Rangers spur comments addressed, Celtic braced for action, big sell-on windfall, team's free Turkey trip - Scottish football news
We take a look at some of the main football stories doing the rounds this Friday morning:
Boyd’s Aberdeen remarks addressed
The Premiership returns this weekend, with the pick of the matches being Sunday’s clash at Pittodrie between Aberdeen and Rangers. The Dons will look to bounce back from a 6-0 hiding by Celtic two weekends ago, which led to former Gers striker and now pundit Kris Boyd suggesting the hosts would have no issues picking themselves up given the opponents are Rangers, a long-standing rival of the club, and that they would be more motivated playing them than Celtic. Those comments were put to Aberdeen manager Barry Robson ahead of the match and he replied: “If you know me you know I want to win every game. That’s what my teams are all about. That’s it. We try and win every game we can.”
Agnew expects major test from new-look Rangers
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Hide AdSteve Agnew admitted Aberdeen are expecting to host a different Rangers side on Sunday to the version they defeated 3-1 at Ibrox almost two months ago. The Dons pulled off an impressive victory over the Gers on the last day of September, leading to the sacking of the Glasgow club’s boss Michael Beale two days later. Since then Philippe Clement has taken over and overseen a seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions – including six wins – ensuring Rangers head to Pittodrie this weekend with renewed confidence. “Obviously that was an encouraging performance and result at Ibrox but there have been changes there,” said Dons assistant Agnew on Thursday. “They’ve obviously changed the coach and results have been good since the new coach has come in. Rangers will be slightly different because a new coach usually changes the way he wants the team to play. We’re aware of that and we’ve analysed Rangers. We know it will be a tough game but we’re all really looking forward to it. We’re quietly confident. There will be a great atmosphere on Sunday and we believe we’re more than capable of getting the result we want.”
Dons keep tabs on midfielders’ moves
Aberdeen chiefs will be eagerly watching transfer developments surrounding two of their former midfielders in January due to active sell-on clauses. Both Lewis Ferguson and Ylber Ramadani have been linked with big-money moves away from Bologna and Lecce respectively, with Ferguson’s valuation now believed to be around the £20million mark as Juventus monitor him. The Daily Record reports that the Dons have a 15 per cent sell-on clause for Ferguson and a ten per cent clause for Ramadani.
Green Brigade set to take action
Celtic will be braced for a “day of action” from banned ultras group The Green Brigade on Saturday when they host Motherwell at Parkhead. With a resolution no closer between the club and the supporters’ arm, it is expected that The Green Brigade will carry out their plans for the upcoming league match. While their plans have so far not been made public, The Green Brigade recently wrote in relation to their suspension of tickets: “Should our own situation not be satisfactorily resolved by Celtic vs Motherwell, 25/11/23, we will organise a day of action at this match. We will liaise with all interested Celtic fans, fan groups and CSCs in the lead up to this date.”
Kettlewell slams treatment of managers
Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell feels it is a “disgrace” that football managers get so little time in the job. So far four top-flight gaffers have been sacked this season – Lee Johnson (Hibs), Michael Beale (Rangers), Steven MacLean (St Johnstone) and Malky Mackay (Ross County) – while Steven Naismith at Hearts and Kettlewell himself have come under pressure. "I'm not trying to defend myself from anything, but the fact I'm now the fourth longest serving manager in this division and I've only been in the post since February is a disgrace," Kettlewell said. "I don't think that's right, I don't think that's conducive to any kind of development whatsoever. If you have a plan or structure in place at a football club, you want to develop young talent and you want to try and build a way moving forward you're never going to do it in a short space of time."
Livi’s free trip to Turkey
Livingston have won a free January winter-training camp to Turkey. The Lions overcame Fortuna Sittard to win the Titanic Cup in Antalya back in January and as a result have landed a return trip thanks to sponsor Titanic Hotels. Manager David Martindale explained: “We are going back to Antalya in January because we won the tournament last year. We didn’t know the prize when we went there, but the day before the semi-final we found out. The hotel said they will pay for the same number as was there last time to go back and train for a week. I tried to get it for us in July, but that’s their busy period so they told us where to go! It’s a nice hotel, the training facilities are great and the food was good, so it ticks all the boxes.”