INT SPL - Scottish Premier League

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Rangers chief executive Martin Bain has stated that, despite contract talks going nowhere fast, the club will not look to sell Kenny Miller in January in order to cash in before his deal runs out in the summer.

Manager Walter Smith has expressed his desire to keep Miller at the club, and Bain mirrors his thoughts despite the forward being linked with AC Milan.

Bain told the Daily Record: "Kenny is in a situation where I've had discussions with him and as Walter said at the weekend, talks have stalled.

"I have made Kenny an offer after many positive discussions - his agent Dave Baldwin is fine to deal with - and they have not liked the most recent offer. That's where we stand.
"My stance on selling in January, and I'm sure Walter's is the same, is that the squad is weak in terms of number and in depth.

"We are going to need everybody we can to win the championship and Kenny is going to be a big part of that. I don't see Kenny going anywhere in January. It's in my hands to say we are not selling Kenny Miller."

He added: "I'm not the type to be obstinate and remain entrenched but we have been back and forth many times.

"I really value Kenny and Walter wants him to stay - certainly not leaving in January. We have no desire for that to happen. He's playing exceptionally well.

"So on that basis, I have to juggle when you have someone doing what we ask of him and at the same time he is looking for a new contract.

"At the end of the day, budgets come into it and that's where we are."

rangers duk atas liga skrg ni
agak selesa kat atas celtic

 

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SPL TabLe

 

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Bookmakers investigate irregular betting

The Scottish Football Association have confirmed that the Association of British Bookmakers are investigating irregular betting activity regarding the red card shown to Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings in Tuesday night's Scottish Premier League defeat by Hearts at Fir Park.

Reports claim irregular betting patterns surrounded the dismissal of Jennings, who, after being booked by referee Stevie O'Reilly in the early stages of the game for a foul on Kevin Kyle, was shown a straight red with seven minutes remaining after O'Reilly turned down a penalty claim.

The statement read: "Following information received from the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), we are aware of alleged betting irregularities surrounding a sending-off incident in the Motherwell v Heart of Midlothian match on Tuesday, 14th December, 2010.

"At this stage, we are not in possession of the facts regarding the allegations and are waiting for further information from the Scottish Premier League in due course.

"Once we are in possession of all of the facts we will be in a better position to provide more detailed comment on the matter.

"In the meantime, we will be working with our colleagues at the Scottish Premier League to establish the details surrounding this incident.''

It is understood that several bets were put on a red card being dished out at Fir Park, including one from a new account opened in Liverpool, where a £500 bet was placed on a red card at odds of 10/1.

Motherwell were not available for comment.

Jennings was shown a straight red card after putting his hand on referee O'Reilly's shoulder and speaking to him about a rejected penalty claim after Marius Zaliukas had won the ball from Alan Gow.

Well caretaker boss Gordon Young was not sure whether Jennings had been punished for comments or the touch on the shoulder and said: "I wouldn't like to comment on that because I don't know the circumstances.''

 

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Weather causes more cancellations

The weather has once again wreaked havoc in the Scottish Premier League as games at Aberdeen and St Johnstone were postponed on Friday morning.

Aberdeen were set to host Motherwell at Pittodrie, with new Dons boss Craig Brown having been due to face the club he left in his first game in charge.

Aberdeen confirmed on their website that their game was off as a result of "adverse weather conditions".

A statement from the SPL read: "The Aberdeen v Motherwell fixture scheduled for Saturday December 18 has been postponed.

"The extreme weather conditions currently in the North East and its forecast continuance over the weekend led to police concerns about spectator safety travelling to and around Pittodrie Stadium. A new date will be announced in due course."

Dundee United, meanwhile, were set to travel to McDiarmid Park for the Tayside derby with Saints.

The SPL said: "The St Johnstone v Dundee United fixture scheduled for Saturday December 18 has been postponed.

"The continuation of lying snow and ice in Perth and the forecast weather conditions for the area over the weekend led to concerns from Tayside Police about spectator safety travelling to and around McDiarmid Park.

"We have taken note of these concerns in postponing the fixture. A new date will be announced in due course."

Rangers' meeting with St Mirren had been postponed on Thursday due to significant water damage at Ibrox caused by the recent thaw after severe weather conditions.

 

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Cha Du-Ri a big fan of Ljungberg's pants

Cha Du-Ri admits he is an admirer of Celtic target Freddie Ljungberg's underwear as well as his football talent.

Hoops boss Neil Lennon will meet the former Arsenal and West Ham star on Monday with a view to signing the player who also famously modelled Calvin Klein briefs.

Cha, who scored his first goal for Celtic in the first minute of injury time against St Johnstone before South Korea team mate Ki Sung-yueng clinched the points with a second, revealed he is a fan of the Swedish legend on and off the pitch and relishes the prospect of Ljungberg joining him at Parkhead.

The full-back said: "Freddie Ljungberg is a very famous player and I like his underwear. I have a lot of Calvin Klein underwear at home, maybe I'll show him. Seriously, he's a good player and if he comes to us then I think he can help us. It's great for us.''

Cha and Ki now fly out on Asian Cup duty in Qatar which could see them absent from Parkhead for most of January. However, the defender is hoping the Hoops have leapfrogged SPL leaders Rangers, who lead Celtic by two points having played a game less, by the time he returns.

"I hope Celtic can be top of the league for me and Ki coming back from the Asian Cup,'' he said. "We have a lot of players both in my position and Ki's position so I'm not worried. I'm sure they can play well without us.''

Ljungberg has declared himself ready to play in Sunday's Old Firm derby after arriving in Glasgow to link up with Celtic.

Ljungberg told the Daily Record: "I've seen the Old Firm derby on television and I've had friends who have been over to the games. They have said some amazing things about the fixture so of course I would like to play in it.

"I'm available to play for any club on January 1 so we'll see what happens. I'm as fit as I've been for a long time since I had surgery on my hip two years ago.''

While Ljungberg is sure to grab all the headlines if he completes the move to Celtic, Lennon is hoping a player already at Parkhead will make his mark in the forthcoming weeks.

Former Juventus and Wigan midfielder Olivier Kapo has struggled with injury since signing in November but made his debut as a second-half substitute against the Perth men - and Lennon was glad to see him in action at last.

"We have him on a short-term contract but he has been injured,'' Lennon said. "He went away to France with the injury and came back and has worked very hard and looked sharp in training and we thought it might be an opportunity to give him some game time.

"You never know, we might have unearthed a player. He is here until the end of January and we will see how he goes in the next three or four weeks.''

 

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Freddie ready for Celtic test

New signing Freddie Ljungberg pledged to wear Celtic's No. 7 shirt with pride after being unveiled at Parkhead.

The 33-year-old Swedish midfielder has signed until the end of the season after leaving Seattle Sounders at the end of his Major League Soccer contract.

He has been handed one of the club's most iconic numbers and hopes to do it justice between now and the end of the campaign.

"When I was at Arsenal I had Ian Wright's number and he was a legend there. I'll try to do the same here with the number seven shirt - to wear it with pride and do my best,'' he said.

Ljungberg also spoke of his delight at moving back to European football following his American adventure.

"In America the league is much better than it gets credit for but Celtic are a massive club and what I missed the most in America was the passion for the sport,'' he said.

"If you're looking for passion then it's here. There is great support. The fans and the passion are very good here and it's a great team.

"Celtic is a very big club with great management staff too.''

Hoops boss Neil Lennon said Ljungberg would be pushing for a place against Rangers in Sunday's Old Firm derby.

"It's a tough question because he hasn't played much football since October but obviously he's still in great condition and he's come through the medical, which is quite stringent here, with no problems at all. He is in contention.''

 

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Rangers 0 - 2 Celtic

Bhoys secure massive victory at Ibrox

Georgios Samaras grabbed a double as Celtic blew the title race wide open by claiming a 2-0 victory in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox.

The Hoops headed into the New Year showdown with a single point advantage at the top of the league, but aware of Rangers' two games in hand.

However, two second-half goals from Samaras - the second from the penalty spot - allowed Celtic to extend that lead to four points.

Youngster Jamie Ness was handed a memorable first start for Rangers after Steven Naismith failed to recover from a hamstring injury in time.

Celtic's new signing Freddie Ljungberg failed to even make the squad after picking up a virus, while captain Scott Brown was suspended. Beram Kayal, Charlie Mulgrew and Samaras were all drafted into the Hoops side.

Former captains John Greig and Billy McNeill led out the teams as both sets of fans perfectly observed a minute's silence ahead of kick-off to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox Disaster, when 66 Rangers fans lost their lives. Rangers were also showing their respects to former player Avi Cohen, who died recently.

Celtic survived a scare when Lee McCulloch connected well with a Vladimir Weiss corner and Emilio Izaguirre was forced into a headed clearance via the crossbar as Rangers applied pressure early on.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between in a scrappy opening spell, but Celtic threatened when Paddy McCourt slipped a lovely pass to James Forrest in front of goal only for McCulloch to make a timely intervention before he could unleash a shot.

The first bookings of the game came after 27 minutes when referee Craig Thomson brandished a yellow card to Madjid Bougherra for a challenge on Mulgrew and the Celtic player was also cautioned for retaliating.

Steven Whittaker had the chance to snatch the opener at the end of a disappointing first half when he collected a flighted cross from Weiss, but he miskicked under pressure from Mark Wilson and the opportunity was lost.

Walter Smith and Neil Lennon no doubt both demanded better from their players during their half-time team talks and it was Celtic who could have grabbed the advantage shortly after the restart when McCourt pounced on a Samaras flick-on only to rifle across the face of goal.

The game was badly in need of a goal and Steven Davis lofted over several Celtic players into the path of Kenny Miller but goalkeeper Fraser Forster raced off his line to clear.

The match eventually sparked into life after 62 minutes when Samaras opened the scoring for Celtic.

Richard Foster lost possession to Joe Ledley, who punted the ball forward for Samaras to race past Allan McGregor, who had charged yards outside his box, before coolly slotting home.

Celtic doubled their lead seven minutes later when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Bougherra clipped Samaras in the box. The Greece international dusted himself down before sending a firm, low shot past McGregor.

Rangers faced the daunting task of hauling themselves back into the game but could have given themselves a lifeline had Bougherra's volley in front of goal been on target following good work from Sasa Papac.

With time fast running out for the Scottish champions, substitute Kyle Lafferty could have netted from a free-kick just outside the box but his effort failed to make it past the Celtic wall.

Samaras was then denied his hat-trick by a fingertip save from McGregor as Lennon's men returned to Parkhead with the points.

 

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Smith: We made mistakes

Walter Smith says Rangers only had themselves to blame as they slumped to a 2-0 Old Firm derby defeat at Ibrox.

Georgios Samaras was the hero for Celtic after his double secured a 2-0 win as the Hoops moved four points clear at the top of the table, although the Scottish champions do have two games in hand.

The New Year showdown had failed to live up to its billing until Samaras' second-half opener sparked the game into life, and he then sealed the victory from the penalty spot.

As far as Smith is concerned, the nature of those goals was the hardest part to take.

"We've got to be disappointed with the way we conceded the goals," he said. "They were poor goals from our own point of view.

"We've got nobody to blame but ourselves in that respect. I'm disappointed that we lost in the manner we did. If Celtic had scored a couple of good ones, it might have been easier for us to take."

He added: "I didn't think there was a flatness about Rangers today. I thought we played very well up until about 25 yards from goal.

"I think you've got to give credit to the opposition at times. I felt Celtic defended very well today. They set their stall out to play deep and not allow us great opportunity to get behind them. That worked very well for them.

"My disappointment is that we didn't do enough to cause them a problem in that respect. If you were looking at the game, I thought we started that game as well as any Old Firm game I've been involved in."

Neil Lennon revealed a chat with former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan confirmed his inspired decision to play two-goal hero Samaras in the lone striker role.

"I am very proud of the players and performance," Lennon said. "I didn't think there was one failure there today. We were very resilient, we dominated and I thought Samaras was unplayable.

"I spoke to Gordon about that lone-striker's role. Samaras can do that and it was something we have been working on. I have seen him play in World Cups and do that and we felt we would leave him up there to do it.

"He pulls himself off the two centre halves which isn't an easy thing to do. His movement and composure for the first goal was great and although he got a lot of confidence from the way he started the game, he got a huge lift from the goal."

Samaras is out of contract at the season but Lennon is looking for the striker to extend his deal at Parkhead.

"We know he has fantastic attributes - we just need to find that consistency and maybe that role suits him best - but I think he has done himself no harm today regarding a new contract," he said.

Samaras admitted he would be happy to accept a new deal from Celtic - and continue as lone striker.

He said: "I want to stay. If the manager has said he wants me to stay then hopefully in the next couple of days or weeks, we will find a solution and keep going together.

"That is my position, the one I like to play, and it was a nice feeling to score my first goal at Ibrox. My team-mates and me worked really hard and in the second half we were much better than Rangers and deserved to win the game."

Lennon hit back at critics who claim he had yet to win a big game since taking over from Tony Mowbray as Celtic boss last March, first on an interim basis.

"I think it's a huge result," he said. "I think the majority of people in this room, from what I've heard in the last week or so, had written us off and given us no chance.

"The players answered a lot of questions and I think I have answered a lot of questions. People pointed the finger that we don't win big games

"It was fair comment because we hadn't done ourselves justice in those games but we certainly did today. We did with a bit of style was well and I really enjoyed watching them play today, so I hope it's a turning point for the players."

 

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Neil Lennon full of praise for Samaras

Neil Lennon was delighted with the performance of Georgios Samaras after the striker netted both goals in Sunday's 2-0 win over arch-rivals Rangers.

Samaras, not always a favourite of Lennon or the Celtic supporters, opened the scoring in the 61st minute after taking a Joe Ledley pass to round Ibrox keeper Allan McGregor and then clinched the three points from the spot after he had been brought down by Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra.

Lennon said: "I was hoping Samaras would have a big game but didn't expect him to play as well as that - although I know he can. I am delighted for him. He had a wee bit of the Eye of the Tiger about him in the last week or so.

"We know he is capable of that but he needs to be more consistent and he knows that. We don't expect him to play like that every week. It's getting him to do that every one in two games, instead of one in five.''

Samaras is out of contract at the end of the season but Lennon is looking for the big Greek to extend his deal at Parkhead.

He said: "I think he has done himself no harm regarding a new contract.''

The former Manchester City striker admitted he would be happy to accept a new deal from Celtic - and continue in the role of lone striker. He said: "I want to stay. If the manager has said he wants me to stay then hopefully in the next couple of days or weeks, we will find a solution and keep going together.

"That is my position, the one I like to play and it was a nice feeling to score my first goal at Ibrox. My team-mates and me worked really hard and in the second half we were much better than Rangers and deserved to win the game.

"But we are in good shape and we hope that we stay there.''

Lennon appeared to quash rumours that he was set to sign former Rangers striker Kris Boyd from Middlesbrough. He said: "He's a goal-scoring striker and we are looking for goal-scoring strikers but we have had no talks with his representatives, no.''

 

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Scotland set for ten-team top-flight

Scottish Premier League clubs are moving towards a ten-team top division after appearing to rule out a larger competition following reform discussions.

On Tuesday, all 12 SPL clubs met together for the first time in the ongoing discussions over league reconstruction after a working party proposed two divisions of ten.

No vote was taken at the meeting, which lasted more than three hours, but SPL chairman Ralph Topping believes clubs have been persuaded that a 16 or 18-team league is not financially viable.

Asked if the SPL believed they had persuaded clubs a league of such size was not workable, Topping said: "Yes, broadly speaking. Yes.

"If you look at Scottish football, a 16-team league wouldn't work economically and it would have a knock-on effect in terms of the quality of players you can attract.

"It's two tens or the status quo in my view."

The clubs will consider the issues raised in the meeting before reconvening on January 17, when a vote is expected to be taken on the reform package, which also includes an earlier start to the season and a winter break.

St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown feels the proposals are destined to succeed.

Brown said: "The meeting went well and I would be fairly confident of the two ten-team leagues.

"It has not gone ahead, all we have had is discussions and every club can make their own minds up, but I would like to think we have a consensus."

The summit, which was rescheduled after poor weather forced a postponement last month, spelled an escalation of eight months of talks over the future of the top-flight game.

A strategic review group featuring Topping, SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster and representatives from six clubs - Hibernian, St Mirren, Motherwell, Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen - formulated the proposals following research by Doncaster.

The other six clubs met on Christmas Eve to discuss the plans ahead of the official meeting amid public scepticism over the ten-team proposal from some of those clubs.

Almost 90% of 5,000 fans who responded to a Supporters Direct poll on the changes were opposed to a 10-team league, with around three-quarters favouring a league of 16 or 18 teams.

However, the SPL proposals were mirrored by recommendations made by former First Minister Henry McLeish in the final part of his Review of Scottish Football, which was published last month.

And the initial signs are that, on Tuesday, the clubs reached broad agreement on the plans.