INT SPL - Scottish Premier League

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Willie Miller demands 'unity' from fans as club stick with manager Mark McGhee

Aberdeen director of football Willie Miller has asked the fans and everyone at the club to stop speculating over manager Mark McGhee's future and unite in the task of improving the Dons' form.

The plea comes in the wake of the recent humiliating 9-0 defeat to Celtic, and further defeats to Inverness and Rangers that have caused many to call for McGhee to be sacked. But Miller has pleaded for unity now that the club has decided to stay with the current manager.

"The time for talk is over, now it's time for action to get Aberdeen up the SPL," Miller said, according to Sky Sports News.

"Everyone has had their say inside and outside the club. Now that a decision has been made to back Mark we have to move on.

"It is important we put all the speculation about the manager behind us and focus on getting better results.

"There is real hope that Mark can turn our situation around and get us back up the league table.

"We have a history of supporting managers and we are backing Mark. But we are not naive. We don't think just because we have made a decision that everything will suddenly be okay.

"We need points and Mark knows he has to get results. Now it is vitally important everyone pulls together."

 

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Walter Smith plans to stay in football after forthcoming Rangers exit

Rangers manager Walter Smith is adament he is sticking to his promise of leaving the club at the end of the current season, but hopes it will not be the last thing he does in the game.

Smith admits it is unlikely he will be a manager again elsewhere, but sees himself being involved somewhere in the sport.

"Everybody says I'm retiring but I'm actually leaving Rangers," Smith said.

"I still hope I'll be able to do one or two things. Maybe not as a manager but I hope to be involved with something."

The former Everton boss went on to explain the short nature of his tenure at Ibrox:

"I saw it as a short-term job to help recover the period they (Rangers) were going through," he said.

"The financial problems were kicking in and Sir David Murray asked me to come back.

"With that in mind I'd appointed younger staff in Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall who would be prepared to take over in a short period.

"Things have worked out okay and the two of them more than anyone else have encouraged me to stay on longer.

"But I have to be fair to them. That's one of the aspects for leaving. The other is the last time I was here [between 1991-98] I maybe stayed a bit too long."

 

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Lennon to appeal touchline ban

Neil Lennon has confirmed he will appeal against his automatic two-match dug-out ban.

Lennon is set to be suspended after being sent to the stand by referee Craig Thomson during Celtic's defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle.

He will also appeal the separate excessive misconduct conduct charge brought by the SFA following his touchline rant with the fourth official when a penalty claim for handball against Ryan Stevenson was turned down.

The deadline for appealing the automatic ban is on Friday and speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the game with Dundee United at Parkhead, Lennon said: "I will be appealing today."

 

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Kilmarnock 2-3 Rangers: Kenny Miller Hat-Trick Snatches Victory For Rangers

Rangers remain top of the SPL table but were forced to work hard for their three points after Kilmarnock twice came from behind but were ultimately denied by Kenny Miller who netted three times to secure maximum points for the visitors.

The visitors threatened early as Kyle Lafferty made an early searing run down the left that saw him fouled for a free-kick that came to nothing.

Kilmarnock though showed they were not going to roll over for the defending champions and a smart through-ball saw Sammon control it beautifully on the left and force a clever save from Rangers 'keeper Allan McGregor.

Gordon also got put through on goal moments later but his shot from the edge of the 16-yard box flew just wide of the right post.

Indeed the home side's 27-year-old Russian loan signing Eremenko looked to be their liveliest player in the opening 10 minutes as he looked for the small pockets of space to feed his team-mates throughout the first half.

Yet Rangers had the better of the possession in the early stages and looked to press the advantage with Kenny Miller heading the ball into the path of Lafferty who had plenty of space but decided to try and lob the 'keeper but got his angle and timing all wrong.

Kilmarnock’s hard work then paid off after 23 minutes as once again Eremenko was involved. The Russian whipped in a cross from inside the box for Liam Kelly to dash it across the goal allowing Sammon to smash it into the back of the net for his 12th goal of the season.

However, the home side didn’t rest on their laurels and continued to press Rangers who unusually were yet to have a shot on goal.

Yet Killie's hard work was soon undone by some awful defending. A short back-pass was intercepted by Miller and the striker raced through on goal only to be brought down by Sissoko.

Up stepped Miller to take the penalty and he slotted it calmly down the middle of Bell’s goal to bring the scores level.

That goal ensured both teams headed into the break on level terms, although the scoreline did not reflect the tie. Kilmarnock had been all over Rangers causing them endless amounts of trouble but poor defending had seen the champions level matters.

The half-time team talk in Kilmarnock’s dressing room obviously had an effect as the second half saw them start in the same fashion as they did the first. Craig Bryson whipped in a low cross that Connor Sammon poked home towards the Rangers goal. Allan McGregor had a fraction of a second to react but made a fantastic save to deny the striker his second of the game.

The lackluster defending of Kilmarnock then reared its ugly head again just as it did in the first half. Sissoko hauled down Kyle Lafferty as he spun in the box which saw him receive his second yellow card reducing the home side to 10 men.

Kenny Miller then promptly stepped up and converted his second penalty of the game to gave Rangers the lead. Joy for Rangers but devastating for Kilmarnock who were proving to be their own worst enemy.

Kilmarnock did not hang their heads though, as minutes later Jamie Hamill crossed into the box and that man again – Conor Sammon slid in at the back post to prod the ball past McGregor to draw the sides level in a fantastic game.

The pattern of this game was clear. No lead would last for long, and this trend continued as four minutes later Steven Whittaker’s cross from the right failed to be cleared by Manuel Pascali and fell for Kenny Miller, who composed himself superbly before firing the ball beyond Cammy Bell to complete his hat-trick and set the game up for a fantastic finish. Heartbreak again for Kilmarnock, but Kenny Miller was single-handedly keeping Rangers in the title race during this game.

Ten men Kilmarnock were still not to be outdone and continued to defend from the front as Mehdi Taouil unleashed a curling shot towards the Rangers goal only to see it tipped past the post.

John Fleck was then replaced by Vladimir Weiss, a sight likely to dismay Kilmarnock hearts at the time as the lively on-loan signing from Manchester City looked to make his mark on an already thrilling game.

With 10 minutes remaining Rangers began to slow the game down and control the game, with Kilmarnock still fighting strongly and looked to press for an equalizer.

Kyle Lafferty sent Miller through on goal in the closing minutes but his effort was well saved by Cammy Bell.

The full time whistle then rang, no doubt much to the relief of Rangers who were never comfortable in this game yet still managed to depart with all three points.

Kilmarnock, meanwhile, will wonder what might have been if they had managed to keep their full complement on the field but their spirited attacking display wasn’t enough to topple Rangers.

Indeed the home side's sloppy defending in conceding two soft penalties will be their main gripe and will ensure Walter Smith is all smiles this evening.

 

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Celtic 1-1 Dundee Utd

Dundee United manager Peter Houston says life is too short to fall out with Celtic boss Neil Lennon. The pair meet at Parkhead.

A win for Celtic would see them close the gap on league leaders Rangers by a point. Daryl Murphy nearly gave Celtic the lead in the opening minutes as his headed effort clips the Dundee Utd crossbar. Dundee did press the hosts in the early stages and took advantage of Celtic’s high line. Goodwillie almost breaking through but the line defended well albeit narrowly.

Celtic’s attacking endeavor came to fruition in the 25th minute though as Shaun Maloney slotted a through ball for Gary Hooper to drill the ball home and give Neil Lennon’s men the lead.

The two sides jostled for superiority for much of the remainder of the second half, and despite Dundee’s initial endeavor they never stretched Celtic as they possibly should have. Neil Lennon’s men contained Dundee’s attacking threat well and then should have been two nil ahead as Gary Hooper’s effort from six yards out was well saved by Dusan Pernis. Celtic saw out the first half and went in one nil ahead.

The second half saw a repeat of the first. Celtic applying the pressure and Dundee failing to penetrate in the final third.
Dundee Utd keeper Dusan Pernis still proved to be their best player as he again denied Gary Hooper as he tipped another shot from the goal scorer round the post to deny Celtic taking a two goal cushion.

Dundee fans were incensed minutes later though as David Goodwillie, their only threat, clashes with Daniel Majestorovic on the edge of box bot the referee denied them a free-kick.
Controversial decision which may have seen Dundee manage to get something.

Hooper later had another effort cleared off the line by Prince Buaben to deny the striker for the third time in the game.
However Celtic's inability to see off the game cost them in injury time as Sean Dillon converted a free kick with his head to snatch a point from Neil Lennons men with the last action of the game.

The full-time whistle blew as Neill Lennon’s men failed to claw to within a point of Walter Smith's Rangers. Two points dropped in Celtic's opinion but Dundee Utd will feel a draw is what they deserved after denying Celtic all game.

 

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Scottish FA may source officials from other countries should referees strike go ahead

The Scottish Football Association have revealed they will consider bringing in referees from other nations, should the domestic referees' union decide to go on strike in the wake of recent criticism.

Stewart Regan, Scottish FA chief executive, released a statement outlining the SFA's plan to deal with the possible strike action, in which he expressed sympathy with the official's position while underlining that completing forthcoming fixtures will remain the priority.

“I have every sympathy for the refereeing fraternity at this time and completely understand why incessant scrutiny, criticism and questioning of their integrity has brought them to the brink of a withdrawal of labour," Regan noted.

"I cannot, however, condone what will amount to strike action and believe we must now engage in positive dialogue to avert the possibility that we will have no football this weekend.

“This scenario is not helpful to the image or reputation of the game. Fulfilling the weekend fixture calendar is our priority and we have an obligation to the leagues, supporters, clubs, sponsors and media partners to do our utmost to ensure all senior games are refereed.

“While we remain hopeful that the situation can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, we have no option but to draw up contingency plans, which will involve sourcing match officials in other countries.

“I am in discussions with the Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association and share their view that recent public comments have not been helpful. I have been astonished by the unhealthy level of interest in elements of football in this country that ought to be peripheral.

“I have made a commitment to reviewing certain aspects of the Scottish FA’s internal operations and have been trying to finalise initiatives I believe can help improve the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the governing body. I need space and support to finalise these proposals and have already received Board approval in this regard.

“The raft of ongoing issues played out in the media will only delay this process and I believe there is a responsibility on all of us to try to move forward and create a more positive climate.

"In the meantime, I reiterate my support to the referees in this country, who provide a fantastic service in very difficult - and now seemingly impossible - circumstances.”

 

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SFA lining up replacement referees from Ireland and Scandinavia with strike impending

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has admitted that, despite his sympathy for the Scottish referees, he has began searching for their replacements if a strike is to go ahead this weekend, and it has led him to the Republic of Ireland and Scandinavia.

Category one referees in Scotland unanimously voted to strike this coming weekend over threats of violence and claims of cheating which has thrown all the scheduled games into severe doubt.

Regan seems confident the games will go ahead, saying: "We've got to make sure we bring in referees from those countries who are available.

"It could be the Republic of Ireland, it could be the Scandinavian countries, there are a number of options open to us and we will be exhausting all of those.

"There will be a cost, it will be expensive bringing people in, not just match fees but the expense of getting them here as well.

"It affects 20 matches, a huge number of matches to cover and we sympathise with the referees because they've had a tough few weeks and they have been under massive scrutiny with challenges to their integrity.

"There has even been one MP coming out saying referees should declare their allegiances before matches which seemed a very bizarre request and quite frankly I think they have had enough.

"We have talks scheduled for the next few days but clearly with a contract to be fulfilled with the Scottish Premier League we have to put a contingency plan in and that's what we are doing at the moment by looking elsewhere for officials."

 

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Scottish referees hold 'constructive' talks with SFA to prevent strike

The potential for a strike by some of Scotland’s top officials this weekend seems to have faded slightly, after positive talks were held with the Scottish Football Association in Glasgow on Tuesday night.

On Sunday the Scottish referees voted in favour of strike action, which could see fixtures in the Scottish Premier League, first, second and third divisions and the Alba Challenge Cup being put on doubt.

However after "constructive" talks on Tuesday, both parties will sit down again on Wednesday, hoping at an agreement can be made.

"After a constructive three-hour meeting with the SFA, talks are due to continue tomorrow,” a spokesman for the grade one Scottish match officials said after the meeting.

"But the situation is that the weekend position is unaltered at present."

And with the officials going on strike, due to fears over recent criticism they had received, SFA chairman Stewart Regan has already begun to scour Europe to find replacement referees to fulfil this weekend’s fixtures — with Irish, Icelandic and Scandinavian referees among some of his targets.

But both Norwegian and Danish referees refused to break the picket line in order to help the SFA.

"We have informed the SFA that we are unable to supply them with referees," Rune Pederson, head of referees for the Norwegian FA told Press Association Sport.

"There are three main reasons why. First of all, there are 12 top-class referees and 25 assistants who are down to go to Denmark for a seminar at the weekend.

"Secondly, there are 12 of our referees preparing for Europa League games next week.

"But referees are also worried about taking charge of matches in Scotland when their
colleagues in Scotland are in dispute with their FA.

"I have discussed it with them and they have said they would not approve of referees coming to Norway if they had been in conflict with the Norwegian FA."

Initially Sigurdur Thorleifsson, head of the referees' union in Iceland, said that Icelandic referees will be there ‘ready’ to help Scottish football if needed. However, later on Thorleifsson made a dramatic U-turn in his decision to help.

"It is not so much a change of heart, it's just that we did not know what it was all about," Thorleifsson said.

"We got a phone call from our FA saying they had received an invitation from Scotland and that they would be glad to send our referees to Scotland.

"At that time we didn't know what the story was about but we did some research on it and I heard from Scottish colleagues who told us what it was all about.

"They told us about their lives being threatened, the abuse they receive and the phone calls to their homes so there was no question of us going, we would stand by our colleagues in Scotland.

"Icelandic referees get abuse, but nothing like what we have been told happens in Scotland."

It is also believed that preliminary talks have taken place with the Football Association of Ireland, although official contact has not been made.

However they could take the same stance as both Norway and Iceland and turn down any approach by the SFA.

 

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Welsh FA ready to loan Scottish Football Association four referees to cover weekend

The Football Association of Wales has agreed to send a team of four match officials to Scotland if no resolution to the pending referees strike is found.

As reported in the Western Mail, FAW head of competitions Andrew Howard said: “This is a great opportunity for Welsh referees to officiate at a high level. But I must stress that our main priority is that all the football in Wales is covered first, like any usual weekend."

The Scottish Football Association and the refereeing chiefs will resume talks on Wednesday aimed at putting an end to the proposed strike and progress is hopeful after Tuesday’s 'constructive' beginning to the talks.

If the talks collapse a team of four as of yet unnamed Welsh officials will head north to cover Saturday and Sunday fixtures with the referee from the first game becoming the fourth official for the second and vice-versa.

On Sunday Scottish referees voted unanimously to go on strike leaving this weekend’s footballing card — which includes six Scottish Premier League matches and the Challenge Cup Final — in serious doubt after a barrage of recent criticism, in main coming from Celtic manager Neil Lennon and chairman John Reid. However, a spokesman for the match officials is hopeful a resolution can be found in time for the weekend:

“After a constructive three-hour meeting with the SFA, talks are due to continue (on Wednesday)," the spokesman said. "But the situation is that the weekend position is unaltered at present.”

The water has however become muddier after the Welsh Referees' Association president Pedr McMullen was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “"As an association, we have not yet discussed this and are not due to meet until Sunday.

"Speaking personally, however, I don't believe we would be of a mind to help out in this situation."

 

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Scottish matches to go ahead as SFA secures referees for weekend games

The Scottish Football Association has announced that all Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches and the Alba Cup final will go ahead as planned this weekend – despite Scotland’s grade one referees undertaking strike action - after they reached an agreement with several other European national associations which will see their referees take control of the matches.

Scotland's grade one referees earlier confirmed that they would be upholding their decision to strike and this put all fixtures in Scotland in serious doubt.

The SFA had been in negotiations with a number of European football associations but officials from Iceland, Norway, Wales and Sweden indicated that they would not be taking charge of matches in Scotland.

However, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan announced his organisation had reached an agreement with European associations and the SPL matches and cup final will be played.

He said at a press conference: "At midnight last night we were notified by the category one referees that, despite the best endeavours of both the SFA and the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League, that we were not able to have the action withdrawn and it would go ahead this weekend as planned.

"That clearly required a period of activity this morning in trying to ensure that we have a contingency plan in place, as our primary concern is to make sure that the fixtures can be officiated and we're delighted to say that we've made substantial progress in that regard.

"We've put together a priority list which has received board approval this morning. We have a number of contractual matters to address, and the televised matches - those in the [Scottish] Premier League have taken priority. We've also been able to cover additional Premier League matches as well as the Cup Final on Sunday."

He added: "As we sit here at the moment we are making further progress with associations right across Europe, we will be able to cover additional matches.

"At this stage we haven't got details of which matches and how many officials we've secured, but I'm delighted with the performance of my team this morning in managing to cover these matches and I'm sure we'll have additional news later in the day.

"In terms of actual details, there are too many to name... we've gone right across the Uefa area. We've covered far and wide, and we've had support from a number of associations which we've been delighted with.

"Clearly there are some associations who felt that to send referees over in the current climate isn't ideal. Obviously that's their choice and we've respected that. But we've been very grateful to those associations that have backed us in this regard."