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Irish Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Celtic will have 'one eye on Rangers' new manager' in title defence
Ex-Celtic ace Charlie Mulgrew reckons the Hoops will be keeping tabs on Rangers following the managerial shake-up at Ibrox. With the Gers' new American ownership bringing in Kevin Thelwell as sporting director and Russell Martin as head coach, fans are buzzing about potential squad enhancements after promises of investment. Martin has been charged with the hefty task of disrupting Celtic's stranglehold on Scottish football, which has seen them clinch 13 out of the last 14 titles and narrowly miss out on a sixth treble in nine seasons due to a Scottish Cup shoot-out loss to Aberdeen. Speaking after Celtic were handed a William Hill Premiership opener at home to St Mirren, Mulgrew said: "I'm sure Brendan Rodgers will be looking at signings and looking first and foremost to get the players in the building to stay and push on next year. "I think that cup final will leave a bit of a taste in their mouth and they'll be thinking when they get back at it. "It's a disappointing end to the season, although it was a great season when you look back. "It's hard to criticise when you look at how good the Champions League campaign was, the league campaign. "Trebles have become such a regular thing, thanks to Brendan Rodgers and the way Celtic have been recently. "But also, there will be one eye on Rangers' new manager and what he's going to bring. "They'll know he's a good manager and good ideas in the game and he'll be looking to get Rangers back on track. "You try and focus on yourself but there's no doubt about it. One eye is on... especially the fact they've got a new manager, so you don't know what he's going to bring. "You don't know, although they'll have an idea of his last teams and what they've done, but you don't know what kind of reaction he'll get from the players. "You imagine the reaction because he's new at the start and he's obviously a good pedigree, so that'll be interesting." :: Charlie Mulgrew appeared courtesy of William Hill and the Warm-Up, SPFL title sponsor.
STV News
an hour ago
- Sport
- STV News
Charlie Mulgrew: Celtic will have ‘one eye' on Rangers under new boss Martin
Former Celtic player Charlie Mulgrew believes the champions 'will have one eye on Rangers' given the change in management at Ibrox. The completion of an American-led takeover resulted in the arrival of sporting director Kevin Thelwell and head coach Russell Martin, and Rangers fans are eagerly awaiting new players following promise of investment in the squad. Martin is the latest man to be tasked with ending Celtic's domestic dominance, which has seen them win 13 of the last 14 titles and come within a Scottish Cup shoot-out against Aberdeen of winning a sixth treble in nine seasons. Speaking after Celtic were handed a William Hill Premiership opener at home to St Mirren, Mulgrew said: 'I'm sure Brendan Rodgers will be looking at signings and looking first and foremost to get the players in the building to stay and push on next year. 'I think that cup final will leave a bit of a taste in their mouth and they'll be thinking when they get back at it. 'It's a disappointing end to the season, although it was a great season when you look back. 'It's hard to criticise when you look at how good the Champions League campaign was, the league campaign. 'Trebles have become such a regular thing, thanks to Brendan Rodgers and the way Celtic have been recently. 'But also, there will be one eye on Rangers' new manager and what he's going to bring. 'They'll know he's a good manager and good ideas in the game and he'll be looking to get Rangers back on track. 'You try and focus on yourself but there's no doubt about it. One eye is on… especially the fact they've got a new manager, so you don't know what he's going to bring. 'You don't know, although they'll have an idea of his last teams and what they've done, but you don't know what kind of reaction he'll get from the players. 'You imagine the reaction because he's new at the start and he's obviously a good pedigree, so that'll be interesting.' Charlie Mulgrew appeared courtesy of William Hill and the Warm-Up, SPFL title sponsor. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Rangers boss Russell Martin begins Premiership reign with trip to Motherwell
Martin's first William Hill Premiership match in charge will see him go head to head with former Norwich team-mate Jens Berthel Askou, who was recently installed as Motherwell manager. The fixture will kick off at 5.30pm on Saturday, August 2 and will mark the weekend of the 130th anniversary of the first game at Fir Park. There is only one Premiership game taking place at 3pm on the Saturday, which sees Stuart Kettlewell start his Kilmarnock reign with the visit of newly-promoted Livingston. Falkirk end their 15-year absence from the top flight with a home game against Dundee United the following afternoon in one of four matches to be screened live by Sky Sports over the opening fixture card. Former Hearts captain Steven Pressley begins his first league campaign as Dundee head coach at home to Hibernian on the Sunday, following the Leith club's Europa League tie with Midtjylland. Champions Celtic will unfurl the league flag later that day ahead of hosting St Mirren in a 4.30pm kick-off. Hearts and Aberdeen fans will need to wait until 8pm on the Monday to see their teams start the season at Tynecastle as new head coach Derek McInnes begins his Premiership campaign at home against one of his former clubs. Martin's first league game at Ibrox will kick off at 5.30pm on August 9 with Dundee the visitors in a game to be shown live by Premier Sports. Celtic have the chance to atone for their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final defeat by Aberdeen when they travel to Pittodrie the following day for a 12.30pm kick-off. There are no league games in the third weekend of August with the second round of the Premier Sports Cup taking place. Rangers head coach Martin will experience his first derby in charge on Sunday, August 31, when Celtic visit Ibrox for a noon showdown. The festive schedule is slightly less hectic than usual with only one midweek slot rather than the usual two. Six matches are scheduled for Saturday, December 27, including an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road, which has been earmarked for live television coverage at 12.30pm. There is a full fixture card three days later with Celtic travelling to Fir Park before hosting Rangers in a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, January 3. All teams – including a Dundee derby at Tannadice – play that afternoon. There are six midweek fixture dates in total including two in succession in early February, either side of the Scottish Cup fifth round. The final games before the split are pencilled in for April 11, when St Mirren will be aiming to seal a fourth consecutive top-six finish when they travel to Celtic Park. As in recent seasons, there is a full midweek card in the final week of the season, which ends on May 17-18. The SPFL season in general will kick off on Friday, August 1 when Arbroath return to the Championship with a home game against Ayr United. St Johnstone return to second-tier football with a home game against Partick Thistle the following day and will face fellow relegated side Ross County in the second weekend of the season. East Kilbride's first SPFL game will see Spartans visit K-Park in a League 2 encounter on August 2.
STV News
2 hours ago
- Sport
- STV News
Martin expects new-look Rangers squad to be in place for Panathinaikos
New Rangers head coach Russell Martin expects a 'different' squad for the Champions League opener against Panathinaikos as he stressed the importance of early signings. Martin will open his Ibrox career against the Greek side in the second qualifying round in the final two weeks of July. 'I think the squad will look different,' he said in a club video. 'We will have some players in by then as well, so the earlier we can do that, the better, so they become ingrained in what we are trying to build culturally and in terms of performance. 'The players are back in on Monday. That's the most exciting bit. We will see what the players can do, how we are going to have to adapt and tweak to make it really built-in and ready for us, and then the rest will take care of itself.' Martin was speaking after the William Hill Premiership fixture announcement handed him a trip to Fir Park to face Jens Berthel Askou's Motherwell side. 'We have a big fixture before that to really focus on and then we can start really preparing for Motherwell and focusing on that,' he said. 'But wherever we go we want to be ourselves, we are going to try and be the team we want to be all the time. 'It's exciting, it's against an old team-mate of mine in Jens. We played together at Norwich many, many moons ago and we have stayed in touch. 'We know him, his character and personality and how he will have his team ready, so it will be tough. 'But they are all tough. We need to focus on ourselves and what we are going to be in the next four or five weeks, and making sure we are really ready to attack every challenge, whether it's the European game before that or the start of the league season.' Panathinaikos were the highest-ranked team in the three unseeded teams in the league path of the draw. Martin said: 'A lot of people said to me it's maybe the toughest draw we could have had but we have to play against and beat good teams if we want to compete in European football. 'It gives us something to work towards and look at them but the focus is going to be on us and making sure we are ready to compete against anyone by the time the game comes around.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Scottish Premiership fixtures: Spicy opener, controversial new rule, Rangers bid to buck trend, Oasis impact
SPFL fixtures day always provides talking points - and this year is no different Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As someone pointed out on X, Hamilton Accies based at Broadwood, formerly Clyde's home, and Clyde playing at New Douglas Park, previously Hamilton's HQ. And only one Saturday 3pm kick off in the top flight on the opening weekend of new season, the thirteenth since the Scottish Professional Football League was established. Welcome back to the crazy world of Scottish football. A new season fixture list that is more of a suggestion than a schedule given the number of games that will likely need to be moved due to European football activities still managed to deliver a variety of talking points, including the new rule which allows all teams involved in European play-off round clashes to request a postponement of their matchday three clash on the weekend of 23/24 August without consulting the opposition. In short, an invitation for some early controversy and quarreling. Delicious! Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Some things though are set in stone. Russell Martin's Rangers revolution will kick off in the league at Motherwell at 5.30pm on Saturday 3 August. At least the pressure won't already be on the Ibrox side – Celtic do not begin their defence of the title until the following afternoon when hosting St Mirren, which – fitness permitting – is when Kieran Tierney is due to make a return to competitive Scottish football. The William Hill Premiership trophy, Championship trophy, League 1 trophy and League 2 trophy on display during a launch event for the fixture release at Four Winds Pavilion, Pacific Quay in Glasgow. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Still, Martin could do with securing an immediate three points, something Rangers haven't done on the opening weekend since defeating Livingston under Giovanni van Bronckhorst in 2022. In each of the last two seasons they have been in catch-up mode following the opening weekend. In both cases they were looking for a new manager before the season was out. Clearly Martin is hoping to buck this trend. Much might depend on what happens between now and the league kick-off when it comes to signings, although whatever happens on that front Rangers' Champions League fate will also be a lot clearer by then. They will either be already out and preparing for a Europa League qualifier or they will have given the Martin era a boost by having overcome Panathinaikos in their Champions League second qualifying round tie. 'We've got a lot of work to do, physically, tactically….the players haven't even been in the building yet, they come back on Monday,' Martin told Sky Sports as he reflected on Rangers' league programme schedule, which one can imagine some fans already taking issue with. 'Monday?! Celtic were back this week!! Idlers. Sack the board!' Note to Rangers supporters: Calm down, Celtic are not back in training and aren't expected to return to Lennoxtown until the start of July. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Delaying bleep tests and the like for a little longer feels very sensible given the sweltering conditions. Still, if it's not an inappropriate image to evoke as Scotland bakes under a pitiless sun, the publication of a new season's set of fixtures is like waking up to find newly fallen snow outside – it will never not enthral. Rangers head coach Russell Martin will hope to improve fortunes at Ibrox following a tough domestic campaign last season. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group Away from Rangers and Celtic, who I am contractually obliged to note meet for the first time in the new season on 31 August at Ibrox, Dundee will entertain Hibs at Dens Park - and yes, it's officially back to being called Dens Park – on Sunday 4 August. Steven Pressley's return to top flight Scottish football as manager of the hosts is sure to be a fascinating affair, as much for the reaction of the fans – both sets – as anything. But perhaps the first real box office clash of the new league season is on Monday 4 August at Tynecastle, where Hearts host Aberdeen. This fixture is always one to look out for but new Hearts manager Derek McInnes against his last-but-one team adds some added spice, even if it is a bloody Monday night. Still coming down from the high of a Scottish Cup win, Aberdeen fans might not be bothered about that inconvenience. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It does underline the difficulties when it comes to producing a balanced set of fixtures and one that satisfies everyone in all four divisions, which of course is never possible. The SPFL have worked in conjunction with GotSport, a sports management platform based in the United States. A 'fixture recipe', based on information and restrictions provided by the SPFL, is fed into an obligatory 'supercomputer' and out of it emerges things like East Kilbride v The Spartans, with the two newest SPFL teams meeting on the first Saturday at K-Park. Hearts will begin their league campaign against new manager Derek McInnes' former club Aberdeen. | SNS Group The supercomputer has its work cut out. Even the fact Oasis have reformed ends up having an impact, which is not something the Gallagher brothers probably considered when ending their feud. Due to the band's concert at Murrayfield on the weekend of the second round of fixtures, Hearts have been scheduled to play away – against Dundee United. It is not the only match between Hearts and Dundee United that has been impacted by events at the neighbouring rugby arena. The first meeting of the two clubs at Tynecastle next season will be played on Sunday, November 9 due to the Autumn Test between Scotland and New Zealand taking place at Murrayfield on the Saturday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
