Series three of Ted Lasso kicks off in style with AFC Richmond being predicted to come bottom of the league in the new season. What makes it even worse is that their former employee, Nate (Nick Mohammed), is now manager of West Ham United, who are tipped to be league champions. Meanwhile Hannah Waddingham is back as club owner Rebecca Welton and Jeremy Swift returns as Leslie Higgins, Director of Football Operations. Brett Goldstein, who is also heavily involved in the new Apple TV+ therapy comedy Shrinking – is back on board as both writer and one of the stars – veteran Roy Kent. 

I think it's fair to say that Ted Lasso is not big on realism when it comes to football subplots. OK, maybe it was filmed before Arsenal's surprise resurgence but there does not seem to be much in the way of references to Manchesters United or City, never mind Liverpool, Chelsea or Spurs.

Instead what we get is some comic chicanery in the dressing rooms and the boardroom. Jason Sueikis is back as lovably naive manager Ted Lasso but the first episode really belong to Nick Mohammed, whose Nate tansforms from mild-mannered everyman to hard-nosed manager. The turning point is when he faces his first press conference at West Ham. The club's hard-hearted owner Rupert Mannion (Rebecca Welton's ex-husband), played by Anthony Head is certainly delighted with Nate's performance.

The press conference is juxtaposed with the AFC Richmond squad going on a morale-boosting (?) trip down the sewers near the ground. Is this some kind of metaphor for saying that the shit gets washed away and everything is good again? If it is a metaphor it's not the clearest of metaphors.

As with previous seasons – TV seasons, not soccer seasons – there is a feelgood vibe to the show, but maybe an undercurrent of something darker going on here. Rumour has it that this is the final series. If only they could get a cameo from Gary Lineker...

All of Ted Lasso is streaming now on Apple TV+

Pictured: Nick Mohammed and Jason Sudeikis as Nate and Ted: Apple TV+