SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY hit back at deposed manager Ron Atkinson yesterday, insisting that his lack of commitment to the club was a major factor in their decision not to extend his contract. Owls chairman Dave Richards made the allegations following publication of a newspaper article by Atkinson in which he claimed to have been "betrayed by weak men". Richards rejected Atkinson's insistence that he had been dumped partly because of a last-minute, last-day blunder by goalkeeper Kevin Pressman which cost Wednesday a point, three Premiership places and £500,000 in prize money. The chairman said he had been dismayed by a run-in which had seen the club win just two of their final nine games, and that his decision had been made with the long-term future of the club in mind. Football365 also understands that there has been growing unrest at Hillsborough over Atkinson's commitments to ITV. Sources claimed he had spent only an average three days a week at the club, with assistant Peter Shreeves doing much of the coaching. Big Ron is also said to have opted not to travel from his Midlands home on several days despite having the use of a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, paid for by Wednesday. Richards, obviously angered by the manager's comments in The Sun, said: We've been strong and not weak. Obviously Ron's pride has been hurt and I can understand how he's feeling. But we've taken a decision which we feel is necessary for the long-term future of the club. ''It would have been the easiest thing for us to give Ron everything he wanted and keep him here for another year. He only wanted to commit himself for one more year, but we're looking at the long-term picture. When he came here we were prepared to give him a three-year contract, but he only wanted it to last until the end of the season. What sort of commitment is that? ''He was the right man at the right time and we were prepared to let him work around his TV and commercial activities. We thank him for the job he did here and we're pleased we stayed up. It is a fact, however, that we had a disappointing time in the last few weeks of the season.'' Richards also dismissed claims by Atkinson that the terms of a new contract offered last week had been so low they were "ludicrous and said he considered it "unfair to blame Kevin Pressman, a player who has had an exceptional season, for the fact that we missed out on £500,000 on the last day of the season. The league table reflects the season as a whole." The chairman would not comment on reports that former Wednesday captain Nigel Pearson was to be named the club's new coach, with Shreeves staying on as his assistant.

MILAN SACK COACH CAPELLO   AC MILAN have sacked coach Fabio Capello after a bizarre ‘last supper' at the villa of millionaire owner Silvio Berlusconi, according to sources within the club. The coach paid the price for a disastrous season in which arguably Europe's most famous club finished 10th in Serie A. The San Siro side were last night refusing to officially confirm Capello's departure and said that he would be meeting Berlusconi again in the next few days, but Football365 understands the only item on the agenda is how much he will receive to walk away. Media magnate Berlusconi is thought to have lined up Udinese coach Alberto Zaccheroni as a replacement. Capello took Milan to four League titles, the European Cup and the European Super Cup in his first spell with the club, between 1991-96, but could not repeat any of the success after replacing Arrigo Sacchi a year ago. Milan made their worst start to a season since World War II, were humiliated by Lazio in the Italian Cup final and failed to qualify for Europe. Capello's imminent departure is part of a Europe-wide managerial cull as domestic seasons finished across the continent. Among the casualties are Sporting Lisbon boss Carlos Manuel, who paid the price for finishing 21 points behind Portuguese champions Porto, and Henk ten Cate, axed by Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem despite guiding them to third in the league, the club's best-ever finish.

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