Rumour Mill: Scott Brown to leave Celtic? | Aberdeen branded '˜embarrassing' | Lennon backed to succeed Rodgers

Celtic captain Scott Brown is a target for Australian side Western Melbourne, Derek Ferguson has called Aberdeen an embarrassment, and Chris Sutton believes Neil Lennon would be the right man to take over from Brendan Rodgers.

Melbourne want Brown

Scott Brown has emerged as a surprise target for Australian side Western Melbourne. The aspiring A-League club will look to make the Celtic captain their marquee signing if they are selected among the two new additions to the top flight in Australia as the FFA extend the league to 12 clubs. (Daily Mail)

Scott Brown is wanted by a club in Australia. Picture: John Devlin

Aberdeen’s semi-final ticket situation ‘embarrassing’

Aberdeen have been branded “embarrassing” by Derek Ferguson, whose son Lewis stars for Derek McInnes’ men, after the Pittodrie side were forced to give back Betfred Cup semi-final tickets to the SPFL. Rangers will now receive additional tickets after it emerged that Aberdeen fans have only snapped up 9,000 briefs. (Daily Record)

- Michael Stewart believes Aberdeen have “undermined” the notion of a 50-50 split for cup clashes at Hampden Park. (Scottish Sun)

Lennon should succeed Rodgers

If Brendan Rodgers leaves Celtic for a tempting offer from England or abroad then the Parkhead board should tempt Neil Lennon back to the club, according to Chris Sutton. The BT Sport backed his former team-mate to deliver ten-in-a-row should Rodgers leave before then. (Daily Record)

Rangers confirm Lafferty absence

Rangers have failed to persuade Northern Ireland chiefs to release Kyle Lafferty for action against Hamilton on Sunday. The Light Blues held talks with the Irish FA after it invoked FIFA’s five-day rule in the aftermath of the striker’s last-minute withdrawal from Michael O’Neill’s squad. (The Scotsman)

Dundee to look elsewhere for No.2

Dundee have asked new manager Jim McIntyre to look elsewhere for his assistant after preferred choice Billy Dodds left Dens Park before training yesterday. The level of fan opposition to Dodds’ appointment had forced Dundee to think twice about agreeing to Jim McIntyre’s wish to hire his former assistant at Ross County. (The Scotsman)

Levein backs squad to handle injuries

Hearts manager Craig Levein says his players have proved themselves capable of handling most conundrums this term and believes that they will continue to do so despite the disappointing news that stand-in captain John Souttar and cult hero Uche Ikpeazu have been ruled out for five months. (The Scotsman)