Britain's Andy Murray overcame the big serving of 6ft 11in Ivo Karlovic to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the eighth year in a row.

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The 2013 champion, seeded third, won 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 5-7 6-4 in three hours and three minutes on Centre Court.
Murray, 28, let the third set slip with a loose service game, but a Hawk-Eye challenge on a line call helped earn him the key break in the fourth.
He goes on to face unseeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the last eight.
There was no mystery surrounding the threat posed by 36-year-old Karlovic, who went into the match with a tournament-leading 136 aces and added another 29 to his total.
It took 62 winners, among them numerous flashing passes and a succession of winning lobs, for Murray to prevail.
"I came up with some good lobs and passing shots. I just needed to keep him low," Murray told BBC Sport.
"It was an incredibly difficult match. It was mentally tiring. Maybe not as tiring physically due to the points being so quick.
"You've always got to be ready to take your chances. It's about getting the balance right and getting through. It wasn't going to be the best tennis, it was about getting through."
The Scot had won all five of his previous matches against Karlovic and was prepared for the barrage of aces, but could not always contain his frustration as the Croat repeatedly snuffed out chances with towering serves.
From 12 break points, Murray converted twice, the crucial second coming at 3-3 in the fourth set after Hawk-Eye judged a Karlovic volley to have drifted two millimetres wide.
Murray had earlier come through a tense 56-minute opening set in which five break points and six set points disappeared before he was able to edge the tie-break.
He looked well set when he finally claimed his first break of serve early in the second set thanks to two terrific returns, and moved two sets up after an hour and a half's play.
Murray fended off a break point early in the third when he sent a Karlovic forehand back past the Croat into the open court, roaring in delight, but his hopes of a straight-set win were derailed after two break points slipped by.
With a second tie-break looming, Murray broke a string when serving at 30-30 and moments later was smashing his new racquet in frustration after two errors handed Karlovic the set.
With opportunities fleeting, the Centre Court crowd groaned as one when the Briton missed an attempted backhand pass at 30-30 early in the fourth.
In the end, Murray's ability to return the Karlovic serve proved the difference as a lunging backhand drew the error at 3-3, 30-30, and the Croat then slid a backhand volley so narrowly wide that it needed Hawk-Eye to confirm the error.
There was one more chance for Karlovic but he could only blaze a forehand wide at break point in the following game, and Murray leapt in celebration when he closed out a hard-fought win just after the three-hour mark.


Judd Trump faces a fine from snooker bosses for refusing to fulfil his post-match media duties following his shock World Championship loss to Rory McLeod.

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The pre-tournament favourite was beaten 10-8 in the first round, with his agent saying Trump was unable to talk to the media because he was feeling unwell.
His failure to appear is a breach of his contract with World Snooker.
The world number two, 27, faces a fine from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
World number 54 McLeod, who plays Scotland's Stephen Maguire in the second round, described his win as the "best of his career".
The 1000-1 outsider, 46, said: "To beat Judd Trump on centre stage is brilliant. I have always known I am capable of it; it is actually producing when you need to and I have done it."
McLeod said he was not interested in whether Trump was unwell or injured, with the world number two seemingly grimacing in pain with a shoulder or arm problem during the course of the match.
"He was 4-0 up and he didn't look that injured, so what can I do?" said McLeod.
"I had to deal with holding myself together. I am the oldest player left in the tournament. At 46 you have your aches and pains.
"Age is just a number; it's how you look after yourself and I think I am doing OK."
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Four paralysed men have been able to move their legs for the first time in years after electrical stimulation of their spinal cords, US doctors report.

They were able to flex their toes, ankles and knees - but could not walk independently.
A report, in the journal Brain, suggests the electricity makes the spinal cord more receptive to the few messages still arriving from the brain.
Experts said it could become a treatment for spinal injury.
The spinal cord acts like a high-speed rail line carrying electrical messages from the brain to the rest of the body. But if there is any damage to the track, then the message will not get through.
People with spinal cord injuries can lose all movement and sensation below the injury.
A team at the University of Louisville and the University of California have been pioneering electrical stimulation of the spinal cord below the injury.
Three years ago they reported that Rob Summers - a keen baseball player who was paralysed from the chest down in a hit-and-run car accident - was able to move his legs while supported on a treadmill.
Now three more patients, who had been paralysed for at least two years, have gone through the procedure and regained some movement.
They were able to control their legs at a precise pace and all but one of them were able to control the force of the movement.
It confirms that function can be restored after paralysis and that Mr Summers' case was not a one-off.
One of the researchers, Dr Claudia Angeli from the University of Louisville, told the BBC: "They will tell you that the stimulation itself and being able to practise and move around makes them feel a lot better, some of them will just describe it as feeling alive again."
"Muscle mass increases significantly and they've all shown changes in bowel and bladder [function] as well."
It is not certain how the stimulation helps, however the researchers believe that some signals are still crossing the injury, but are not normally strong enough to trigger movement.
The electrical stimulation made the lower spinal cord more excitable so it was able to respond when the messages did arrive from the brain.
By Fergus WalshMedical correspondent
This experimental technique does not involve repair of the spinal cord, but nonetheless it may eventually have a role to play in helping other paralysed patients regain movement.
The technique does have limitations. The four patients had to change the setting for each leg movement. None of them is able to walk unaided.
But researchers say the patients' quality of life has been significantly improved.
As well as gaining muscle mass, they are also reported to have regained some control of bladder and sexual function - which many paralysed patients regard as more important than walking.
Dr Angeli described it as "making it ready to listen".
Half of the patients still had some sensation in their legs, but could not move them. The other two had no feeling either.
Dr Mark Bacon, the director of research at the charity Spinal Research, told the BBC: "The fact that paralysed patients with some preserved sensation can regain a degree of voluntary control when receiving electrical stimulation to the cord, is amazing.
"The fact that this can be demonstrated in patients with so-called 'complete' injuries, where there is total loss of muscle and sensation is, on the face of it, remarkable."
He said it showed that even in these patients there is are still some functioning nerves crossing the spinal injury.
"Significantly, it does strongly suggest that other repair treatments in development may only need to achieve relatively rudimentary additional connections between the brain and the cord below the injury to access functional capacity which will improve quality of life."
Dr Roderic Pettigrew, director of the US National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, said: "Now that spinal stimulation has been successful in four out of four patients, there is evidence to suggest that a large cohort of individuals, previously with little realistic hope of any meaningful recovery from spinal cord injury, may benefit from this."
Susan Howley, from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation which funds spinal cord injury research, said the study confirmed Mr Summers' case was "not an anomaly".
She added: "The implications of this study for the entire field are quite profound and we can now envision a day where epidural stimulation might be part of a cocktail of therapies used to treat paralysis."


A type of bird once driven to extinction in Britain has hatched chicks on Teesside.

The avocets were born at the RSPB's Saltholme wildlife reserve near Stockton.
Avocets are black and white with long legs and upturned beaks, and the birds have nested within an area of flooded grassland.
Three clutches have hatched with more expected in the days ahead, wildlife chiefs said.
Avocets have been the subject of intense conservation efforts and, having once been restricted to a small island off the Suffolk coast, have been spreading northwards, according to the RSPB.
They were declared extinct as breeding birds in the UK in 1884, but returned to the Suffolk coast in 1947.
The birds first returned to the Tees estuary in 2008 where they successfully bred.
There are now about 1,000 pairs across the UK, the charity added.


Dwight Gayle and Mo Diame were at their ruthless best in front of goal as Championship leaders Newcastle won their first-ever meeting with Burton to ensure they top the table at Christmas.

Gayle flicked in the opener after fine play from Matt Ritchie on the break.
Burton quickly levelled when Lloyd Dyer slotted in Jackson Irvine's cross.
But Diame showed great strength to go through on goal and coolly slot the away side's second, and the Magpies just about edged a calmer second half.
Ritchie and Gayle both missed decent chances to extend Newcastle's lead, while Lucas Akins did blaze a great chance over the bar for the Brewers, who also had a late spell of pressure.
But Newcastle, who move four points clear of second-placed Brighton prior to the Seagulls' evening kick-off against Birmingham, had their extra quality up front to thank for their victory.
The Brewers had a daunting task trying to contain the team with the best away defence, best away points tally and most goals scored on the road.
They were unfortunate to trail at the break, and could easily have been ahead had Magpies defender Paul Dummett not made a wonderful last-ditch clearance.
But ultimately, with Jonjo Shelvey dictating play from midfield, Newcastle's extra quality told in the final third to ensure the hosts remain in 21st position, having one just once in their last eight league matches.
Burton boss Nigel Clough:
"A couple of errors in the lead-up to their goals has cost us, but apart from that I thought our lads were outstanding today, in everything that they did.
"Their effort and honesty shines through to us, but alongside that today they played with quality.
"We have put two great performances together in the last four days and got no points, and I think that will change in the second half of the season."
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez told BBC Newcastle:
"We have shown the team is strong enough and showed that we have confidence in ourselves. This is really good for the future.
"Now, we enjoy Christmas, our fans will be happy and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I'm really pleased, they can spend time with their families and watch the table and enjoy."
Match ends, Burton Albion 1, Newcastle United 2.
Second Half ends, Burton Albion 1, Newcastle United 2.
Attempt missed. Kyle McFadzean (Burton Albion) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Tom Naylor following a corner.
Attempt missed. Tom Naylor (Burton Albion) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jamie Ward with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Burton Albion. Conceded by Jamaal Lascelles.
Attempt saved. Tom Naylor (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Lloyd Dyer.
Attempt saved. Jamie Ward (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Attempt blocked. Lloyd Dyer (Burton Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jamie Ward.
Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
Substitution, Burton Albion. Will Miller replaces Matthew Palmer.
Corner,  Burton Albion. Conceded by Karl Darlow.
Substitution, Newcastle United. Yoan Gouffran replaces Matt Ritchie.
Offside, Newcastle United. Isaac Hayden tries a through ball, but Mohamed Diamé is caught offside.
Corner,  Newcastle United. Conceded by Kyle McFadzean.
Attempt missed. Jamie Ward (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Chris O'Grady with a headed pass.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United) because of an injury.
Substitution, Burton Albion. Jamie Ward replaces Lucas Akins.
Attempt missed. Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Mohamed Diamé.
Attempt missed. Lucas Akins (Burton Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Chris O'Grady.
Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United).
Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
Corner,  Burton Albion. Conceded by Jamaal Lascelles.
John Mousinho (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
Attempt blocked. Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonjo Shelvey with a cross.
Corner,  Burton Albion. Conceded by Paul Dummett.
Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Corner,  Burton Albion. Conceded by DeAndre Yedlin.
Attempt blocked. Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Chris O'Grady (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United).
Foul by John Brayford (Burton Albion).
Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Tom Naylor (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United).
Second Half begins Burton Albion 1, Newcastle United 2.


A 73-year-old security guard was left lying critically injured for more than five hours after being "savagely beaten" at a factory, police said.

He was attacked after challenging a man found inside Stoke Forgings, Brierley Hill, on Sunday.
Det Insp Colin Mattinson said he suffered serious head injuries after the "sustained and violent attack" at about 13:00 GMT.
He was found by a colleague who started work at about 19:00 GMT.
Mr Mattinson said the guard was believed to have challenged the man who was near an office inside the metal factory in Vine Street.
"Inquiries are continuing and we are studying CCTV and carrying our forensic investigations at the scene," he said.
"We are still trying to establish what the man was doing inside the premises and what, if anything was stolen."
The factory unit has been sealed off for forensic inquiries and neighbourhood officers have increased "reassurance patrols" in the area, a West Midlands Police spokesman said.
Anyone with information about the incident was urged to contact the force on 101 or call Crimestoppers.


A man has been killed on the construction site of the new bridge over the River Don.

Emergency services were called to the scene in the Danestone area of the city at about 16:45.
Police Scotland initially said they responded to reports that a site worker had been injured.
A spokesman later said: "Sadly, as a result of his injuries, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries are at an early stage."
The so-called third Don crossing will link the Bridge of Don and Tillydrone.
It was given the go-ahead last year after the council's ruling Labour party - which had long been against the bridge - dropped its opposition.
The total cost is expected to be about Â£18m.


Women who wore pantsuits in support of Hillary Clinton on US election day are now being urged to donate them to poor and homeless women.

The invitation-only Facebook group Pantsuit Nation, which has 3.7 million subscribers, is backing the "Pantsuit Drive" launched by Meena Harris.
The software company policy manager said she wanted to help tackle the pay gap faced by women of colour.
Libby Chamberlain, founder of Pantsuit Nation, is urging members to donate.
The page was named after Mrs Clinton's trademark trouser suits, which she was seen wearing throughout her campaign.
In an article for feminist newsletter Lenny Letter, Ms Harris said that the idea was born as she dropped off her dry cleaning near her San Francisco home.
The former Facebook employee, who studied at Stanford and Harvard, said she reflected on "what an obvious privilege it is to even own a pantsuit, let alone to buy a new one for a special occasion".
She added: "In 2016, too many women still struggle to raise their families. They are disproportionately minimum-wage workers who juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet, and they still don't earn equal pay. The pay gap for women of colour isn't just a gap, it's a canyon."
Pantsuit Nation: The secret Clinton Facebook group
She posted a picture of herself, along with her mother and young baby, sporting a blue pantsuit in homage to the Democratic candidate's trademark trouser suits on polling day.
Ms Chamberlain quoted a Pantsuit Nation member, now a Harvard Kennedy School graduate and communications and strategy consultant, who had been homeless at the age of 20.
Tanene Allison said she had been offered a job interview but could not afford the bus fare or any smart clothing.
"Job interviews can be hard enough, but they're outright terrifying when you're afraid you'll walk in looking like you live in a homeless shelter," she was quoted as saying.
A woman at the youth shelter where she was staying helped her put together an outfit from donated clothing, and she eventually got the job.
Ms Harris said the campaign, dubbed Pantsuits for Progress, was "a way of honouring Hillary's public service - while recognising the roads we still must travel".
She said the clothing would be donated to organisations that support poor and homeless women with job-interview preparation and employment opportunities.


Nineteen teenage girls have died in a blaze at a children's care home in Guatemala, officials say.

About 25 other people were injured in the fire at the Virgen de Asuncion shelter in San Jose Pinula, about 25km (15 miles) south-east of the capital, Guatemala City.
Police said the blaze may have been started by some of the residents.
On Tuesday, police officers intervened after a riot broke out at the home. About 60 children escaped.
Some alleged they had been mistreated or sexually abused.
Oscar Franco, a spokesman for the volunteer firefighters, told local media: "At least 25 people were injured and transferred to hospitals and we have confirmed 19 bodies."
All those who died were aged between 14 and 17.
The fire ripped through the facility in minutes.
Nery Ramos, the head of Guatemala's national police, said the fire was started by a group of young people at the shelter.
Firefighters battled to contain the flames as desperate family members arrived at the scene to try to find their loved ones.
After the blaze, images showed burned bodies covered by blankets lying in one of the blackened rooms.
The children who fled on the eve of the fire said it was due to poor conditions and mistreatment following the riot, which left the facility damaged.
The UN children's fund in Guatemala said on Twitter it "condemns the tragedy", adding: "These children and adolescents must be protected".
Local reports say the capacity of the home is 400, but that many more children were living there at the time.
The shelter takes in children up to the age of 18 who have suffered abuse or trafficking, or have been abandoned.
But local media say the shelter was also functioning as a juvenile detention centre, to which judges were sending adolescents involved in criminal cases.
A deadly fire at a children's home in Mexico in 2009 left 49 dead.


Two Powys roads were forced to close after separate serious collisions.

A two-vehicle crash on the A470, between Church Street in Rhayader and the Llangurig roundabout, happened shortly after 11:45 GMT on Friday.
It affected motorists travelling between Builth Wells and Llanidloes before the road reopened by 17:30.
The A483, north of Welshpool, was later shut after a crash involving five vehicles just before 15:00 and the road remained closed into the evening.
Check if this is affecting your journey


Brazil says it is "outraged" by the execution of one of its citizens in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, 53, was arrested in 2003 after police at Jakarta airport found  13.4 kg of cocaine hidden in his hang glider.
Brazil says he was the first Brazilian national to be executed abroad and has warned it will damage relations.
Five other convicts from Indonesia, Malawi, Nigeria, Vietnam and the Netherlands, were executed on Sunday.
Convicted of drugs charges, they faced a firing squad in Central Java province shortly after midnight local time.
Five were executed on the island of Nusa Kambangan and the other one, a Vietnamese woman, was executed in the small central Javanese town of Boyolali.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said in a statement that she was "outraged and dismayed".
"Relations between the two countries have been affected," said Ms Rousseff.
"The Brazilian ambassador to Jakarta has been recalled for consultations," she added.
The Netherlands has also recalled its ambassador, after Foreign Minister Bert Koenders called the execution of Dutch citizen Ang Kiem Soe, 52, "an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity".
Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws. The country resumed executions in 2013 after an unofficial four-year moratorium.
The country's Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo said "hopefully, this will have a deterrent effect".
President Joko Widodo has said that he will show no mercy towards drug criminals because they have ruined the lives of so many.
Ms Rousseff had made a plea for clemency on Friday, but it was rejected by Mr Widodo.
She told her Indonesian counterpart that she respected the sovereignty and judicial system of his country but as a mother and head of state she was making the appeal for humanitarian reasons.
Brazil says Mr Widodo said he understood the Brazilian president's concern but said he could not commute the sentence as the full legal process had been followed.
Human rights group Amnesty International urged the Indonesian government to halt executions immediately, and eventually abolish the death penalty.
Moreira said in a video recorded by a friend that he regretted trying to smuggle cocaine into Indonesia.
"I am aware that I committed a serious offence, but I believe I deserve another chance. Everyone makes mistakes."
A second Brazilian national, Rodrigo Muxfeldt Gularte, remains on death row in Indonesia, also convicted with drug trafficking offences.
Brazil abolished the death penalty in times of peace when it became a republic in 1889.


Major cross-Irish-border company Quinn Industrial Holdings has said it is positive about trade "despite Brexit".

The construction supply and packaging firm has posted increased pre-tax profits of 6.8 million euros (£5.8m) for 2016.
The company, comprising of operations once run by Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn, employs more than 770 people.
Its headquarters is in Derrylin in Fermanagh, but has operations in the Republic of Ireland and England.
Chief executive Liam McCaffrey said: "We see Brexit as presenting challenges, which we will continue to assess as a clearer picture emerges from trade negotiations.
"Whatever the outcome our focus is on those factors which fall within our control and ensuring an efficient supply chain to the UK mainland, which accounts for 50% of our sales."
Mr Quinn left his position as a consultant at the firm a year ago.


Leicester City's run to the title captured the world's sporting imagination - but there was plenty going on underneath that main headline to make this the Premier League's most unpredictable season.

If the champions were a surprise package, the collapse of previous holders Chelsea also sent shockwaves throughout the season, along with managers on the move, a parochial relegation fight between north-east of England rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland and a top-four battle that went down to the final day.
So as the dust settles on another Premier League season, how will this turbulent, exciting campaign be remembered?
Leicester City went from celebrating Premier League survival and 5,000/1 outsiders in May 2015 to champions inside 12 months - when the story of football is told this season will be forever associated with the Foxes.
The signs, at least some of them, were in evidence in that renaissance as they won seven of their final nine games last season but to suggest the transformation would lead to them being presented with the Premier League trophy at an exultant King Power on Saturday, 7 May 2016 would have been dismissed as the work of a fantasist.
Leicester provided the footballers of the year in England striker Jamie Vardy and Algeria forward Riyad Mahrez, with 24 and 17 goals respectively, while France midfielder N'Golo Kante was not far behind. The trio are a tribute to the meticulous scouting model employed at the club.
Vardy cost just £1m from Fleetwood in May 2012, Mahrez £400,000 from French second-tier side Le Havre in January 2014 and Kante £5.6m from Caen in August 2015. That is just £7m for the inspiration behind a Premier League title, with credit to former manager Nigel Pearson for those first two deals.
And at the heart of all was the man who arrived at Leicester to replace the sacked Pearson. Claudio Ranieri's appointment was, at best, unheralded and followed a spell when he was dismissed by Greece after losing to the Faroe Islands.
Against all odds - like the Foxes - the Italian led his team in masterly fashion from the 4-2 opening day win against Sunderland, managing expectation and pressure superbly while winning the hearts and support of neutrals with his humble, yet charismatic style.
Leicester's title win - a prolonged shock to sport's system - takes its place in the greatest sporting achievements of all time.
Five clubs had their highest ever finish in the Premier League:
It was 7 May 2015 and all was well at Stamford Bridge. Manager Jose Mourinho had brought the Premier League back to Chelsea, signed a new four-year contract and spoke of building a team for a 10-year dynasty.
In one of the most startling, chaotic declines of any champion team and manager, Chelsea's fortunes collapsed to such an extent that seven months later Mourinho was sacked by owner Roman Abramovich after just four wins from 16 league games.
From day one and the row with Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro against Swansea City, when she went out on to treat injured Eden Hazard without his permission, and was subsequently removed from first-team duties which led to legal action, Mourinho's Chelsea tenure went into meltdown.
Players he counted on when winning the Premier League such as Hazard, Diego Costa - who scored 20 league goals in the title win - and Cesc Fabregas were ineffective and anonymous.
The end came amid the rancour of a 2-1 loss at Leicester City on 15 December, after which Mourinho claimed some players had "betrayed" his work. Two days later he was gone - a spectacular downfall complete.
Blackburn Rovers dropped from first to seventh after winning the title in 1994-95 - and Manchester United did the same after being crowned champions in 2012-13. Chelsea's drop was even more acute and demonstrated their fall from grace.
Leicester City's feat will be regarded as the greatest in Premier League history - and it has been helped along the way by the giants stumbling at the wayside.
Chelsea's downfall has been chronicled while Manchester City's hopes of regaining the title they won twice in recent years was undermined by rampant inconsistency, a lack of performances worthy of an expensively assembled squad and, perhaps, the announcement in February that manager Manuel Pellegrini would be replaced by Pep Guardiola that provided the backdrop to the closing months of their season.
Manchester United's league season was dull under manager Louis van Gaal, with only the occasional sparkle of victories at Liverpool and Manchester City. They were so poor for so long it was a minor miracle they sustained a top-four challenge until the final day.
Arsenal told us the same old story of promise until the turn of the year then fragility when the pressure is on. This was, in many ways, the season Arsene Wenger and his players had waited for as their usual rivals stuttered - and they still could not take advantage.
This was a season awash with managerial speculation - most of which ended up being about a man who actually lasted the season in Manchester United's Van Gaal.
The Dutchman was the central figure in some sort of "in-out-in-out" managerial hokey cokey from December as United went out of the Champions League, with Mourinho almost a permanent shadow on his shoulder after he was sacked by Chelsea before Christmas.
Other than Mourinho, the highest profile casualty was Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers who lasted only eight games - with three wins - into the new season before he was sacked and replaced by Jurgen Klopp. It was a swift downfall only 18 months after he almost won Liverpool's first title in 24 years.
Aston Villa's shameful season was reflected in two sackings. Tim Sherwood went in October after one win and eight losses in 10 games, while his successor Remi Garde fared no better. He was sacked at the end of March after just two wins in 20 games and with relegation inevitable.
Sunderland's replacement of Dick Advocaat with Sam Allardyce in October worked perfectly as he kept the Black Cats in the top flight, while Swansea's eventual replacement of Garry Monk with Francesco Guidolin - after a spell under Alan Curtis - was also a success.
Not so at Newcastle. They left it too late to sack Steve McClaren on 11 March. It only gave Rafael Benitez 10 games - so the relegation the Magpies have invited so long came through the door.
Last one out the door was Everton's Roberto Martinez on 12 May, his fall from grace coming amid fan anger, protests and the worst record at Goodison Park in any season in the club's history.
The Premier League season may be over - the postponed meeting between Manchester United and Bournemouth apart - but the big guns will already be turning their attention to firing back next season.
Manchester City's season ended in a disappointing fourth position but Guardiola, the world's most celebrated coach, will soon come through the door at Etihad Stadium to replace Pellegrini and will be backed by huge transfer funds.
He is the man City's hierarchy want to fulfil their dreams, especially in the Champions League, while it remains to be seen whether there will be similar movement at Manchester United.
Van Gaal's future has been debated for most of the season without any indication of a willingness from those inside Old Trafford to remove him from his job as manager.
Mourinho has seemingly been waiting in the wings for six months - so will the failure to secure Champions League football finally prompt a decision to dispense with Van Gaal or will United keep faith with the 64-year-old Dutchman who has taken them to next weekend's FA Cup final?
The prospect of former La Liga foes Guardiola and Mourinho recreating their crackling rivalry at Barcelona and Real Madrid in the same city is mouth-watering.
Klopp, meanwhile, will have his feet even further under the table at Liverpool after reaching the Capital One Cup final and the Europa League final after succeeding Rodgers in October.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Chelsea will want Antonio Conte to recreate their former successes, while Everton will move with renewed ambition under new billionaire major shareholder Farhad Moshiri. He will pursue ambitious managerial targets after sacking Martinez.
So as one season ends, planning for the next will start instantly.
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A terrifying leopard-like creature dubbed the "Beast of Broomfield" could be a missing pet Bengal cat named Dougal, its owner has said.

Dougal went missing from his Chelmsford home about ten days ago, prompting Hannah Butcher and Darren Brown to put up posters "absolutely everywhere".
They have been "inundated" with calls after the Essex Chronicle reported a leopard could be terrorising the area.
"It's not a leopard," Miss Butcher said."It's bound to be Dougal, my cat."
At 7kg (15lbs) Dougal, aged seven, is a distinctive feline as he has no tail, "but he's not a leopard and he's not a sphinx, either", his owner told the BBC.
Read more on this and other stories from Essex on our Local Live page
Dougal's disappearance had left the couple "devastated", but after reading about the fearless feline roaming the area, "the search for him possibly took an unexpected turn," Mr Brown said.
The newspaper published extracts from an anonymous letter claiming a "huge" wild cat was on the loose in the Chelmsford suburb.
The "Beast of Broomfield" had left the letter writer "shaken" and terrified her Yorkshire terrier, Dylan, after roaming through her back garden.
The woman, who had been washing the dishes at the time, was stopped in her tracks when she spotted the "huge cat with leopard-like markings and no tail".
She told the newspaper she wanted to warn other pet owners and parents of small children about the "jungle cat" that had reduced her pet terrier to a "whimpering" wreck.
After the Mirror also picked up the story of Broomfield's "beast", Mr Brown said: "We have been inundated with calls from people who know him, or received our flyer, convinced that our Dougal is the 'Beast of Broomfield'."
However, Miss Butcher was quick to dismiss the wild cat theory.
"How many cats can there be with such distinctive markings and no tail? It's just my domestic Bengal," she said.
"All I want is to have Dougal back home."
Source: BBC


A dramatisation of James Joyce's Ulysses is being broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to mark this year's Bloomsday, the day when the book's events take place.

Listeners can hear it in seven parts on Saturday, following the story of Leopold Bloom's journey through Dublin.
The five and a half hour dramatisation, by Robin Brooks, features Henry Goodman as Leopold Bloom.
On "Bloomsday" fans celebrate the landmark modernist novel and all things Joycean on 16 June.
Many of the locations mentioned in the book still stand in Dublin, the writer's home city.
For many enthusiasts, the day is mostly about getting dressed up and going on their own odyssey around the Irish capital, retracing the footsteps of the book's main characters Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus and enjoying a pint or two of Dublin's most popular stout.
Named after lead character Leopold Bloom, the day usually includes walking tours, street theatre, period dress, music and traditional Joycean food.
But there are also many organised events, such as musical performances, street theatre, cycle rides, tours, museum exhibitions.
The BBC dramatisation features Andrew Scott as Stephen Dedalus, Niamh Cusack as Molly Bloom and Stephen Rea as the Narrator.
Some 25 actors have taken part and the music includes new recordings of songs by Irish soprano Daire Halpin.
Ulysses is regarded in some literary circles as the greatest modernist novel of the 20th century.
Producer Jeremy Mortimer said the Radio 4 dramatisation was "a delight" and had given him a new insight into the book.
"I had read the book but when I came back to it I realised that I had skimmed over the surface of it and I had no idea of the depth of this book," he said.
Mark Lawson is broadcasting live from various Joycean landmarks in Dublin to set the book in its local and historical context.
The scheduling of the drama throughout the day roughly corresponds with the order of events in the book.
Each part of the dramatisation will be made available as a free download for two weeks from the time of broadcast.
Irish radio station RTE broadcast every word of Joyce's novel in 1982 over a period of 29 and a half hours.


Booker Prize-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy says she is returning a national award over recent "horrific murders" in the country.

Returning the award allowed her to be a part of a political movement started by writers and filmmakers, Ms Roy said.
More than 100 writers and other public figures have returned awards over what they call rising intolerance in India.
It follows a series of recent incidents, including the killings of scholars, writers and rationalists.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has also spoken out against "extreme intolerance" in India.
Ms Roy was among 24 filmmakers to give back their awards on Thursday.
As they did so, Muslims in the north-eastern state of Manipur staged a general strike to protest against the lynching of a Muslim man by a Hindu crowd on Monday.
They had accused him of trying to steal a cow.  It was the third such mob killing within six weeks.
While returning their national and state awards, scientists, historians and filmmakers have cited the killing of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the lynching of a man over suspicions he consumed beef, as examples of rising intolerance in India.
On Thursday, Ms Roy, who had won the national award in 1989 for writing the screenplay of a film joined the growing list.
In a piece published in The Indian Express newspaper, Ms Roy, 55, explained why she was returning the award.
"It allows me to be a part of a political movement initiated by writers, filmmakers and academics in this country who have risen up against a kind of ideological viciousness and an assault on our collective IQ that will tear us apart and bury us very deep if we do not stand up to it now," she wrote.
She said the current movement was "unprecedented and does not have a historical parallel".
"I am so proud to be part of it. And so ashamed of what is going on in this country today," she added.
Ms Roy's comments have generated a large response on Twitter with many praising her for her courage:
Some, however, have also criticised the author:


West Brom boss Tony Pulis has angered Stoke manager Mark Hughes by calling his captain Ryan Shawcross a "loser".

Hughes claims Shawcross received the voicemail from Pulis on Monday, two days after Stoke's defeat at West Brom.
Shawcross, Stoke skipper for several years under Pulis, accused the Baggies of leaking the news of former Albion striker Saido Berahino's two-month ban.
Berahino made his Stoke debut in the game and Hughes said: "We were annoyed with a number things."
There was no handshake between the managers at the end of the game and Hughes added: "Any number of things surrounding the game were, in our view, unnecessary.
"I was annoyed with their manager ringing up Ryan on the Monday morning after the game and calling him a loser. I wasn't too happy with that."
On the message left for Shawcross, he added: "There was a voicemail left, and I haven't heard it. But Ryan wasn't too pleased. He tried to ring back and didn't get any answer."
Pulis was asked about Shawcross' comments on Friday and replied: "Ryan has tried to ring me since [the accusation of the Berahino leak] and I will get back to him."
Shawcross had said: "Someone from West Brom's side must have been speaking to the papers", regarding the leak of the ban.
Berahino joined Stoke on 20 January and it was later revealed he served an eight-week suspension before leaving West Brom, reportedly for failing an out-of-competition drugs test.


The Welsh language commissioner has accused the UK government of weakening Welsh language services on its main website gov.uk.

Meri Huws said that Welsh language provision on the site had "deteriorated astonishingly" since its 2012 launch.
She said that the issue was a "major concern" and that she had raised the matter with UK ministers.
The Wales Office said it was working with other UK government departments to ensure that Welsh services improved.
Ms Huws told the assembly's Culture, Welsh Language and Communications committee: "Services provided by UK government have weakened over this past period and that is a major cause of concern for me.
"I have contacted the Wales Office and raised it with ministers in Westminster too and the main reason is the introduction of gov.uk, which means that provision that was once strong from agencies such as the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has deteriorated astonishingly," Ms Huws said.
"We haven't seen a slowdown, we have seen a galloping backwards in terms of provision from Westminster and in seeing the figures that did cause me major concern and we will be following that up."
"Over the past year I have seen agencies of the Westminster government approaching us complaining about the Cabinet Office and gov.uk and saying that it is now hampering their work and they are concerned that the strong bilingual services that they have put in place have been hampered by gov.uk," she added.
The website gov.uk was intended to create a single domain for government.
Responding to the criticism, a Wales Office spokesperson said: "The UK government is committed to the Welsh language.
"The Wales Office notes the Welsh language commissioner's concerns and is working with other government departments to ensure that provision is improved."
A Wales Office spokeswoman said: "The UK government is committed to the Welsh language, the Wales Office notes the Welsh Language Commissioners concerns and is working with other government departments to ensure that provision is improved."


BBC Northern Ireland presenter Wendy Austin has joined more than 40 other high-profile female journalists and presenters calling for the BBC to act on the gender pay gap.

Presenters such as Victoria Derbyshire and Emily Maitlis signed an open letter to the corporation's director general.
An experienced TV and radio broadcaster, Mrs Austin said she felt "very strongly about" the issue.
She described the pay disparity as "absolutely not good enough in 2017".
The corporation released a list of 96 of its best paid stars last week as part of its annual report.
As well as controversy over the size of some pay packets, the BBC was challenged to justify why two-thirds of the BBC's top earners over Â£150,000 were men.
Speaking about the disparity, Wendy Austin said it is not just about the top on-screen earners, but affects every element of the organisation's production.
"There's an Equal Pay Act so I think, possibly naively, the women that signed the letter that I signed had felt for years that equal pay applied to them, but it clearly doesn't," she said.
"The figures that came out last week show that it doesn't and it's time for that to change.
"I have two daughters, and I work with a lot of excellent young male and female colleagues. I want it to be fairer for them than it has been for me."
Asked if it was a man's world, she said: "I think it has been, but I don't think it has to be."
She called on the organisation to take action to improve gender equality before its target date of 2020.
"In all the time I worked in the BBC, both when I was in London and when I came back to work in Belfast again, it was a sort of open secret, that there was a real disparity in pay between the men and the women who worked for the corporation."
"It's an organisation I am very fond of - I've spent virtually all of my working life here. I feel very strongly about it, it is a wonderful company and a fantastic organisation, but I'd like it to be fair."
Stephen Nolan was the only presenter from BBC Northern Ireland to have his salary revealed by the organisation's annual report.
The BBC's director general Tony Hall said that at 10%, the corporation's overall gender pay gap is less than the UK average of 18%.
He said he is committed to closing that gap within the next three years.


A mother whose baby died after being left alone in the bath for 10 minutes has been jailed for three years.

Jasmine Gregory, of Ulfgar Road, Oxford, had been drinking on the morning her 14-month-old daughter Robyn died in August 2014.
Gregory, 24, said she became distracted while giving Robyn a bath at their home in Grove, Oxford Crown Court heard.
Judge Ian Pringle described it as a "tragic and wholly avoidable event" and "so wholly wrong and atrocious".
The court heard the child drowned and that Gregory found her lifeless body.
Robyn's father said in a victim impact statement "every day is torture" since his daughter died.
Gregory, who was convicted of manslaughter by a jury in just over four hours on Wednesday, made the sign of the cross before being sentenced and was seen crying in the courtroom.
The judge said he did not underestimate the loss she felt but said she acknowledged she "led a chaotic lifestyle".
"You should have known if you bathe a child in an adult bath you never leave it unattended," he said.
Det Con Andy Matheson, of Thames Valley Police, said: "This has been a tragic case from the start.
"A young mother has lost her young baby and the extended family have lost the future they would have had with the child."
Senior crown prosecutor Kirsty Allman said the result was a "just outcome".
She said: "This was not merely a terrible accident. Gregory was clearly negligent in leaving Robyn unattended in the bath."


Australia's High Court has ruled that sending asylum seekers to be processed offshore in Papua New Guinea does not breach the constitution.

Lawyers for an Iranian asylum seeker argued that PNG's designation as an offshore processing centre was illegal under the Migration Act.
But the judges rejected the claims.
Conditions in the camp, and in another centre on Nauru, have been the subject of stringent criticism from both UN agencies and human rights groups.
The Iranian man arrived on Australia's Christmas Island by boat last July. He was then transferred to the Manus Island Detention Centre .
His lawyers also claimed that his removal from Christmas Island was illegal.
''It's devastating for our client,'' his lawyer Mark Robinson said. ''It means that he has to remain in Papua New Guinea in terrible conditions."
The much-criticised policy was introduced by the Australian government in 2012.
It has the broad support of both of Australia's main political parties.
But rights groups have questioned whether Australia is adequately protecting vulnerable people.
Riots have broken out at the Manus centre on several occasions.
The ruling comes as a victory for the current conservative Australian government, says the BBC's Jon Donnison in Sydney.
The government has have championed the policy and has been largely successful in reducing the number of asylum seekers, he says.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott welcomed the court's decision.
"We haven't had a successful people smuggling venture to Australia in almost six months and obviously I'm pleased those policies have passed muster," he said.
"This is a government that is determined to stop the boats so we've put a range of policies in place."
Immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young maintained the Manus Island detention centre was not safe for asylum seekers.
"Dumping refugees in unsafe conditions on Manus Island may be constitutional but it's certainly not morally acceptable and is still in breach of international law," she said.
"What remains true is that these camps of cruelty are inhumane, unsafe and untenable for refugees."


Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid created British Open history by setting up the first all-British men's singles semi-final at the event in Nottingham.

The result also guarantees that a British player will feature on Sunday's Super Series singles finals day.
There are six Super Series events throughout the year, of which the British Open is one.
They attract some of the best players in the world and are the level just below the Grand Slams.
Reid came through a tough three-set match against France's Nicolas Peifer, winning 7-5 1-6 6-2.
He said: "It wasn't the prettiest match ever and the conditions were even more difficult than in the quarter-finals but it was good to get through it and I played some good tennis towards the end."
Hewett, meanwhile, came from 5-2 and two set points down at 5-4 in the second set to defeat Belgium's Joachim Gerard 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3).
He said: "It was a really good match in really difficult conditions today with the rain.
"I don't really know at the moment why or how I was 5-2 down but I was happy to come back from it.
"It's great for everyone here that there's going to be a Brit in the men's singles final and I'm focusing on what I need to do to make sure it's me there."
They are not the only British players to be getting a taste of success at this year's tournament.
Andy Lapthorne and compatriot Antony Cotterill beat Heath Davidson and Lucas Sithole in straight sets and tough conditions 6-4 6-2 in their doubles semi-final.
They will face American duo David Wagner and Bryan Barten in Saturday's doubles final.
Adding to his doubles success, world number two Lapthorne has also booked his place in the quad singles final after defeating Sithole 6-0 6-3.


Irish police are investigating the circumstances of the death of an 11 month old baby boy in County Kerry.

The gardaí were called to an apartment complex on Upper High Street in Killarney shortly before 18:00 local time on Sunday.
It is understood the baby was found in the apartment by his mother, who had returned after being at work.
Paramedics tried to save the baby but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man in his 30s was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The body remains at the scene, while gardaí wait for the results of a post mortem examination.


David Cameron has said it is time for the UK "to move forward" after Scotland voted against independence.

The PM said he was "delighted" by the result, which  gave the UK a chance to change "for the better".
He said there had to be a "fair and balanced" settlement with English MPs deciding on laws applying to England.
But defeated SNP leader Alex Salmond warned against any delay in shifting powers to Scotland as he announced his decision to step down.
"For me as leader, my time is nearly done," he said. "For Scotland, the campaign continues and the dream shall never die."
Scotland's First Minister explained his decision to quit just hours after Scotland voted decisively to stay in the United Kingdom by 2,001,926 votes to 1,617,989 - about 55% to 45%.
The vote is the culmination of a two-year campaign. Talks will now begin on devolving more powers to Scotland.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson
The people have spoken. Scotland has rejected independence. The result has been accepted by both sides. So that you might think is that. Not a bit of it.
The fact that over 1.5m British citizens voted not to remain part of the UK, the fact that a majority in Scotland's biggest city - Glasgow - backed independence, the fact that the Westminster establishment briefly thought this vote was lost, is the reason for that.
The leaders of the three UK parties are now promising significant constitutional change and not just for Scotland but for England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well.
They have agreed on a timetable for giving more powers to the Scottish Parliament but are a long, long way from agreeing proposals.
Read more from Nick Robinson.
Mr Salmond said he was "immensely proud" of his Yes campaign and serving as Scotland's First Minister had been "the privilege of my life", but he conceded that the SNP would benefit from new leadership to take the process on.
The party had "the opportunity to hold Westminster's feet to the fire on the 'vow' that they have made to devolve further meaningful power to Scotland," he said. "This places Scotland in a very strong position."
But while he would continue to serve as MSP for Aberdeenshire East, he had decided to stand down after the party's annual conference in November.
"We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative," he said. "More importantly Scotland can still emerge as the real winner."
In a statement outside Downing Street Mr Cameron defended the decision to hold the referendum, saying it was right that the SNP's majority in Holyrood was respected.
He said Lord Smith of Kelvin had agreed to oversee the process of devolving more powers over tax, spending and welfare to Scotland, with draft legislation by the end of January.
Mr Cameron added that the rights of other people in the UK needed to be "respected and enhanced". He said he had long believed that a crucial missing part was England. He said "the millions of voices of England must be heard".
The Leader of the Commons William Hague has been asked to draw up plans for what would be a fundamental change at Westminster - that only English MPs could vote on English matters.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale
The Downing Street constitutional declaration - as it will become known - marks the start of what potentially could be massive constitutional change.
In particular, the prime minister has promised to give English MPs a greater say over legislation that affects England. He made clear this would cover the same issues over which Scotland will have greater control - tax, spending and welfare. And the changes will be agreed at the same pace with draft legislation by January.
But David Cameron did not spell out the detail, leaving a policy vacuum that will now be filled by Conservative MPs and an army of constitutional experts and think tanks. Everything from a full English parliament to complicated plans for English grand committees will be discussed.
The risk for the PM is that he loses control of this debate.
Read more from James Landale
Mr Hague insisted there was a "very clear commitment" to the Scottish reforms pledged by the three main UK parties, but he argued that the English question had to be resolved at the same pace.
"I think it would be inconceivable to go ahead with a further important stage and measure of devolution to parts of the United Kingdom, without addressing this issue," he told the BBC.
"Of course it's been an anomaly for quite a long time now that Scottish MPs can vote on everything happening in England, but we the English MPs can no longer do so in Scotland, and indeed nor can the Scottish.
"But it will become absolutely acute - it will become absolutely indefensible with further devolution - and I think people need to know at the time of the general election next May where we all stand on that, whether we've tried to reach an agreement, and if not, it's something they can decide on in the general election."
'History made'
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the proposal to restrict voting rights for Scottish MPs could undermine a future Labour government - theoretically there could be a Labour PM who lacks a majority of English MPs so is unable to get health or education issues through parliament.
But Labour leader Ed Miliband, arriving at his party's conference in Manchester, said he would not allow the moment "to be used for narrow party political advantage".
Instead he announced plans for a full constitutional convention "rooted in our nations and regions... to ensure decisions are taken closer to the families and businesses".
"These issues can no longer be fixed solely by politicians or prime ministers trying to shore up their position in their own party," he said. "The people need to be given a voice too."
He did not comment on proposals for English-only votes in Parliament, instead calling for more powers to be devolved to regions within England.
'Rash promises'
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was time for the "clammy grip" of Westminster and Whitehall to be released "so that communities, families, cities, towns and villages across the UK feel that they have more say over their destiny than is currently the case".
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the result was "a great day for Britain" and pressed the case for English devolution. "What is sauce for the goose has got to be sauce for the gander," he added.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Owen Paterson, who was sacked by Mr Cameron as environment secretary in July, demanded an immediate recall of Parliament to debate a new constitutional settlement.
He said it had been "completely unacceptable that right at the end of the campaign we have an ex-Labour leader (Gordon Brown) galloping off up to Scotland making some very rash promises of extensive new powers to the Scottish people - apparently with the endorsement of all three UK party leaders."
England's voice
Conservative Bernard Jenkin said he supported English votes for English laws, but claimed Mr Cameron's "No" campaign had been "patronising, over bearing," and had given very little clarity about the implications of independence - "just rather a lot of scare stories".
Ex-Labour minister Frank Field urged the Labour leadership to come up with its own answer to the "English question" as soon as possible, warning that the party could not afford to drag its heels or be seen as "anti-English".
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was now time for a "constitutional convention to find out how a fair UK would work".
"I think England needs a voice," he said. "We've heard a lot from Scotland. The tail can't continue wagging the dog any longer. We must have English MPs voting on English only matters."
Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative MPs' 1922 Committee, said he could envisage parliament having English-only days - when English MPs vote on English matters.
Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight programme, he said a separate English parliament could be costly and bureaucratic, but one parliament could sit on different days of the week for different matters.


A charity behind a planned underground dinosaur museum on the Jurassic Coast believes the attraction would bring £20m into the local economy every year.

The £80m attraction, called Jurassica, would be built in a 40m (132ft) deep limestone quarry in Portland, Dorset.
Science journalist Mike Hanlon, behind the idea, said: "Jurassica has the potential to create something of global significance."
If it goes ahead, an estimated 500,000-600,000 annual visitors are expected.
It could be completed by 2020, creating more than 150 full-time jobs.
Featuring a lid-like roof, Jurassica would span about 100m, about a third the size of the Millennium Dome.
Comparable with the Eden Project, it would house robot swimming plesiosaurs, fossils and interactive displays.
Mr Hanlon said: "Jurassica will put Dorset on the global map; a real focus that will drive tourism upwards and pour more than £20m into the county's businesses every year."
Dorset Chamber of Commerce said the travel infrastructure to the attraction would be fundamental to its success. The charity is currently carrying out a £30,000 traffic impact study.
Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber of Commerce said: "There's no doubt its going to be a tremendous boost for Weymouth and Portland.
"This is a really bold innovative project that could be fantastic for the whole of the county."
Bournemouth University is conducting an economic study to determine the attraction's connections with other sectors of the economy and its likely impact.
Prof John Fletcher, pro-vice chancellor for research and innovation at the university, said the attraction would make a "significant contribution" to the local economy.
He added it would "broaden the visitor season through its international and educational pull".
Sir David Attenborough is patron of the project and the Eden Project's Sir Tim Smit is its trustee.
The project was awarded £300,000 in July from the Local Enterprise Partnership for a feasibility study and a lottery funding application.
In November, the charity put in a first round funding bid for a £16m Heritage Lottery Fund Award. The outcome of the bid is expected in April.
The 153 km (95 mile) Jurassic Coast, which begins in East Devon and stretches to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in Dorset, attracts about 12-15 million visitors a year.
The Jurassic Coast is considered the only single site in the world that displays evidence of millions of years of the earth's history, exposed in layers of rock in its cliffs.
It contains three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Visitor numbers to top paid-for England attractions in 2013
Source: Visit England
This article was amended on 29 September 2015 after a clerical error by the Jurassic team led to incorrect projected visitor numbers being stated in a report by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.


Night-time vision evolved millions of years ago in early mammals, a study suggests.

The photoreceptors that help us see in dim light developed from colour-detecting cone cells in Jurassic mammals, according to genetic evidence.
The evolution of night-time vision is regarded as a landmark event in the rise of mammals.
A nocturnal lifestyle allowed the first of their kind to avoid predatory dinosaurs, say scientists.
Co-researcher Dr William Ted Allison of the University of Alberta, Canada, said the development of night vision was a "critical step" in the dominance of mammals.
"We're learning how mammals evolved their vision to survive at night-time and avoid dinosaurs," he told the BBC.
"That's what allowed mammals to diversify and become abundant in the world.
"They did that by switching their daytime vision in the cones to allow night-time vision using their rods."
Rods and cones
Genetic research published in the journal, Developmental Cell, suggests the light-sensitive rod cells in our eyes originally developed from colour-detecting cone cells millions of years ago.
Early mammals lived alongside dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago, adopting a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid being attacked when dinosaurs were active by day.
It has been a mystery how early mammals evolved the night vision that enabled them to survive and prosper.
Anand Swaroop of the National Eye Institute, part of the US National Institutes of Health, commented: "The majority of mammals have rod-dominant retinas, but if you look at fish, frogs, or birds, the vast majority are cone-dominated - so the evolutionary question has always been, 'What happened?'"
The researchers analysed the genetics of rod and cone cells in mice, zebra fish and other animals.
They found there was a switch towards a dominance of cones over rods in early mammals.
"...Early mammals changed one type of cell from capturing UV light - which isn't necessary at night - to something that is just extremely sensitive to light," said Dr Swaroop.
Humans depend more on cones for our vision, but that happened later when our ancestors evolved to take advantage of the daylight hours again.
Follow Helen on Twitter.


A police probe into an alleged assault by a gang on a Strictly Come Dancing star has been dropped.

Gorka Marquez needed dental surgery after two of his lower jaw front teeth were badly chipped when he was attacked by a gang of youths in November, a Strictly spokesman said at the time.
Mr Marquez did not make a formal complaint to police about the incident.
Lancashire Police said the force had checked CCTV from the area in Blackpool and found nothing.
A spokesman said the force had "carried out a proportionate investigation which is now closed" and "no arrests" were made.
The programme's makers said it was up to Marquez or his representatives to comment on the closure of the investigation.
Speaking at the time of the alleged assault, a Strictly spokesman said the 26-year-old Spaniard was in the Lancashire resort for a live edition of the show when he was the victim of an "unprovoked incident".
Mr Marquez was reportedly on his way to a nightclub with colleagues after filming the show's annual broadcast from Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
He was said to have been getting out of a car when a "random group of lads" ran past and assaulted him.
Mr Marquez tweeted his fans after the incident saying it was "a bad experience" but he was "feeling better".
The dancer made his Strictly debut in this year's series and had been partnering EastEnders actress Tameka Empson, who plays Kim Fox in the BBC soap.
They were eliminated in the second round but he has continued to appear in the programme as part of the weekly group routines.
Mr Marquez also stepped in to dance with singer Anastacia in week five when her partner Brendan Cole was ill.
He represented Spain at the World Latin Championships in 2010 and has toured internationally with stage show Burn the Floor, according to his biography on the BBC website.
Mr Marquez will appear as part of the group routines on Saturday's grand final show when the winner of the glitter ball trophy will be chosen.


A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman's body was found in Bournemouth.

Dorset Police said officers attended an address in Harley Gardens at about 14:20 BST and found a woman, believed to be aged in her 20s, had suffered serious injuries.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Armed officers, assisted by a helicopter, conducted a search of the area and a 26-year-old local man was located at Hengistbury Head.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder and is currently assisting officers with inquiries.
The address in Harley Gardens has been cordoned off while crime scene investigators carry out their examinations.
Det Insp Mark Samuel said:  "Following the discovery of a woman's body today, Dorset Police has launched a murder investigation.
"A cordon has been put in place at the address while crime scene investigators examine the scene. Officers are also carrying out house-to-house enquiries.
"I am appealing for anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the Harley Gardens area yesterday, Saturday 1 October, or today to contact Dorset Police as soon as possible.
"Officers from the local Neighbourhood Policing Team will be carrying out high visibility patrols in the area over the coming days to officer reassurance to the community and can be contacted with any concerns."


First it was on your computer, then a cinema near you and now World Of Warcraft (WoW) is taking over China.

Warcraft: The Beginning, the film of the hit computer game, opened in China last week, taking $156m (£109m) in five days and topping box offices.
Comparatively, Star Wars: The Force Awakens took $125.4m during its entire box office run in China.
Warcraft is now on its way to overtake Furious 7 as the highest-grossing Hollywood film in China.
In the US, the film is considered to have bombed, having opened to the tune of $24.4m (£17.2m). Warcraft also received critical reviews, getting only 27% on ratings website Rotten Tomatoes.
So why has Warcraft performed so well in China?
Globally, the majority of WoW players are men aged 18-35, a demographic which often has expendable income.
And China has long been one of the biggest markets, making up about half of the game's five million players.
The game was first introduced in China in 2005, at a time when online access and internet cafes were growing rapidly.
China's love affair with World of Warcraft
The film adaptation, with a budget of $160m, was released on 67% of China's 39,000 screens in the middle of last week.
The opening coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival, a public holiday across China, so the potential audience was vast.
It did face competition - X-Men: Apocalypse, the Angry Birds Movie and Tim Burton's Alice Through the Looking Glass were the other main Hollywood flicks showing in China. But none could touch the appeal of Warcraft.
The studio behind the movie, Legendary Entertainment, was earlier this year acquired by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda for $3.5bn.
Legendary's in-house marketing teams reportedly cut several dozen pieces of China-specific footage, and released more trailers for the movie in China than in the US.
It also brought on companies such as computer maker Lenovo, chip maker Intel, car maker Jeep and brewery Tsingtao to sponsor the show.
"Many of the decision-makers at these brands were 'Warcraft' players," Peter Loehr, chief executive of Legendary East, Legendary's China arm, told the LA times.
On Sunday, ticket sales for Warcraft in China plunged to £11.2m, a big drop from previous days.
Yet it still accounted for 74.5% of Sunday's box office screenings, according to Deadline.
It all points to the growing importance of the Chinese cinema-going public. China's box office is expected be the world's largest by next year, according to one report this weekend , surpassing the US.
Hollywood actor Jackie Chan recently told the Shanghai Film Festival that the success of Warcraft had "scared" Americans.
"If we can make a film that earns 10bn [yuan] then people from all over the world who study film will learn Chinese, instead of us learning English."


Britons are under-reporting their daily calorie consumption - potentially misleading policymakers attempting to curb obesity, research suggests.

The Behavioural Insights Team points to scientific and economic data showing people eat 3,000 calories, compared to the 2,000 cited in official surveys.
It says this could explain rising obesity levels, despite decades of surveys saying people are eating less.
Government statisticians say the way calorie data is collated will change.
Several official surveys, including the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and the Living Costs and Food Survey, suggest the amount of food people eat and buy has gone down in recent decades - while obesity rates continue to rise.
But the researchers from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) say if the calorie counts in these surveys were correct, the UK population would be losing weight overall.
The BIT is an independent company but started its life in 2010 as a government policy group known as the "nudge unit" because it was tasked with encouraging people into making better life choices.
Its study points to scientific studies including chemical analysis of how much energy people burn, that show people are eating about 1,000 more calories a day per person than surveys would suggest.
National spending figures also suggest we are buying more food than we report in surveys, the authors say.
They suggest there could be many reasons people are not accurately reporting what they eat, including snacks being difficult to track, a desire to lose weight making them less likely to be honest about their eating habits, and fewer people taking part in the surveys overall.
Researchers also looked at the theory that a drop in physical activity was the main reason for rising weight gain.
But they say if a reduction in exercise was solely responsible, every single adult nationally would need to have eliminated more than three-and-a-half hours of daily walking since the 1970s to account for the changes.
They suggest policymakers trying to curb obesity should focus more on reducing calorie intake than promoting exercise.
Lead researcher Michael Hallsworth, director of health at the BIT, said: "Anyone who has been on a treadmill will know what it feels like to look down and see you have burned far fewer calories than you expected.
"Physical activity is good for your health and heart but reducing calories is a more effective strategy to combat obesity."
Public health expert Prof Alan Maryon-Davis described the report as an "interesting and very soundly argued analysis".
He added: "This will send a shudder through the junk-food industry.
"Up until now they've been able to point to what was thought to be a decline in the nation's calorie intake and say there's really no need for tougher measures like a sugar tax, fat tax or calorie-labelling on alcoholic drinks.
"But this latest analysis rather pulls the rug from under their feet."
The Behavioural Insights Team, which is jointly owned by the UK government and charity Nesta, applies insights from academic research in behavioural economics and psychology to public policy and services.


A prototype spaceplane built for the US military has returned to Earth after seven months in orbit.

The unpiloted X-37B touched down at Vandenberg Air Force base in California at 0116 PST (0916 GMT).
The project has been shrouded in secrecy, prompting widespread speculation about the craft's purpose.
The Air Force has not said whether it carried anything in its cargo bay, but insists the primary purpose of the mission was to test the craft itself.
Officials have said the X-37B could be used to carry out experiments in orbit.
Source: US Air Force
The robotic X-37B was launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 22 April, with a maximum mission duration of 270 days.
"We are very pleased that the programme completed all the on-orbit objectives for the first mission," the project's programme manager Lt Col Troy Giese said in a statement.
Jeremy Eggers, an Air Force spokesman based at Vandenberg said the craft is expected to return to space in Spring 2011.
At 8.9m (29ft 3ins) long and with a 4.5m (14ft 11ins) wingspan, the reusable spaceplane is about one-quarter the size of the space shuttle, with a large engine mounted at the rear of the ship for changing orbit.
While the space shuttle uses a fuel-cell power-system, the military vehicle is powered by a solar array and lithium-ion batteries.
The Boeing-built spacecraft returned to Earth on "auto-pilot"; the successful return marks the first autonomous re-entry and landing in the recorded history of the US space programme.
Because the X-37B (also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, OTV-1) started life as a Nasa programme, the Air Force is in a position to talk openly about the craft's design, but its precise purpose remains classified.
The secrecy surrounding the project has prompted much speculation about uses to which the craft might be put.
In April, Gary Payton, the Air Force's deputy undersecretary for space programmes, sought to allay worries about the X-37B and the potential weaponisation of space.
"I don't know how this could be called weaponisation of space. It's just an updated version of the space shuttle type of activities in space," he said.
"We, the Air Force, have a suite of military missions in space and this new vehicle could potentially help us do those missions better."
But some countries could be unsettled by speculation the craft might be capable of inspecting foreign military satellites.
According to amateur satellite watchers, who have been tracking the experimental vehicle since its launch, the craft changed its orbital path around six times.
Some of those skywatchers have also claimed that characteristics of the X-37B's orbit are shared with spy satellites that carry out imaging reconnaissance, as well as scientific remote sensing spacecraft.
Earlier this year, Ted Molczan, a key member in the amateur network, told BBC News the X-37B was "repeating its tracks". This pattern allows some satellites to pass over the same area of ground every few days and so re-visit a target of interest, he said.
Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk


David Sterling has been appointed as the new interim head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

The move will allow the incumbent, Sir Malcom McKibben, to focus on his role in talks to restore power-sharing.
Sir Malcolm has taken on a central role in the talks after nationalists and republicans questioned the impartiality of NI Secretary James Brokenshire.
Mr Sterling took control of Stormont's finances in March, due to a failure to pass a budget for the financial year.
He said that the civil service faced many challenges.
"I look forward to working closely with colleagues across all the departments to continue to deliver essential services for the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
"I will obviously be working very closely with Sir Malcolm over the next few weeks."
He has been using emergency powers to release cash and resources to departments until a new budget is in place.
Mr Sterling said that while the procedures could keep cash flowing to public services it was "not a substitute for a budget agreed by an executive".


Inter Milan are to have new owners, with Chinese investors Suning Commerce Group taking a majority 70% stake in the club.

Ex-Inter president Massimo Moratti is selling his 30% stake, with current owner Erick Thohir selling 40%.
Thohir will keep his remaining 30% and will be confirmed as Inter's president.
The deal is not expected to affect the position of manager Roberto Mancini, while chief executive Michael Bolingbroke is also to keep his role.
Inter's new ownership structure will be announced at a press conference at Suning's headquarters in Nanjing on Monday.
No figures have been mentioned but Thohir is thought to have made money from the deal, having bought his 70% stake in Inter in a leveraged purchase for around £250m in 2013.
Although this season they finished fourth in Serie A, their highest position since 2011, Inter have not qualified for the Champions League throughout Thohir's time at the helm.
He has tried to get the finances of the club in order and Inter expect to reduce Financial Fair Play losses from 90m Euros (£69.5m) to 30m this year.
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Turkey's government has urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to calm their diplomatic row, saying the dispute will only worsen regional tensions.

Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said the Middle East was "already a powder keg".
He criticised attacks on Saudi missions in Iran but also Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shia Muslim cleric, which triggered the dispute.
Saudi Arabia has broken off diplomatic relations with Iran and is cutting trade and air links.
On Monday, some of Riyadh's allies joined diplomatic action against Iran.
The US has also called on both countries to calm the escalating row.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are respectively the key Sunni Muslim and Shia powers in the region and back opposing sides in Syria and Yemen.
Great rivalry explained: Why don't Iran and Saudi Arabia get along?
Spiralling tensions: Why crisis is 'most dangerous for decades'
How row is playing out: Iran and Saudi media reaction
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Who was leading Saudi Shia cleric?
"We want both countries to immediately move away from the situation of tension that will obviously only add to the already severe tensions existing in the Middle East," Mr Kurtulmus was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
"The region is already a powder keg. Enough is enough. We need peace in the region."
He called on Iran to protect all diplomatic missions and said that Turkey was against "all instances of capital punishment especially when it is politically motivated".
"For us it is not possible to support capital punishment by any country," he added.
"Saudi Arabia and Iran are our friends and we don't want them fighting because that's the last thing this region needs."
Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia executed cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others after they were convicted of terror-related offences.
The move prompted an angry reaction from Iran. Protesters set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the city of Mashhad before being driven back by police.
Saudi Arabia announced late on Sunday that it was cutting diplomatic relations with Iran after the storming of the embassy in Tehran.
It said all commercial and air traffic links were being cut and that Saudi citizens were banned from travelling to Iran.
Saudi UN ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi said on Monday that the dispute could be resolved if Iran stopped "interfering in the affairs of other countries, including our own".
Riyadh has previously accused Iran of interfering in Arab affairs.
Speaking in New York, Mr Mouallimi said peace efforts in Syria and Yemen should not be affected by the spat but criticised Iran's contribution to the process.
"The Iranians even before the break of diplomatic relations have not been very supportive, not very positive in these peace efforts," he said.
"They have been taking provocative and negative positions... and I don't think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behaviour."
Bahrain and Sudan also severed relations with Iran on Monday, and the UAE has downgraded its diplomatic team.
Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy but has a majority Shia population, gave Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
The Sudanese foreign ministry said its action was on response to "the barbaric attacks on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad".
On Monday, a White House spokesman called on both countries to "show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region".
But Iran's foreign ministry accused the Saudis of "continuing the policy of increasing tension and clashes in the region".
The row also affected global markets, sending oil and gold prices higher on Monday.


Inflation in the eurozone accelerated in April, returning to the European Central Bank (ECB)'s target.

Initial estimates from Eurostat showed inflation in the bloc hit 1.9%. That was up from 1.5% in March, but just below February's four-year high of 2%.
The ECB aims for an inflation rate of below, but close to, 2%.
On Thursday, ECB head Mario Draghi said the eurozone's economic recovery was "increasingly solid" but inflation was not high enough to lift interest rates.
Following its latest meeting, the ECB kept its main interest rate on hold at zero, and left its bond-buying stimulus scheme unchanged.
The bond-buying programme has already been trimmed to 60bn euros (Â£51bn) a month from 80bn euros. However, there has been speculation that the ECB could scale back its stimulus measures if the eurozone's economic recovery continues.
The main factor behind April's pick-up in inflation was rising energy prices.
Core inflation - a measure that is watched closely by the ECB and which strips out energy and unprocessed food prices - rose to 1.2% in April from 0.8% in March.
The core figure was stronger than expected, and its highest level since September 2013.
However, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Markit, said the ECB was "highly unlikely" to read too much into April's data "as it was clearly lifted by Easter timing distortions".
"The April/March swings in eurozone consumer price inflation - both the headline rate and the core rate - were influenced substantially by pricing distortions, resulting from the fact that Easter occurred in mid-April in 2017 compared to late March in 2016."
Separate figures from France showed that the country's economic growth rate slowed in the first three months of the year.
France's economy grew by 0.3% in the quarter, down from a rate of 0.5% in the final three months of 2016.
The slowdown was partly due to weak consumer spending, after unseasonably warm weather led to lower spending on clothes and heating bills.


Scottish Labour has launched its council election campaign with a warning that local services will not be safe in Conservative hands.

The party also said the SNP are pushing for another independence referendum to distract from what they call a "poor record" in government.
And leader Kezia Dugdale warned against voting Conservative as a protest against independence.
Council elections will be held across the country on 4 May.
For the first time in a Scotland-wide council election, 16 and 17-year-olds will be eligible to vote.
Ms Dugdale urged people to consider the impact the Conservatives could have on social services, care for the elderly and schools, claiming her rivals are "itching to cut even more money from our valued public services".
Leading Tories have been calling on voters to use the local authority ballot to send a message to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon not to hold a second Scottish independence referendum.
But Ms Dugdale said: "Voting in this election isn't a protest vote. Your vote in this election really matters.
"If you vote for the Tories, you are voting for them to be in power - to take control of your council services. Not to be in opposition or to protest against independence.
"So before you vote, think about whether you want a Tory in charge of elderly care, social services and schools. This is a party itching to cut even more money from our valued public services."
Ms Dugdale, whose party is third in the polls behind the Scottish Conservatives, was speaking ahead of Labour's local government election campaign launch in Edinburgh.
She also highlighted the "abhorrent rape clause" as showing the "ruthless" nature of the Tories.
Changes brought in by the Conservatives at Westminster mean women claiming tax credits for a third or subsequent child have to prove they became pregnant as a result of a rape or while in a coercive relationship in order to qualify for the payments.
"If we need any reminder of what Tories do in power, just look at what happened last week," Ms Dugdale said.
"Ruth Davidson - who we were told was a different type of Tory - stood up and took a stand...not against poverty or injustice or the mistreatment of someone, but to justify the abhorrent rape clause.
"That should tell you everything you need to know about the Tories: not modern; not forward looking; not compassionate; and desperate to hide their true colours.
"That's Ruth Davidson's Conservatives - ruthless. Local services will not be safe in their hands."


Samsung has said it will delay restarting the sale of its Galaxy Note 7 phone in South Korea, as the firm needs more time for the global recall of the device.

The South Korean tech giant was forced to recall some 2.5 million devices globally due to overheating batteries.
Dozens of devices were reported to have caught fire.
The phone was to be back on the shelf on 28 September but is now expected to be available 1 October at the earliest.
On 2 September Samsung had said it would stop selling the phones and offered to replace the ones already sold. The firm also urged people to stop using the device.
The global recall affects 10 markets. In South Korea, some 200,000 customers have already returned their devices with the same number of people still left for the recall, according to Samsung.
Reuters reported that the next markets where the phone will be available for sale again will be Australia and Singapore in October.
What makes lithium batteries catch fire?
On Friday, cabin crew on an Indian passenger aircraft used a fire extinguisher to tackle a smoking older Samsung handset.
The Galaxy Note 2 - a model launched in 2012 - was smouldering and spitting sparks, according to a statement from airline IndiGo.
In the US, regulators have ordered a formal recall of the Note 7, while the country's Federal Aviation Administration has told airline passengers not to bring the phones on planes unless they keep them turned off and don't charge them during the flight.
A number of airlines around the globe have also banned the phone from being used or charged on their planes.
The phone was originally launched on 19 August and had been generally well-received by critics and consumers.
The recall comes at a crucial time for Samsung as rival Apple has just released its new iPhone 7.


Fire crews are expected to leave the site of the Shoreham Airshow disaster later after spending nearly three weeks at the scene of the crash.

Eleven people were killed when a vintage Hawker Hunter jet crashed into traffic on the A27 on 22 August.
West Sussex chief fire officer Sean Ruth said the recovery operation was "extremely challenging" for crews.
Sussex Police have also finished their work at the scene, but their investigations are continuing.
Mr Ruth said the fire service had been "truly humbled" by the messages of support it had received.
"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service continue to be with the families and friends of those killed and injured in the Shoreham Air Show tragedy," he said.
He anticipated that Friday would be the last day his crews worked at the scene and wanted to thank people for the "over-whelming support we have received".
"In my 27 years of service I have never experienced such an outpouring of gratitude and respect as I have received on behalf of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service over the last few weeks - from letters and emails, to words of thanks in the street, and from visitors at a number of our local fire stations," he said.
Det Chief Insp Carwyn Hughes, of Sussex Police, said: "Our officers and staff have been meticulous and have worked hard over the past three weeks to find answers for the victims' families.
"We have now finished work on the A27, however our investigation continues."
On Thursday, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it wanted to interview 51-year-old pilot Andy Hill as soon as possible.
Reports that Mr Hill, a former RAF pilot from Sandon, near Buntingford in Hertfordshire, had left hospital have not been confirmed by police.
An initial AAIB report said Mr Hill was thrown clear of the aircraft during the later part of the crash, but it is not clear whether he initiated his ejection.
After the crash, the pilot's family issued a statement which said they were devastated and deeply saddened by the loss of life and sent prayers and heartfelt condolences to the families of all those affected.
West Sussex County Council said the single closed westbound lane of the A27 was expected to be reopened to traffic next week but screens will stay up on the roadside indefinitely for reclamation work on the land to be completed.


Barry Hawkins reached the World Grand Prix final with a 6-1 win over China's Liang Wenbo in Preston.

World number 12 Hawkins, who clinched the match with a break of 120, hit 107 in the fourth frame and made three further half-century breaks.
Marco Fu plays Ryan Day at 19:00 GMT on Saturday for a place in Sunday's final.
Hong Kong's Fu beat Mark King 4-2 earlier on Friday to reach the last four while Day - world ranked 24 - beat defending champion Shaun Murphy 4-2.


Stephen Keshi, the former Nigeria captain and manager, was buried on Friday in his country house at Ilah, in Nigeria's Delta State.

Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations as both captain (in 1994) and manager of the Super Eagles (in 2013).
The man affectionately known as 'Big Boss' was twice voted as Africa's top coach, by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), in 2005 and 2013.
He died of sudden medical complications in his home in Benin City in June.
I can't believe that Stephen is gone
A huge personality in the continental game, playing in five Africa Cup of Nations finals (1982, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1994), the former Anderlecht, Strasbourg and RWD Molenbeek central defender, had also managed Togo - earning them a 2006 World Cup place - and Mali, before taking up the Nigeria job in 2011.
"I can't believe that Stephen is gone," said Uche Okechukwu, the former Brondby and Fenerbahce central defender, who played with Keshi in the Super Eagles in the 1990s.
"I was to have called him a few days before he passed. But I forgot.
"Days later, my brother banged on my door one early morning and told me to check my Facebook page, as he clearly did not know how to break the new to me.
"It was a very big shock. It still is a very big shock," Okechukwu said.
A large group of Keshi's former Super Eagles teammates, including Okechukwu, Mutiu Adepoju, Augustine Eguavoen, Victor Ikpeba and Peter Rufai, attended the memorial service at St. John's Catholic Church in Ilah, which took place before the burial, in Keshi's home.
"Keshi was a man that knew his own mind. He was a very strong personality," Ikpeba, the former AC Monaco, Borussia Dortmund striker and 1997 CAF African Footballer of the Year, told the BBC.
"As a member of the NFF's technical committee, we often had to exchange strong words, over the way that he managed the national team.
"I was a young player under his captaincy, during the start of my career in the national team, so Keshi always felt that I should support him totally as coach. But this was not always possible, as I had my own opinion, which sometimes differed from his.
"But despite our occasional differences, over technical issues, I've always had a great deal of respect for him. He was, truly, the "Big Boss," Ikpeba said.
Keshi controversially lost his job as Super Eagles coach in 2014, after the Pinnick Amaju led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) claimed that he had "violated" the terms of his employment contract, by "seeking" to take up work with the Ivorian national team.
Kate, to whom Keshi was married, for over 30 years, died in December last year, after losing a three-year battle with cancer. He is survived by four children.


Thousands of mourners are attending the first day of official commemorations in the Democratic Republic of Congo to mark the sudden death of music star Papa Wemba.

2 May 2016 Last updated at 18:09 BST
The influential musician died after collapsing on stage while performing in Ivory Coast.
He will be buried on Wednesday.
The BBC's Maud Jullien reports from DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa.


US President Barack Obama has strongly criticised the most powerful US gun lobby during a televised public forum.

He said the National Rifle Association (NRA) had deliberately misrepresented proposed legislation on gun control.
The NRA declined to take part in the discussion, which it called a public relations spectacle.
Meanwhile, US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said he would eliminate gun-free zones in schools on his first day in office, if elected.
Addressing the audience at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Mr Obama blamed the NRA and others for suggesting that "somebody's going to come grab your guns".
He said that all he was seeking to do was strengthen background checks - not seize all firearms.
Why Obama is powerless - the roadblock at Congress
Are you mad or criminal? - the question a gun seller asks
Texas women and their firearms - a photographer taught to shoot at an early age
Do tighter gun laws work? - a state where guns are a way of life
Guns at home - the question parents hate to ask before a playdate
He took questions from Taya Kyle, whose late husband, shooting victim Chris Kyle, was depicted in the film American Sniper.
Separately, in an article in the New York Times, he called gun violence a national crisis, and urged owners and firearm manufacturers to play their part in ending it.
Mr Obama added that he would not campaign for Democrats who did not back gun reforms, saying he wanted leaders brave enough to stand up to what he called the gun lobby's lies.
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the group had seen "no reason to participate in a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House".
What is the NRA?
History: The NRA was founded in 1871 with the aim of training men in marksmanship. It began lobbying on gun policy in 1975 and is now one of the most powerful special interest groups in the US.
Budget: The NRA has big coffers. It spends about $250m per year - more than all of America's gun control advocacy groups combined. About $3m of that is spent on lobbying.
Membership: The association boasts of nearly 5m members, although analysts say the figure is probably closer to 3m. Famous members have included Charlton Heston, Whoopi Goldberg, and former president George Bush Snr.
Controversy: The NRA has been widely criticised for its statements on mass shootings, including a claim in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre that a lack of armed guards at schools was to blame.
Donald Trump made his promise to end gun-free zones when he addressed a rally in Vermont.
"You know what a gun-free zone is for a sicko?" he asked the crowd. "That's bait."
Earlier this week, Mr Obama unveiled a package of executive actions aimed at keeping guns from people who should not have access to them.
These involve
Leading US Republicans denounced the move.
House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said the executive orders, which bypass Congress, "undermined liberty" and would be challenged in court.


Hull will be without Evandro, Harry Maguire and Abel Hernandez due to injury.

They join Will Keane, Lazar Markovic, Ryan Mason, David Meyler and Moses Odubajo on the sidelines.
Tottenham await news on whether full-backs Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker will be fit to return.
Christian Eriksen is likely to be recalled after being rested against Leicester on Thursday, while Filip Lesniak could be handed a start.
Martin Fisher: "On the final day of last season, Tottenham travelled to an already relegated club and lost 5-1. I very much doubt that lightning will strike twice.
"A year ago Spurs were physically and mentally exhausted after failing to overhaul Leicester in the title race. They're in much better shape now as Leicester themselves can testify after being hit for six on Thursday.
"Hull's immediate return to the Championship was effectively confirmed when they choked at home to Sunderland.
"Their future looks grim. Marco Silva is already being linked with other managerial jobs. The likes of Harry Maguire, Sam Clucas and Andrew Robertson will be targets too. Off the field the ownership issue remains unresolved.
"This might be their last Premier League game for some time."
Twitter: @mfisherfootball
Hull boss Marco Silva: "I want the players to play with the motivation to end the season well in front of our own fans.
"That is our focus, but of course we are playing against a team that is in a good place at this moment.
"Tottenham have had a very good season and play some very good football, but we want to give our fans one last good result this season."
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "We will keep the players that we want to keep. Maybe we will sell the players that we want to sell.
"I think we are so, so, so calm about our big players and they are so happy here.
"We are building a very exciting project."
Tottenham said goodbye to White Hart Lane with a deserved win over Manchester United and they will want to finish the season strongly despite missing out on the title.
Prediction: 0-2
Lawro's full predictions v rock band Royal Blood
Head-to-head
Hull City
Tottenham Hotspur
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Salford that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.