Rumour Mill: Fernando Ricksen | Rangers | Celtic
Fernando Ricksen ‘wanted to punch Advocaat’
Former Rangers captain Fernando Ricksen has claimed he came close to punching manager Dick Advocaat after being sent off in an Old Firm derby 12 years ago. Ricksen, whose autobiography is being serialised in the Sun, was given a red card in a game that Celtic won 1-0 at Parkhead, and went for Dick Advocaat in the dressing room at half-time.
“As soon as he entered the dressing room at half-time, I went for his throat. I jumped over the massuer’s table to try to punch him in the face. The players got a hold of me and shoved me into the shower area and closed the door. I saw enough to know that Dick didn’t back off an inch, oh no. He stood his ground and started growling at me. He was just as angry with me as I was with him.” (Sun on Sunday)
Neil Lennon takes blame for Celtic draw
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Hide AdCeltic manager Neil Lennon says he accepts the blame for Celtic’s 1-1 draw against Dundee United, where a late Charlie Mulgrew goal was required to rescue a point for the home side. With one eye on a crucial Champions League tie against Ajax on Wednesday, Lennon rested several key players.
In the wake of the draw, he said: “I should take the criticism if there is any because I wanted to use the squad ahead of a huge game. Don’t blame the players, although I do want those squad players who come in to do better. But I made the changes. We were sloppy but that comes down to my team selection. Four or five changes isn’t ideal but players like Joe Ledley need game time.” (Sunday Express)
Terry Butcher would find it “hard to leave” Inverness Caldedonian Thistle after being linked with the vacant managerial post at Hibernian. The former Rangers and England captain is among a host of candidates being touted for the post, but Butcher said that talk of a move was “speculation.”
He said: “Nobody has spoken about it at the club. The only people speaking about it are the media. Would it be difficult to leave with a cup-semi final in store? I brulght all of these players here. At any time it would be difficult.”
Former Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels and Peter Grant, who is understood to be especially keen on the post, are other names that are rumoured to be on Hibs’ shortlist. (Scotland on Sunday)
Fernando Ricksen in 12-girl orgy confession
Fernando Ricksen and his Rangers team-mates instigated an orgy with 12 girls at his Glasgow apartment, the former captain has claimed. After hailing a string of taxis to transport women to his River Clyde apartment, the footballer, who was last week diagnosed with motor neurone disease, retells how “he saw people having sex everywhere”.
He continued: “Now I was in the middle of a surreal situation. Each place I looked people were at it. There were no inhibitions left, there were threesomes galore. It was one big orgy.”
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Hide AdAnother salacious anecdote from his autobiography tells of how Ricksen slept with a Celtic fan who lived just yards away from Celtic Park. Recounting the experience, he said: “I was getting my stuff together when this beautiful Hoops fan said to me: ‘If you try to get a taxi from here you are going to have problems.’
“I was s******* myself. Outside, Celtic graffiti was everwhere. ‘Well done Rangers guy’, I said to myself, ‘Now you are trapped in Celticland.’” (Sun on Sunday)
Call for board changes at Hibs after Fenlon exit
Former Hibernian player Pat Kane has said that club owner Sir Tom Farmer must consider making changes at the top of the organisation before entrusting his board to appoint a new manager. Hibs are seeking their 11 managers in as many years after Pat Fenlon’s exit, but Kane said that the priority should be assessing whether the board, led by Rod Petrie, has what it takes to make such a decision.
“The big question is not who is going to be manager...do we give this board the chance to make another decision or should there be changes at the top as well?” (Sunday Express)
IN BRIEF
• SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster will fly to China with business and sporting delegates as they seek sponsorship for the leagues. A broadcast tie-up with China is high on Doncaster’s list of priorities, and he is understood to be seeking a sponsorship deal as well. (Sunday Express)
• Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson is set to take a controlling interest in the club as majority shareholder Cath Thompson, Stephen’s mother, is expected to step aside and transfer ownership of the club. (Sunday Express)
• Former Manchester United and Celtic midfielder Roy Keane has agreed in principle to accept a position as part of Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland staff, it has been claimed. (Mail on Sunday)
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