Rumour Mill:Celtic | Martin Bain

Ronny Deila pulls a face as Celtic struggle against Motherwell. Picture: SNS

‘We can’t rely on Commons and Brown’ fumes Deila

RONNY Deila hit out at his Celtic flops after another lacklustre 1-1 draw at the weekend.

Celtic needed to rely on an equaliser from Kris Commons to snatch a point against a resilient Motherwell side who had taken the lead through John Sutton.

And Deila was raging at his team after giving some of the squad’s fringe players a chance to stake a claim for a regular starting berth.

But the Norwegian had to throw on Commons and Scott Brown to inject some life into his side.

“We made it so difficult for ourselves with a poor first half,” Deila admitted. “We had bad tempo, no passes forward and didn’t break the down once in the first half.”

Deila pointed to the introduction of Commons and Brown as the catalyst for his side’s recovery in the second half but warned: “You can’t rely on one or two players. We need to get the whole squad up at the right level.” (Daily Record)

Bain lands Israeli job

FORMER Rangers chief executive Martin Bain has made a surprise return to football after being appointed chief executive at Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Bain hasn’t been involved with football since he attempted to block Craig Whyte’s takeover of Rangers in May 2011, but has been persuaded to join Maccabi by the club’s wealthy Canadian owner Mitch Goldhar.

Bain, who has not spoken publicly since being ousted from his post at Ibrox, told the Daily Record: “I feel sufficient time has passed for me to now return to football and I’m delighted to take on this new challenge at Maccabi.

“The way things ended for me at Rangers was obviously a bruising experience and I needed to take a period of time out for the sake of my family.”

Bain insisted that he had delivered at Rangers, adding that in the two years since the board restructure in August 2009 and prior to the arrival of Whyte, turnover had risen, operating costs had been reduced, net debt had been slashed and the club had reached a UEFA Cup final while winning three consecutive league titles. (Daily Record)

Griffiths loan move to Hibs back on

LEIGH Griffiths could yet make a return to boyhood heroes Hibernian after being left out of the squad to face Motherwell.

The former Wolves hitman has found himself effectively frozen out at Parkhead under Ronny Deila, and following his omission from the Celtic squad to face Aberdeen, raced to Edinburgh to watch Hibs come from 2-1 down to beat Cowdenbeath 3-2 last weekend.

Despite the transfer window having closed, Hibs are able to sign an emergency loan replacement for injured striker Farid El Alagui, and could look to bring Griffiths back to Easter Road.

Any loan deal would be for a maximum of three months. (Various)

Hartley avoids Cardiff job talk

SHELLSHOCKED Dundee boss Paul Hartley refused to comment on speculation linking him with the vacant managerial position at Cardiff following his side’s 4-1 derby defeat to Dundee United at the weekend.

Asked about rumours linking him with a move to Wales, and also talk that he was in the frame for the Fulham job following Felix Magath’s departure, Hartley told reporters: “I am not talking about that, I just want to talk about the game.

“We’re disappointed in the way we lost the game and the goals we gave away. We know we’re better than that.” (The Sun)

‘It should have been six’, claims McNamara

JACKIE McNamara watched his side tear Dundee apart and then insisted after the match that Dundee United should have scored six.

The United boss said after the 4-1 win: “We could have hit one or two more. We have played better - I was looking for more from them.”

And the former Celtic defender admitted he was disappointed that Greg Stewart managed to net a consolation for the Dark Blues.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose one,” he said, adding: “We had so many good performers and as a team we defended well and handled everything that was put to us at set-pieces as well as being a constant threat.” (Various)

News in brief

• Nicky Clark has given Rangers a boost with the news his shoulder injury is not as bad as first thought, as the club attempt to deal with a possible injury crisis

• Kilmarnock midfielder Sammy Clingan is eyeing a return to the Northern Ireland set-up after missing his country’s win over Hungary

• Hearts midfielder Jamie Walker has warned Hibs to expect the Jambos to keep up their phenomenal form after sweeping Cowdenbeath aside 5-1

Rumour Mill:Celtic | Martin Bain | Leigh Griffiths