Rumour Mill: Rangers goals | Leigh Griffiths sorry | Aberdeen v Celtic

MARK Warburton embraces ambitious Dave King targets; Leigh Griffiths sorry for Rudi Skacel refugee jibe; Ronny Deila expects Aberdeen clashes to be pivotal; plus the rest of today’s football news and gossip

Celtic manager Ronny Deila. Picture: John Devlin

Mark Warburton backs Dave King’s ‘aggressive’ goals

Rangers manager Mark Warburton has backed Rangers chairman Dave King’s “aggressive” targets for next season, which would see Rangers being asked to compete with Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title next season. “It’s nice to see an ambitious chairman,” said Warburton. “It’s great to have his support and to hear his aggressive, optimistic desire.” (Scotsman)

Leigh Griffiths ‘sorry’ for Skacel refugee jibe

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has apologised for leading a chant in a pub calling the former Hearts striker Rudi Skacel a “f***ing refugee.” The former Hibernian forward pleaded guilty in court to the offence, but will not face punishment. “I made a mistake, I wrongly became involved in this incident and did not fully consider my actions. I apologise unreservedly for this,” he said. (Scotsman)

Peter Lawwell: We made loss to back Ronny Deila

Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, has insisted that a £4 million loss reported by the club can be attributed to its desire to back manager Ronny Deila. Lawwell pointed out that money generated from player sales had gone from £17m last year to £6.7m this year as evidence. (Scotsman)

Ronny Deila expects Aberdeen clashes to be pivotal

Ronny Deila has admitted that Celtic’s four Scottish Premiership games against Aberdeen could have a significant bearing on the destination of the title. “I think that’s going to be important [the four games],” he said. “Aberdeen are at a good level all the time. They take points all the time and the games against them here are going to be important as well.” (Scotsman)

Shaun Maloney faces Scotland fitness race

Shaun Maloney is an injury worry for Gordon Strachan ahead of Scotland’s crucial final Euro 2016 qualifying ties after tearing a hamstring, an injury sustained against Germany. Strachan’s squad will face Poland on October 8, and Gibraltar three days later. (Daily Express)