Chris Sutton urges unhappy Liverpool player who could ‘move anywhere’ to join Celtic

It’s not even November yet and another pundit it talking about Celtic and who the club should sign if the opportunity arose.

67 Hail Hail discussed this morning how Peter Grant said Celtic should look to sign Lennon Miller after the Motherwell youngster continued his superb form for the club.

But this time it’s different. This time Chris Sutton is telling one player who is currently unhappy at his club to leave them and make his big move to Celtic if he gets the chance to do so.

Celtic spent months finding a replacement for Joe Hart and Sutton believes that should Kasper Schmeichel go at the end of the season, Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher should be the man to replace him.

Chris Sutton wants Caoimhin Kelleher to join Celtic

Caoimhin Kelleher has been linked to Celtic on numerous occasions over the last 12 months or so. However, the Liverpool goalkeeper’s price tag was too much for the Hoops and the Irishman still remains at Anfield.

Out of contract in 2026 and still out of the Liverpool team, Sutton has told Kelleher to make the move to Paradise to revive his flailing career.

Sutton told It’s All Kicking Off [26m 27s], “I mean, he could move anywhere, couldn’t he, really?

“He’s the best back-up keeper, I think, I’ve ever seen in the Premier League. Celtic. That won’t happen at Celtic, but because of his Irish roots, Celtic.

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“Well, after Kasper [Schmeichel] goes, if he goes, not that I hope he goes at the end of the season, he may stay.”

What’s previously been said about Caoimhin Kelleher joining Celtic

It seems that Kelleher’s name is simply not going to go away as pundits and reports continually put his name alongside Celtic.

So here is what has been said previously about Kelleher moving to Paradise over the last few months. A report said Kellher was ‘tempted’ by the Celtic move despite being called at £15m in June.

Kelleher has also spoken about his future amid Celtic links and has said, “I love the club [Liverpool], I love the fans and I have a great relationship with the players and the staff.

“Whether it’s here at Liverpool or somewhere else, I do feel the next step for me is to be a No 1.”

And Gary Gillespie has also said that the issue Celtic have if they want Kelleher is that the money on offer down south from smaller teams could blow the Hoops out of the water.

Will the Republic of Ireland international make the move north of the border? You can never say never in this day and age especially as Celtic are in good financial health.

Celtic proved why they are champions by making easy work of their win against Motherwell over the weekend.

Before the game, Andy Halliday was confident Motherwell could test Celtic, but by the full-time whistle, he was sat on the bench and watching his team suffer a deserved defeat.

Yes, things could have been very different if Lennon Miller had opened the scoring when he hit the woodwork.

But Celtic’s 3-0 win at Fir Park rounded off a pretty good week for the team, which also saw them secure a valuable point on the road in the Champions League.

The squad for the clash against Motherwell was rotated, both for freshness and with some players having minor knocks.

But it still didn’t disrupt the performance, with Luke McCowan putting in another impressive display for the Bhoys, stand-in captain Alistair Johnston also getting on the scoresheet and Adam Idah netting from the bench.

But there was one only man who stood out for Halliday, with the player himself playing for around an hour against Celtic.

Alistair Johnston’s Celtic’s ‘best player’ against Motherwell

Johnston was named Celtic captain against Motherwell and it was a special moment for the player.

It got even better for the full-back when he headed home his side’s second goal and enjoyed his only evening as captain by bringing home the points.

Halliday was asked to name his best performer in Scotland from the weekend matches and he put forward Johnston’s name above everyone else’s.

He felt the Canada international was the ‘best player’ on the park and also expressed how, over the last six months, people are now seeing a ‘big input’ from the player in an attacking sense, as he told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard.

“I think we had a lot of options this weekend, it must be said, I thought there were a lot of good performances over the weekend,” said Halliday about who is the top performer in Scotland.

“I have a feeling the Celtic-Motherwell game will be a big talking point, as always, so I am going to go for Alistair Johnston.

“The fact that he was wearing the captain’s armband going into the game was always that added bit of pressure there. But I thought he was Celtic’s best player on the pitch. A lot has been said about what he offers the team defensively. He has always been a brilliant one-v-one defender. I think, over the last six months or so, we are seeing a real big input in his attacking outlet and I think he was great.”

Johnston’s stats for Celtic against Motherwell

Aside from Johnston’s goal, going by WhoScored, he stood above all of his teammates, in terms of how he was rated for the match.

There were many top performers during the match, including McCowan impressing the Celtic fans again.

But Johnston was handed a rating of 8.47, with McCowan the only player getting above eight and the rest being around the seven mark.

Since 2012, the Ibrox side has racked up almost as much losses as the old club owed to HMRC, it is insanity, and Celtic have played their part in facilitating this utter madness

I’m going to do a short article on this tonight.

Because, inevitably, this will develop much further, and I need to get an in depth look at the actual Ibrox accounts to wrap my head around this.

We are at a juncture to day where the Ibrox club has lost almost as much money as the old club owed to HMRC.

If you’d asked me 12 years ago if things would be this insane at Ibrox 12 years later, even I couldn’t have imagined they could get away with what they’ve managed to get away with.

What is more galling in all of this is the fact that Celtic played it’s part in this.

The pernicious 5 way agreement is testimony to that.

That toxic document is one of the reasons we find ourselves where are today.

And pernicious is exactly what it was, because gradually, the Ibrox club has managed to become even more shambolic than the previous entity.

The document that Peter Lawwell “never set eyes on” has facilitated this shitshow of a club to behave in the most fiscally abhorrent fashion in the history of the Scottish game.

For what else can it be?

What other club has behaved like this in the history of the game in Scotland?

This club is trading while insolvent, propped up by directors loans while haemorrhaging money at an exponential rate season after season.

It is a travesty that any club in Scotland should be forced into administration, while this club gets away with absolute murder.

Here is the basic overview of the losses up to June of this year as reported in the Record this evening:

Rangers have announced an operating loss of £17.2million in the past financial year.

The Ibrox club released the annual report and accompanying financial statement for the year ended 30 June 2023 which is in stark contrast to last year’s. Twelve months ago the club posted a slim operating profit of £252,000 but it’s a sorrier sight now with cash being haemorrhaged.

The figures do show record core revenue is up by £5m to £88.3m. But total operating expenses – or costs – remain high at £110m. Staff costs account for £61m, down by £3m on last year. The outlay of their short term Hampden tenancy was also listed with Rangers writing the Scottish Football Association a cheque for £67,000.

Staggering to say the least.

I’ll do a more in depth article on it tomorrow.

This is a seminal moment in Scottish football.

If the Ibrox club thinks it can just continue as normal after this, then they should think again.

Operating a business like this is unsustainable.

Alex Livesey

They are in a serious financial black hole right now.

Directors cannot keep throwing money into that black hole indefinitely.

No investor is going to touch this financial pariah either.

They are caught between a rock and a hard place now, as UEFA will not allow a Sugar Daddy to fix their problems.

In fact, to me, these look like problems that just cannot be fixed.

A couple of weeks ago, Ibrox fans were laughing at the predicament Inverness Caledonian Thistle found themselves in.

Finding hilarity in disrupting their fundraising efforts.

I don’t think they’re laughing now.

This is Karma.

Jeff J Mitchell

This is what you get for riding roughshod over the rest of Scottish football.

The walls are closing in over there.

It is like death by a thousand cuts.

It’s been going on for 12 years now.

When will it finally end?

Rangers accounts: Why Ibrox club has lost £17m, big difference with Celtic and how figures can get better

Some green shoots of growth at Ibrox – but key issues remain

The bottom line for Rangers is uncomfortable reading after the accounts between the end of June 2023 and the end of June 2024 were released on Tuesday afternoon.

While the Ibrox club can report some positives in terms of record core revenue of £88.3million, record total income of £94.2m and record commercial revenue of £67m, Rangers ultimately have made a £17.17m loss in that 12-month period, compared to 2022-23 period of just -£4.14m.

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Those of a Rangers disposition will look enviously across the city at Celtic’s current financial health. The Parkhead side last month posted strong figures for the same period, making a £17.8m profit. While that was down from the previous year’s total of £40.7m, it shows the gulf between the two Glasgow entities.

Rangers, of course, have not had their troubles to seek of late off the pitch. They continue to operate without a chief executive after James Bisgrove’s departure in the summer – the club hopes to land his replacement sooner rather than later. Chairman John Bennett stood down on health grounds in September, with John Gilligan taking interim command of the club. Not to forget the delays to construction works on the Copland Stand at Ibrox, meaning a temporary flit to Hampden. None of this is covered in the just-released accounts.

Rangers have released their accounts for the period ending June 30, 2024. | SNS Group

Rangers are third in the Premiership and these figures landed a day before a key league clash at second-placed, unbeaten Aberdeen. Manager Philippe Clement is desperately trying to rejuvenate fortunes on the pitch.

The accounts lay bare some of the football failings of the past 12-18 months at Rangers. Within that 17m loss is a £7.9m deficit on player trading. While cash was made on the sales of Glen Kamara, Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak, those fees were eclipsed by outlays on Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, Mohamed Diomande, Sam Lammers and Jose Cifuentes. The latter two are no longer at the club, while Dessers has become a marmite figure at Ibrox and Danilo’s time has been blighted by injury. Diomande’s arrival is deemed as a success.

Yet Rangers still need to get much better at player trading. There is no megabucks sale to rival ones such as Calvin Bassey to Ajax or Nathan Patterson to Everton. The team continues to lack tangible assets, a situation being addressed in the current transfer model under Nils Koppen. Rangers are identifying younger players with potential sell-on value, and hope starlets such as Diomande, Jefte and Hamza Igamane in time will provide that.

Unlike Celtic, Rangers have been starved of Champions League revenue for the past two seasons. Play-off round defeats by PSV in 2023 and Dynamo Kyiv this summer are damaging in that regard. While £17.35m was brought in for reaching the last 16 of the Europa League in the 2023/24 campaign, there is still a £25-30m gap in the sort of cash being opened up to Celtic for being in the group stages of Europe’s blue-riband tournament.

And also unlike Celtic, Rangers have dispensed with two management teams in the past two years, the most recent being Michael Beale and several of his coaching assistants back on October 1, 2023. Pay-offs for those staff members were significant.

Rangers have also made a one-off litigation payment, meaning the club is free of claims for first time in more than a decade.

Yet unless there is a significant external cash injection – and there was recent talk of whisky tycoon Billy Walker pumping in money – then Rangers need to get it right on the pitch to make sure their numbers are healthier off it. There is also an onus on director of football recruitment and board member Koppen to unearth gems.

Interim Rangers chairman John Gilligan. | SNS Group

In the immediate term, pressure comes from where the team currently lies in the Premiership. Six points behind joint leaders Celtic and Aberdeen, slipping up at Pittodrie – or indeed at Hampden on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Motherwell – would be extremely costly. Every penny counts – and there is little in reserve to make another alteration in the dugout, despite some fans’ wishes. Cash and bank balances reserves sit at £1.76m, down from £5.33. Rangers keep needing to go back to the investor well.

Other figures to highlight include staff costs dropping slightly from £64m to £61m, while gate revenue has increased by £4m to £43.7m. Within the record total income of £94.2m was a covid insurance payout. In total, cost increases at Rangers were managed to just one per cent and the club continues to work within UEFA financial framework.

Regardless, Rangers continue to sit on a knife-edge as they play second fiddle to Celtic. What the latest finances show is that swift progress is required in all parts of Ibrox.

Loan watch: Alex Valle making waves at Celtic after Barcelona move

The full-back is having an impact

Alex Valle was tipped to be part of the Barcelona first team this season but ended up securing a season-long loan move to Celtic instead.

He did extend his contract until 2026 before he went, suggesting there could well be a future for him still at Barcelona when he returns.

Valle has gone on to enjoy game time with Celtic and is clearly loving life in Glasgow under Brendan Rodgers.

The full-back impressed on his first ever Champions League start against Atalanta last week, as Celtic drew 0-0 with the Europa League winners, and will hope for more European outings with RB Leipzig and Dinamo Zagreb still to come.

| ́ ( , ) with a top performance tonight vs Atalanta [ #UCL ]

▫️7 Clearances
▫️2 Key Passes
▫️1 Interception
▫️3/6 Successful Long Balls
▫️78% Pass Accuracy
▫️1/4 Ground Duels Won

— Rising Stars XI (@RisingStarXI)

Valle also has two assists in just four Scottish Premiership games but has grabbed the chance to impress in recent weeks with Greg Taylor out injured.

“This move has been great for me so far. I have full confidence in myself, my team-mates, the staff – everyone at the club,” he told reporters.

“They’ve been really close to me and they’ve helped me a lot. The city of Glasgow is awesome, I really like it. I’m really happy here.

“I’ve been settling in the city and at the club but it takes time, especially because of the style and the way we play. It’s different to where I’ve come from. So I’ve had to adapt and get better in every game. With confidence and getting minutes, I’ve been improving every week. But I still think I can do more and go even further.”

Barcelona will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Valle, particularly as the club are short of left-back options in the squad right now – aside from Alejandro Balde.

There’s already been talk about possible Barcelona targets for next summer, with Alphonso Davies’ name cropping up, but the Bayern star will surely be in demand as he’s available on a free transfer.

James Forrest on why he feared he was ‘done’ at Celtic and his future

James Forrest in action for Celtic this season (Image: SNS)

JAMES Forrest has probably lost count of the number of games he has played against Dundee since making his first team debut for Celtic against Motherwell as a baby-faced teenager way back in 2010.

But the winger knows he will savour being on the pitch against the Dens Park side in the William Hill Premiership match at Parkhead this evening every bit as much as all of the others.

Forrest is 33 now and is in the final year of his contract. He is still performing to a high level for the Glasgow giants at home and abroad and is valued greatly by his manager Brendan Rodgers. But he is not a regular starter these days and is unsure what will transpire when his current deal runs out in the summer.

Will he be offered an extension? Or will he depart the club he has been at, man and boy, for 22 years? It remains unclear. The Scotland internationalist, though, is not overly concerned about what his future holds. He is simply relishing still being a part of things as Celtic pursue more silverware.

“I am just concentrating on being involved with the team,” he said. “I am enjoying it as much as I ever have and I’m just focusing on the here and now. Maybe I’ll start thinking about it afterwards, towards the end of the season. I’m just enjoying it at the moment.

“I’ve not done my coaching badges, but I’ve spoken to players who have and there’s maybe time to look at it in the next year or so. But I don’t want to take my mind off playing just yet.

“During that spell when I wasn’t involved in the team, I was maybe wondering if I’d ever play for Celtic again. So now it’s a case of not taking anything for granted. You look at the end of last season, being involved, winning the league and the Scottish Cup. Even going away in pre-season again was great.

“I’m not saying it’s a second chance, but you maybe felt like you might be done. I think that’s why I am really enjoying it. Is it a case of soaking it up? Absolutely, 100 per cent. That spell out, I’ve probably never had that in my career before. I was thinking, If you get back in, just make sure you really enjoy it and take it in’.”

Forrest made an important contribution when he returned to the fray towards the end of last season – he helped Celtic to come from behind and win the Premiership for the third consecutive season and beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup final.

Those successes took his haul of medals to 24 – one more than European Cup-winning captain Billy McNeill and one shy of the record total managed by the legendary Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox.

He can match and overtake his fellow Ayrshireman this term if things go according to plan. But his place in the pantheon of Parkhead greats is the farthest thing from his mind. Beating Dundee and maintaining his side’s advantage over nearest challengers Aberdeen and Rangers in the league table is all that concerns him.

Craig Williamson – “I don’t really think about the medals thing,” he said. “It’s always nice to hear it afterwards. But in the here and now, it’s October, so you don’t want to think about it now. You just want to work hard, game to game, and hopefully that stuff comes.

“It’s been a really good season so far, even going back to pre-season and the results and performances we had. But we’ve really kicked on domestically and in the Champions League. It’s really enjoyable to be part of it.

“The most important thing is we concentrate on ourselves. If you look at what other teams are doing, you can take your eye off what you need to do. The manager and staff always drill that into us here. No matter who we are playing, we need to take care of our own jobs.

“You saw that in the games after Europe. They were hard games, the manager changed a few players, but we’ve still got the results. It’s good for everyone involved that the manager is showing trust in his squad.”

Forrest, who is now in his 16th season as a Celtic player, has been joined in the starting line-up in recent weeks by the likes of Auston Trusty, Alex Valle and Luke McCowan and he feels the new boys have been every bit as important to their form as the old guard.

“All of the players have settled in off the park,” he said. “We could see from the first day in training they would settle in on it. The staff make everything clear so it’s easy to settle quickly. You can see that in the way they are performing. It’s good for the players who were already in the squad, as it pushes everyone to perform as well.

“It’s a busy schedule. The likes of Cam [Carter-Vickers] and Greg [Taylor] have missed the last few games, but the team is still performing. That’s good for them as well. If we were maybe struggling then there might be pressure on them to get back. But there are players here who can be more than capable when called upon.”

McCowan, who scored on his first start for his boyhood heroes in their 3-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, has particularly impressed the veteran. Forrest is keen to get back in the Scotland squad for the Nations League matches against Croatia and Poland next month and thinks his compatriot is capable of representing his country in future too.

“The first training session Luke had was the day before the Rangers game and right away he came in and looked really confident,” he said. “You could tell he was really buzzing to have signed. He’s just kicked on. He’s settled in the changing room and you see his performances on the park.

“Could he be one of the bargains of the season? Definitely. You’ve seen it already with the impact he’s made from the bench and it was good for him to get a start the other day. He’s a Celtic player now and doesn’t look out of place. He’ll want to keep going and build on this.

“I think if you asked Luke, he’d say the most important thing for him right now is to concentrate on here. But if he keeps doing what he’s doing then he’s definitely got the ability, confidence and character to be involved with Scotland. He’s made the step up to Celtic and I would have no doubts about him if he got called up.”

Celtic sweat over Adam Idah ankle scan after ‘poor challenge’ as Callum McGregor condition revealed

Irish striker picked up injury against Motherwell

Celtic have been left to sweat over the condition of striker Adam Idah after he was sent for a scan on an ankle injury.

The Republic of Ireland forward was caught by the studs of Liam Gordon before the Motherwell defender was sent off for his lunging tackle during Celtic’s 3-0 win at Fir Park on Sunday.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s William Hill Premiership encounter with Dundee, manager Brendan Rodgers said: “It was a nasty knock he took. So we’ll see how that is later.

“It was a poor challenge and thankfully the ground was a bit wet, so his foot’s able to move. Otherwise, if it’s a dry pitch and his foot sticks in the field, then it can be a really, really, really bad one.

“But he’s got a wee bit more movement in it these last couple of days, so we’re hopeful that he’ll come out of it OK. We’ll wait and see what the scan says. But it wasn’t a great challenge.”

Celtic’s Adam Idah picked up the injury after this tackle against Motherwell. | SNS Group

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell claimed after the match that the VAR-assisted decision was “harsh”, but his club have not appealed against the red card.And Rodgers believes Kettlewell might change his initial viewpoint on reflection.

“For managers after a game, it’s sometimes difficult because you’re coming in to address your players, there’s so many things you’re having to look at, and then very quickly you’re out into your press duty for an hour or so,” he said.

“So sometimes as a manager, you don’t quite get that true look at it and reflection to it. But I’m pretty sure when he sees it again, I said afterwards that the player didn’t look like he meant to make the challenge he did, but it’s still a poor challenge.

“He was on the stretch, he’s off the floor and it’s a bad challenge. So, I don’t think you can deny that it’s not that. So, I think when Stuart sees it again, he will see that as well. I respect he has to defend the player, but it’s still a poor challenge.

“Hopefully Adam has got away with it. I think when you see it on reflection, I think anyone would say it was a sending-off. I’m just fingers crossed for Adam and for our squad that he can come through and be OK.”

Callum McGregor missed the win at Fir Park with a hip strain and looks more likely to return for Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Aberdeen. “We’ll just assess, see how he reacts to his bit of work that he did,” Rodgers said. “If not, then he’ll definitely be fine for the weekend.”

BUZZBOMB BOBBY STRIKES AGAINST RANGERS: ONE DOWN, FOUR TO GO

IT was fifty-eight years ago today that Celtic claimed the first trophy in their unforgettable clean sweep in the spectacularly successful campaign of 1966/67.

There was no stopping Jock Stein’s relentless, rollicking and ruthless green machine as the club won everything in sight, including the European Cup in Lisbon on May 25 1967.

The beginning of something special in the breathtaking trophy collection kicked off on October 29 1966 on a grey Saturday afternoon at Hampden.

Author Alex Gordon, who has written fifteen Celtic books, turns back the clock to a memorable day on the south side of Glasgow.

In another CQN EXCLUSIVE, Alex delves into his files to present an edited extract from his tribute publication, ‘That Season In Paradise‘, published by CQN in 2016.

Please enjoy.

THE first piece of silverware in Celtic’s all-conquering season arrived after Bobby Lennox’s whiplash strike had defeated Rangers in the League Cup Final on October 29 1966. The Hampden triumph brought down the curtain on an astonishingly successful month for Jock Stein’s side.

They had played eight games in four different competitions, had won the lot and had scored an extraordinary total of TWENTY-SEVEN goals throughout their ruthless rampage. Ronnie Simpson had been required to fish the ball out of the back of his net on only five occasions – and three of them were conceded in one rollicking encounter against Hibs.

It was clear this Celtic team were on the verge of something special even this early in what was developing into a stellar campaign.

Jock Stein’s men overcame a stubborn Airdrie side 2-0 in the League Cup semi-final, but they would have to wait to learn their Hampden opponents at the end of the month. Rangers and Aberdeen fought out a 2-2 draw in the first game, but the Ibrox side won 2-0 in the replay five nights later.

So, for the third successive season, it would be an Old Firm head-to-head conflict to decide the destination of the League Cup at a damp, colourless Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon October 29.

Celtic returned to the national stadium, the scene of their Scottish Cup Final demise in April. Now the League Cup was up for grabs against the same opponents and Bertie Auld recalled, ‘We had been tipped by many the previous season to win the national competition and, of course, the bookies rarely got it wrong.

‘We just shaded the odds, but the favourites don’t always win, as was the case that painful night in Mount Florida.

‘So, the turf accountants once again put their mouth where the punters put their money and had us as odds-on to win the League Cup. I was acquainted with a few bookies, of course, and I didn’t know any who had difficulty finding the cash to put petrol in their Rolls-Royces.

‘They weren’t wrong too often. They had confidence in us not to fall twice at the final hurdle. We were fairly confident ourselves, as a matter of fact.’

Rangers, following back-to-back embarrassing reversals from their venerable rivals, were in determined mode and desperate to turn events on their head. The Ibrox side were only too aware of the startling progress that was being made across the Clyde and realised the Jock Stein express had to be derailed; the sooner the better.

Long-serving keeper Billy Ritchie, after conceding six goals in two Old Firm confrontations, was brutally axed to make way for Norrie Martin, who had played in the 2-0 replay triumph over Aberdeen.

There were also indications that the new boys, Davie and Alex Smith, were beginning to settle into their roles within the team structure. The ever-dangerous Willie Henderson and Willie Johnston, two pacy flankers, were beginning to motor while a lot of the goalscoring onus was put on the unpredictable George McLean, the forward who infuriated the club’s followers with his particular mixture of wonderful and woeful.

Tommy Gemmell reflected, ‘I had a lot of admiration for Willie Henderson and, as a matter of fact, he is still a very good friend to this day. He was so fast and elusive when he got into his stride. I always tried to encourage him to go inside when we were face to face and I was playing at left-back.

‘If I could coax him in there, I knew John Clark and Billy McNeill could take care of business.

‘But you knew you were in trouble when Henderson got his head down and went straight for the bye-line. Big Jock was always happy to play Willie O’Neill against the winger. Willie’s great strength was his tackling, his timing was excellent. Henderson would show him the ball and our man would jockey along beside him, refusing to rush into a rash tackle.

‘If you did that, you would find yourself swiping at nothing and the wee Rangers player would be on his way, haring down the touchline.

‘Big Jock again chose Willie O’Neill at left-back for the League Cup Final and I played at right-back. I was up against Willie Johnston and he could be real handful, too. Like Henderson, he was speedy, direct and could deliver a good cross. Willie O’Neill and I knew we had our work cut out that afternoon.’

And so it proved. Rangers rose to the occasion and performed diligently throughout, a fact acknowledged afterwards by Jock Stein. However, the Final was settled as early as the nineteenth minute when Bobby Lennox, with his usual lightning-swift reactions, put the Ibrox side to the sword.

Bertie Auld clipped over a cross to the edge of the penalty box and Joe McBride back-headed the ball into the tracks of his striking team-mate.

Lennox, racing at top speed, was perfectly balanced to receive the pass and fizzed an unstoppable drive past the helpless Martin from eight yards. The move had developed at such bewildering pace the Rangers defence resembled exhibits at Madame Tussaud’s as it was speedily constructed around them.

That was the solitary goal of a tension-laden, rain-drenched, sodden afternoon at the national stadium. The nearest Celtic came to adding to Lennox’s strike came when John Greig scooped away a shot from Jimmy Johnstone that had eluded Martin.

Rangers claimed a goal when Bobby Watson battered the ball into the net, but referee Tiny Wharton blew for a foul after detecting a sly nudge by Alex Smith on Ronnie Simpson as the Celtic keeper came for a swinging high ball. Ibrox manager Scot Symon was asked for his verdict on the match official’s call. He sniffed, ‘The referee is the judge. What I think doesn’t count.’

The nearest Rangers got to scoring a legitimate goal against Celtic in four-and-half hours of football that season arrived in the fading moments when Alex Smith scrambled the ball beyond the grounded Simpson. It was rolling, apparently inexorably, towards the net when Willie O’Neill arrived on the scene.

Gemmell recalled, ‘I got a good close-up view of the incident and I have to say I thought the ball was going over the line. Willie seemed to appear from nowhere. It called for a right-footed clearance, but we all realised Willie was all left foot.

‘If he had swung at it with his right, goodness only knows where the ball would have landed! Thankfully, he slid in with his left and hooked it to safety. Willie normally shunned the spotlight and never bothered with praise, but that was an extremely important piece of defending from a very reliable professional.’

Stein accepted his team had not fired on all cylinders, but said with a measure of defiance in his tones, ‘We won the Cup and that’s what we set out to do. Naturally, we are delighted. We didn’t play as well as we can and I think everyone who saw this game would agree with that.’

One newspaper reporter noted, ‘If Rangers don’t know where their trouble lies, they should all be using white sticks. At centre-forward, George McLean had no idea how to beat Billy McNeill without fouling him.

‘Every high ball was the property of the Celtic centre-half and captain – and nearly every low one, too.’

One trophy down – and four to go. The Hoops were on course for the title, Scottish Cup and Glasgow Cup. Plus, of course, the little matter of the European Cup in Lisbon on May 25 to bring down the curtain on a phenomenal crusade by Jock Stein’s unstoppable team in 1966/67.

Rangers star should have been sent off like Celtic ace as Hoops star admits playing with an injury

Ex-referees believe a Rangers player should have been sent off in their win over St. Mirren.

Rangers and Celtic were both successful at the weekend in their bid to win the Scottish Premiership title.

The Light Blues made their way past a dogged St. Mirren outfit, while Celtic smashed Motherwell by three goals to zero. Here’s what is appearing in the rumour mill this morning.

A group of former referees have decreed that a Rangers player should have received his marching orders for a tackle in the Light Blues’ game on Sunday – meanwhile, a Celtic defender has confessed that he has recently been playing on a toe injury.

Connor Barron ‘should have been sent off’ vs St. Mirren

Connor Barron was a lucky man on Sunday afternoon, according to Behind the Whistles on social media. He challenged for the ball with his boot high in the air – and they believe he should have been shown a red card for it by referee Calum Scott.

To back up their argument, they cited an incident from last season in which Celtic player Yang Hyun-jun was sent off for a near-identical incident against Hearts. Nevertheless, Barron was not red carded as a result of the challenge and the Gers went on to win the game 2-1, despite the best efforts of Stephen Robinson’s men.

In a post on their official X page, Behind the Whistles which is ran by ex-referees Steve Conroy and Des Roache posted: “Identical ‘tackles’ & should have received identical sanctions. We said Yang was right to be sent off, so Barron should also have been sent off.”

Carter-Vickers admits to playing on foot injury

One of Celtic’s key defenders, Cameron Carter-Vickers, admitted that he had been playing on a foot injury for around a month, according to an interview that he recently conducted.

He made his return to the squad during the Hoops’ win over Motherwell at the weekend, when he was subbed on in the 68th minute for Alex Valle. He helped to shore up Brendan Rodgers’ backline as they coasted to a comfortable win, keeping a clean sheet along the way. It marked Carter-Vickers first competitive outing in a Celtic shirt since they annihilated Slovan Bratislava by a score of 5-1 in the Champions League back in September.

Now, the USA international will be in contention for Celtic’s upcoming games against Dundee and Aberdeen, with the latter of these two fixtures taking place in the Scottish League Cup semi final. It gives Rodgers a selection headache, as Auston Trusty and Liam Scales have been playing well in Carter-Vickers’ absence.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Carter-Vickers said: “I missed a bit with an injury, but yeah, it was good to be back out there today, and hopefully, I can kick on now and keep going. Obviously, it’s difficult to watch, but I was proud of the boys. I thought they put in a great performance.

“I had it [the toe injury] for a little while, a month, but I was kind of playing with it. It was kind of time to rest it and get it right, so that is what I did.”