Rumour Mill: Lassana Diarra | Neil Lennon

Lassana Diarra gets away from Zenit's Anatoliy Tymoshchuk during a Russian Premier League match in May. Picture: Getty

Lassana Diarra denies talk of Celtic move

Reports had circulated on Monday that former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra had agreed to join Celtic on a six-month deal. However, the French midfielder denied the claims with a statement on Twitter. He tweeted on his personal account @Lass_Officiel: “For several days I hear a lot of stories about me just to make things clear I didnt travel nowhere much less sign for any team good evening.” (Various)

Campbell Ogilvie says the SFA are still awaiting answers from Mike Ashley

Campbell Ogilvie has revealed the SFA are still awaiting answers from Mike Ashley over his bid for greater control at Ibrox. He said: “We’ve written to the club and Mike Ashley seeking clarification. We are waiting for replies. We need more info and we’ll take it from there. Fundamentally the undertaking was not to go above 10 per cent shareholding and not to influence the running of the club. On the back of the movement last week we are looking for more information. How do you define influence? I wouldn’t say that was clear.” (Sun)

Ally McCoist shot down claims by Donald Findlay that he’s not boss of the ‘real’ Rangers

Ally McCoist last night shot down claims by Donald Findlay that he’s not boss of the ‘real’ Rangers. The Cowdenbeath chairman believes the Ibrox club are a new outfit and must now forge their own identity and traditions. McCoist however, says he’s going with the words of Lord Nimmo Smith who stated a football club is a recognisable entity, capable of being owned and operated. He said: “I absolutely and totally respect Donald. Ian Durrant and I are the only two faces he can recognise at Rangers, which is entirely understandable. Donald is entitled to his opinion but his great friend Lord Nimmo Smith thought the opposite. It is safe to say my opinion would lean towards Lord Nimmo.” (Sun)

Neil Lennon says he could be back as Celtic boss one day

Neil Lennon says he could return to Celtic as manager one day and even discussed a future comeback with Peter Lawell. The 43-year-old who resigned from the Parkhead hotseat to seek a new managerial challenge after four years at the helm, revealed one of the last things he discussed with chief executive Lawwell was the possibility of making an emotional return. He said: “I left on good terms with the board and with Peter and Mr Desmond. We said that if ever the opportunity came up down the line I’d have no hesitation coming back.” (Record)

Stuart McCall speaks out on why he quit at Motherwell

Stuart McCall last night admitted he knew it was time to quit Motherwell when the job started giving him sleepless nights.

The Fir Park club yesterday began their search for a new manager – with around 50 applications flooding in from all over the world. McCall stood down on Sunday evening after a weekend of soul-searching following the 2-1 loss at St Johnstone , Well’s seventh game without a win. And the 50-year-old claimed the strain of trying to turn things around had got to him. He said: “I struggled to sleep after Friday’s game with St Johnstone. Then I woke up again during the Saturday night, thinking about the Dundee United game, and I just couldn’t come up with any answers.”

Former player Derek Adams is the early favourite to succeed McCall but general manager Alan Burrows last night revealed 50 managers and coaches have already approached the club.

Motherwell sit second bottom of the Premiership but McCall wasn’t pushed out the door. Burrows said: “I’m gutted about it. I was really confident Stuart would turn it around. He just felt he’d become a bit negative and didn’t want it seeping into the dressing room. But the players and board were completely behind him. Within an hour of Stuart’s departure being announced, we had 10 or 12 applications. By lunchtime, there were three times that number and we have been flooded by texts.

They are coming from Scotland, the rest of the UK and internationally. Some of them are very interesting indeed. The board will draw up a shortlist from them and from anyone who hasn’t contacted us but who we feel may have something to offer.” (Record)

Hamstring tear sees Mario Bilate facing weeks on the sidelines

Dundee United striker Mario Bilate is facing weeks on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring. The Russian-born Dutchman lasted only half-an-hour of Saturday’s 3-0 win over St Mirren at Tannadice before hobbling off to be replaced by sub Stuart Armstrong. Previously dogged by hamstring trouble, this injury is a new one that will be scanned as soon as possible. Only then will the exact length of his absence from the team be known. An educated guess is that he will sit out the rest of this month at the very least, with the first match he will miss being Friday night’s trip to Motherwell in the league. United manager Jackie McNamara was particularly keen to get Bilate up to peak fitness as frontman Nadir Ciftci is suspended for the Scottish Cup tie against the Steelmen on November 29. However, it will now be a long wait for both player and club. McNamara said: “Unfortunately, Mario is now going to be out for a few weeks. I think we will be getting a scan done to see the extent of the tear in the hamstring. It’s not quite the same area as before but obviously there is a weakness. We need to get to the bottom of that and make sure it doesn’t happen again. It is disappointing for him and the club. We were trying to get him up to speed by giving him game time and, from his point of view, it’s a real setback. We have a lot of big games coming up and we wanted him to play for the whole match on Saturday but he had to come off. The season has been a stop-start for him. Coming to us late in the summer has meant he has been playing catch-up fitness-wise so it’s frustrating.” (Dundee Courier)

Derek McInnes insisted the SFA were right to ban Aleksandar Tonev

Derek McInnes last night insisted the SFA were right to hit Celtic star Aleksandar Tonev with a seven-game ban.

The Aberdeen manager believes Shay Logan has been completely vindicated after accusing the Hoops man of racist abuse. McInnes said: “It says everything about Shay and he deserves to be commended. He is not an excitable boy, he is very grounded and popular in the dressing room. We’re pleased he’s been vindicated and the right decision has been made. He’s kept his head down and there has been no drama.

We as a club will stand by any of our players against any sort of abuse they get. We back them and Shay has had that from us. We kept quiet through the whole process and Shay has kept his head down and kept working hard. He is a pleasure to work with.

I don’t want to talk about Celtic appealing, they can do what they want. But we feel vindicated and the right decision was made.” (Record)

News in brief:

• Hibs boss Alan Stubbs wants to keep Everton youngster Matt Kennedy at Easter Road all season. (Sun)

• Steven Gerrard is set to be rested for the game against Real Madrid tonight. (Various)

• Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez has been given the all-clear in his battle with cancer. (Sun)

• Manchester City are said to be interested in £20m plus rated Germany winger Marco Reus. (Mail)

• Marcos Rojo has added to Manchester United’s defensive injury woes and will be out until Christmas. (Mail)

Rumour Mill: Lassana Diarra | Neil Lennon | Stuart McCall