is the second time in as many years that the cash-strapped south coast club has gone into administration.

Portsmouth faces a winding-up hearing next week over an unpaid tax bill, while players and staff at the club have not been paid since January. The club's debts have been estimated at around £4 million ($5.88 million).

Before Friday's hearing, Portsmouth was languishing in 18th place in the Championship, but the 10-point penalty would see it drop to 21st place, just outside the relegation zone ahead of Coventry City on goal difference.

Portsmouth bosses said earlier this week that the club had applied to go into administration and a hearing is listed at the High Court in London.

Two years ago, Portsmouth became the first Premier League club to enter administration.

It has since been relegated to the English Championship and stands 18th in the league table.

On Monday, the club said in a statement: "Portsmouth Football Club today made an application to the High Court to go into administration.

"The club will not enter administration until the court endorses the application and appoints an administrator."

Officials said a hearing was due Friday (local time).

Portsmouth's parent company, Convers Sports Initiatives, went into administration in November.

Hughton had been mentioned as an outsider for the role in the wake of Mick McCarthy's sacking on Monday after five and a half years in charge at Molineux.

Hughton has done a stirring job since taking over at St Andrews, with the Blues unbeaten at home in the npower Championship this season as they push for promotion back to the Barclays Premier League.

As far as Hughton is concerned though, he believes he has a job to finish with Birmingham, rather than any thoughts of taking on a new one at Wolves.

Asked about the speculation linking him with Wolves, Hughton said: "Anything like that is always very flattering.

"On the television I saw three names mentioned, so I presume that's where it's going and I just hope they pick the right person.

"I have a very challenging job to do here and I've got a group of lads who are desperate to do well this season and I'm desperate to guide them through."

Pressed on whether he was ruling himself out, Hughton told the Birmingham Mail: "I'm desperate to guide this group of players out to the end, yes."

It is understood, meanwhile, Wolves are to begin interviewing prospective candidates on Thursday, with Alan Curbishley, Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock the three key names in the frame.

The 19-year-old, who moved to Upton Park from Manchester United on transfer deadline day, is reported to have made the comment in response to another Twitter user.

The FA wrote to Morrison last week for his observations on the matter and have now formally charged him.

A statement on the FA website read: "West Ham United's Ravel Morrison has been charged under FA Rule E3 for use of abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation."

The incident marks an inauspicious start to Morrison's West Ham career after he was also involved in various off-field controversies while at Old Trafford.

Manchester United allowed the teenager to leave despite him being rated as one of the finest prospects to come out of the club in recent years.

Morrison, who has yet to make his debut for the Hammers, has until 4pm on Friday to respond.

Clive Efford MP says warnings about the London-based Russian businessman's bank by the Financial Services Authority were not heeded and he was given the go-ahead by the Football League.

Antonov bought Pompey in June but his holding company Convers Sports Initiatives went into administration in November. Now the club itself is poised to go into administration on Friday for a second time in two years, triggering a 10-point deduction.

Efford, Labour's spokesman on sport, told Press Association Sport: "If these concerns about Antonov were there on the FSA website then why were these not taken up by the football authorities?"

Efford told a Parliamentary debate on football governance last week that the problems at Portsmouth were an example of where things 'are going horribly wrong in our game'.

He added: "Mr Antonov's bank, Bankas Snoras applied in 2006 to operate banks in the UK, but was turned down by the Financial Services Authority. It was suggested that the bank had repeatedly given incomplete and inaccurate answers to the FSA. The FSA's website states: 'Bankas Snoras was likely to fail to deal with the FSA in an open and co-operative way.'

"Yet in 2011, Mr Antonov was allowed to take over Portsmouth football club. If the FSA had that degree of concern about the financial matters of this individual, it must have been written large for others to ask questions about his suitability to own one of our large football clubs.

"Such a case highlights our concerns that due diligence is not taking place and that there are not sufficient fit and proper person tests. Something should have alerted the Football League or the FA to that person's history, and they should have considered whether the purchase was in the best interests of the club or the game."

Efford said football's authorities needed to learn from what had happened.

The Football League defended its owners' and directors' test after Antonov stepped down in November. It was also pointed out that the Swedish government had given the London-based Russian businessman to invest in car manufacturer Saab, and that the FSA had raised questions about the bank but not him personally.

An FL statement then read: "The Owners' and Directors' Test is designed to be series of objective criteria that defines sensible standards to be met by people holding senior positions at football clubs.

"What it is not, is a subjective judgement about the suitably of individuals that could potentially leave the Football League open to legal challenge every time an individual is turned down. This would rapidly become a significant drain on club income and use up hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds in legal fees."

Portsmouth's bank accounts have been frozen due to a winding-up application by HM Revenue and Customs. It has applied to the High Court to go into administration and a hearing has been set for Friday.

Jos Hooiveld scored a 75th-minute equaliser at Upton Park to keep the visitor just one point behind its opponent.

West Ham played with 10 men from the 18th minute when Matt Taylor was dismissed for a clash with Billy Sharp after the Saints striker had conceded a penalty with a foul on Mark Noble.

Noble himself then dispatched the spot-kick low into the net, but the Hammers could not hold on as the visitor eventually made the extra man count.

Cardiff City and Blackpool both won to close on the automatic promotion places.

The Bluebirds beat Peterborough United 3-1 in the Welsh capital to go third and move to within three points of Southampton, while Blackpool won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers to sit one place and one point further back.

Cardiff scored three times in seven first-half minutes to kill off Posh before the break.

Peter Whittingham fired home in the first in the 34th minute, Rudy Gestede added a second and Haris Vuckic, on loan from Newcastle United, netted his first for the club to make it three.

Paul Taylor pulled one back at the death for the visitor, but it was far too little too late.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored twice in the first half to set Blackpool on its way before El-Hadji Diouf gave host Doncaster Rovers hope from the penalty spot two minutes before the break.

But Nouha Dicko sealed the points with a third in the 72nd minute as Rovers dropped to the foot of the table.

Birmingham City dropped to fifth as it was held to a goalless draw at home to Hull City.

Reading replaced Hull in the final play-off place with a 1-0 win at Derby County, Noel Hunt on target just after the hour mark.

Middlesbrough boosted its top-six hopes with a win at home to struggling Nottingham Forest.

Marvin Emnes put the host in front on the stroke of half-time and Lukas Jutkiewicz doubled the lead a minute after the break.

Substitute Joel Lynch halved the deficit, but the visitor could not find an unlikely equaliser.

David Nugent scored twice, but Leicester City still went down 3-2 at Watford.

The former England international netted in the 11th and 18th minutes to turn the game on its head after Adrian Mariappa's early opener.

But the Foxes were pegged back by Sean Murray's leveller just after the half-hour mark and Craig Forsyth won it for the host 10 minutes from time.

Cash-strapped Portsmouth had little relief from its off-field problems as it was beaten 1-0 by Ipswich Town at Fratton Park.

Michael Chopra's early goal sunk the crisis-hit club.

Leeds and Brighton & Hove Albion slipped further out of the play-off picture with disappointing results.

Managerless Leeds United conceded an injury-time winner as it went down 2-1 at Coventry City.

Gary McSheffrey scored twice from the spot either side of a Ross McCormack equaliser as Coventry moved off the bottom to within six points of safety.

Brighton & Hove Albion needed an 88th-minute leveller from Kazenga LuaLua two minutes after he came on to draw 2-2 at home to Millwall.

Andy Keogh and Liam Feeney had twice put the Lions ahead either side of a first Brighton equaliser from Sam Vokes.

Brett Pitman scored twice, including a 90th-minute equaliser, as Bristol City came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace.

Wilfried Zaha and Darren Ambrose with a penalty had put Palace in control.

Elsewhere, Burnley beat Barnsley 2-0 thanks to goals from Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin.

Former Marseille and Newcastle United fullback Beye has impressed since moving to the Keepmoat Stadium on loan from Aston Villa earlier this term and switching to the centre of defence.

The 34-year-old Senegal international has signed an 18-month deal with Rovers after reaching an agreement to cancel his deal at Villa Park.

Beye will be unable to add to his nine appearances for Dean Saunders' side against Blackpool in the Championship on Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning AEDT), though, as he is in the middle of a three-match ban for receiving a straight red card against Bristol City last month.

Earlier this month Beye's compatriot El-Hadji Diouf also committed his immediate future to Doncaster by signing a six-month contract carrying the option of a further year.

A points deduction of that scale - an automatic penalty for administration - would see Pompey drop into the relegation fight at the bottom of the Championship. It would be the second time in as many years that the club has gone into administration.

Pompey faces a winding-up hearing next week over an unpaid tax bill and has not been able to pay its players and staff for January.

A club statement read: "Portsmouth Football Club today made an application to the High Court to go into administration.

"The club will not enter administration until the court endorses the application and appoints an administrator."

The High Court administration hearing is due to take place on Friday.

Peter Kubik, of the club's financial advisors UHY Hacker Young, said Portsmouth's bank accounts had been frozen after the winding-up application by HM Revenue and Customs.

He told Press Association Sport: "The club are in the process of seeking an administration order.

"The club's bank accounts have been frozen due to the winding-up hearing and they are finding it very difficult to trade. Once the administration order is in place the bank accounts will be made accessible again.

"We are aware that administration carries an automatic 10-point deduction by the Football League."

Pompey was plunged into another financial crisis after its parent company, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI), went into administration in November. UHY Hacker Young is the administrator for CSI.

The tax bill is for between £900,000 ($1.3 million) and £1.2 million ($1.77 million) but Kubik said there were many other outstanding bills to pay. Among these, the club needs to pay its electricity supplier in order to avoid being cut off.

"There are lots of bills they need to pay," added Kubik.

In February 2010 Portsmouth became the first Premier League club to enter administration and was deducted nine points, condemning it to relegation.

A 10-point deduction from the Football League would put Pompey on 25 points, outside the relegation places on goal difference alone.

Kubik said there was some interest from potential buyers who might take over the club but they would want to wait until Portsmouth was in administration.