The Rumour Mill: Monday’s football transfer news and gossip

Charles Green backs Ally McCoist despite Stirling Albion defeat

Rangers owner Charles Green has denied claims Ally McCoist’s job is under threat as Rangers poor away form in the Third Division reached a new nadir with a 1-0 defeat to Stirling Albion. Green, speaking to the Sun, called the defeat “unacceptable” but added that the players were liable for a result that now leaves Rangers third in the table.

 “There is no of Ally being sacked. Yes, Saturday’s defeat was an embarrassment. But no more than Ally knows what happened at Stirling was unacceptable. We’ve got to get a lot of things sorted at the club and we’ve never said it was going to be easy.

“We are certainly not going to solve anything by dismissing the manager. Remember, the manager wasn’t on the field on Saturday, was he? Ally will be the first to accept that he picked the team. But no matter the players picked, Rangers should still be able to put out a team to beat anyone at this level.”

Lee McCulloch bemoans expensive failures

Rangers captain Lee McCulloch has lamented Rangers’ recent performances in the wake of their defeat to Stirling Albion, but said that their wage bill - revealed to be £6m a year by Charles Green, a figure around a hundred times that of their conquerers Stirling Albion - has not made them complacent.

“I don’t think we can get away with another result like that. Other people will use the wages thing, but we won’t. I don’t know what our wage bill is - but I don’t think it’s about wages. I appreciate people will talk about wages but it comes down to defending better, scoring goals and having the ball to create chances.” (Daily Mail, Record)

I’m glad Kris Commons is out of Scotland squad - Lennon

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said that Kris Commons’ omission from the Scotland squad is a boost for the club as Commons delivered a man-of-the-match performance against Hearts on Sunday. Commons, who set up Georgios Samaras’ winner at Parkhead, will benefit from the rest gained from missing out on Craig Levein’s call-up, according to Lennon.

“Craig has his reasons for not picking him. He has come out publicly and said there are other players ahead of him, and that’s his decision. I’m not here to criticise any manager in any shape or form. In fact, selfishly I’m delighted because it will give the wee man a chance to put his feet up for a few days.” (Sun)

Celtic set to terminate Andre Blackman’s contract

Celtic left-back Andre Blackman looks set to leave the club after an acrimonious departure from loan club Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Terry Butcher instructed Blackman to leave just two games into his loan spell after a perceived lack of commitment from the 21-year-old. The defender then exacerbated matters by refusing to travel to Glasgow to offer Neil Lennon an explanation. (The Sun)

Aberdeen seek Ryan Fraser extension

Aberdeen manager Craig Brown is seeking contract talks with Ryan Fraser in order to tie the teenager to a new deal. Fraser is expected to be offered improved terms after an impressive start to the season. Joe Shaugnessy, Jordan Brown, Nicky Low and Cammy Smith are also thought to be targets for similar deals, which chief executive Duncan Fraser will oversee. (Daily Express)

IN BRIEF

• Stirling Albion full-back Kieran McAnespie has revealed he was so disillusioned with football that he nearly gave up on the game after being released by Morton in 2009 - and took up a job as a cameraman for a porn channel. McAnespie, who helped Albion to a shock 1-0 win over Rangers, said he is glad he changed his mind on turning his back on the game.

“I hated football for a while, which is why I went away. I just fell out of love with football and took a wee year out but then got the appetite back.” (Daily Record)