Early starts and early rises, that is what is facing the fans heading to Ibrox to welcome in the 2011/12 season. First of all, there is the business of unfurling the league flag which symbolises Rangers winning the title back in May but as soon as the pomp and ceremony of that dies down, the action begins in earnest.

It really is all eyes on Ally McCoist to see how he makes the step up from assistant manager to being his own man. It appears that with the suit, a vow to watch a lot of the game from the stands and in some of the players he has been after, Ally will take a lot from Walter but then again, is that any surprise?

Having worked under and alongside Smith for so long, it makes sense to use this as a template and with the players McCoist has at his disposal, it makes sense to keep following the route that has made them so successful.

The new man does have new men at his disposal though and the travelling Jambos may see a familiar face lining up against. Lee Wallace may have cost a lot more than Rangers initially bid for him but he has the potential to be a good player for Rangers for many years. Injuries dogged Wallace in the past year but he will be keen to get off to a winning start and to ensure he is in good condition for the Champions League qualifier on Tuesday against Malmo.

Rangers will be pretty much as they were from last season and it will be interesting to see if there are any tactical alterations or differences under McCoist.

Hearts fans have seen a number of new faces come to the club and they appear to be all set for a new campaign. The only problem is, with the exception of John Sutton, who has the potential to be a great signing, the rest are pretty run of the mill SPL signings. Perhaps Mehdi Taouil will take a step on but he was a player who very much flattered to deceive at Kilmarnock. Having one reasonably good game in five or a sparking five minutes out of 90 may be enough to have some fans cheering your name but the Hearts fans will be expecting more from the player who has featured for the Moroccan national team.

It will be interesting to see what Jambos team Vladimir Romanov selects after the controversy of his meddling in the selection during Heart’s last trip to Glasgow. You would have to hope that Jim Jefferies will get full control of his team this time around.

It hardly seems like a break at all but both teams will be looking to grab the points that will have them off and running.

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Hearts secure in 3rd as well

It was almost a night of complete closure in the SPL this evening with results tying up most of the outstanding issues and even the one remaining issue could be completed tomorrow.

Hamilton have threatened to keep themselves in the top flight but their hopes ended tonight with a defeat against St Johnstone. This meant that St Mirren didn’t have to win at Pittodrie but a cracking 1-0 away win sealed the Lanarkshire side’s fate and places the Buddies three points behind Aberdeen. The fact that Danny Lennon’s men sit just 2 goals behind Craig Brown’s team could see the Buddies leapfrog the Dons on the final day of the season.

It was a disappointing loss for Brown but he got a massive result earlier in the day when the SFA decided he was to receive nothing stronger than a censure for his behaviour on the touchline with John Boyle. Nothing is surprising anymore about the SFA disciplinary panels and reviews so no one can be shocked about Brown being let off with this, the second time the former Scotland manager has behaved in a poor manner on the touchline this season.

At Ibrox, Rangers came flying out of the blocks in Walter Smith’s last home game of his Ibrox career and buried Dundee United with a spirited opening. The game wasn’t even a minute old before Steven Naismith went down in the box, a feat he repeated moments later but the opener was to come from the £4m hit man and Rangers buy of the season, Nikica Jelavic.

Jelavic made Gary Kenneth look foolish (well, no more so than the Hills Have Eyes star usually looks) by creating acres of space in the box and directing the ball home. The lead was doubled when Rangers man for a title run-in, Kyle Lafferty neatly finished.

Knowing it was job done, Rangers downed tools, keeping a poor United side at bay without ever exerting themselves. The league could be won tomorrow night if Hearts beat Celtic but even if the hoops do avoid defeat in what will be a battle at Tynecastle, Rangers will complete the job in style at Rugby Park on Sunday.

With the P.A. system making Smith man of the match and the Rangers fans unfurling a banner declaring the boss to be a legned (sic), there were plenty of tears for the final home bow of a man who was worked wonders during his two spells at the Ibrox club.

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Money and experience makes the difference

In the title run-in, you could do with a bit of luck and Hearts keeper Jamie McDonald gave Rangers that edge when he made an absolute hash of Nikica Jelavic’s opener. The £4m striker has been central to Rangers during the run-in and this signing can claim to have been the one that likely sees the Ibrox side over the line.

The Rangers squad is the most expensively assembled team in the SPL and the Ibrox side spent a considerable amount of money over the course of this season but Jelavic’s capture looks to have been repaid with the likely League and League Cup double. After all, it was the striker that grabbed the extra-time winner in the League Cup final.

In the end, the experience of the Rangers management team and squad has gone a long way to securing silverware, as many expected. Many Rangers fans felt it would be a much easier season than has actually transpired, predicting that the inexperienced and hastily assembled challenge from Celtic would implode long before the run-in but in the end, Rangers could be champions by midweek.

There was a lot of leniency shown towards the home side by Ian Brines, who has managed to show a consistency in his performances that players could only dream of. It’s not as though he was biased towards Rangers, although the Ibrox side did benefit from Weir, Bougherra, Laugherty and Jelavic all avoiding early bookings, Brines is just an abysmal referee – as he also showed at Celtic Park last weekend by not booking Beram Kayal for a clear bookable offence. It can only be hoped that Brines is better in his day job as a Strathclyde policeman otherwise there will be plenty of criminals getting away scot free.

In the second half, the Jambos will point to the fact that the sending off issued to serial red card receiver Jonsson was slightly harsh, especially with the first half leniency but yet again, Brines has shown himself to be a terrible referee.

Rangers also got a break in their second goal when Steven Naismith was clearly offside in the build-up to the Kyle Lafferty’s goal but with Steven Davis, completely unmarked, making it 3-0 before half-time, the home fans were able to get the party started before lunch-time. A late own goal added the icing on the cake as Rangers once again went on the goal rampage in a post-split fixture.

Hearts will be keeping an eye and an ear on the Dundee United v Motherwell score but even if the Arabs do their work, the Jambos will be fired up at home on Wednesday to get the final point they need.

As for Rangers, depending on tomorrow’s scoreline at Rugby Park, they could get the opportunity to claim the title on Tuesday versus Dundee United in Walter Smith’s final match at Ibrox but regardless of that happening…the Rangers fans will just be counting down the days until they clinch their 3rd title in a row.

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A massive win last week but odds still against the Accies

There has almost been an air of expectancy over Hamilton’s position in the top-flight and even though last weekend’s triumph in Paisley kept their dreams alive, the club needs to do it again and hope results go in their favour. And that is not just for this weekend…but in all the remaining relevant fixtures.

A home game versus Hibs, who lost to St Johnstone last timer around presents the Accies with the chance to go at it again and if Hamilton fans want to have a team in the top flight, they should get themselves along to the ground. Then again, if Hamilton fans cared about having a team in the top flight, they should have bothered turning up over the course, a feat all but the hard-core have failed to do.

However, now is not the time for recriminations…it is the time for a massive performance and then see what happens.

There is every chance that St Mirren will go up North and get at least a point against Caley. Some will say this is madness after Inverness’ big win against Celtic but if anything, this just makes it all the more likely that the Saints will take something from it.

Caley put everything into the match on Wednesday and as many other teams have found, it is difficult to reach that level of performance two games in a row. Beating Celtic gave everyone at Caley a massive lift but there may well be a come down to follow and Danny Lennon should have his team fired up to take advantage from any sign of lack of commitment from the home side.

It really is still against Hamilton Accies and Saturday may be the day when their battle against the drop falls away. After the previous two seasons, it has been a shame the way that Hamilton have fallen away this season but it was always a risk with the business model of the club. Hopefully the youth system at the club can bring forth another set of youngsters which will have them back in the top flight and looking to play football as opposed to the mainly turgid fare that has been delivered this campaign.

There is no suggestion that Billy Reid will be relieved of his duties if the Accies go down but you can’t help but think the manager will be rueing not moving on when his stock was high, much like some of the players he developed.

The 1st Division is not an easy league to get out of but if they are to go down, Hamilton may find that league reconstruction gives them an easier route back…especially as the opposition to the 10 team league doesn’t look like going away.

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Both closer to achieving their aims

The win against Hamilton on Saturday was a massive one for St Mirren but sometimes there can be a drop in performance levels after a huge victory. No doubt some Buddies would have been worried about throwing away their good work against Aberdeen but another home win has opened up a 12 point gap between them and Hamilton.

With just 21 points to play for and St Mirren having a goal difference that is 14 better than Hamilton, the Buddies are almost there. There will be no one at the club saying this but with Hamilton having only picked up 16 points from 31 games, asking them to pick up 13 points from 7 is a tall order. And of course, St Mirren can put it all beyond doubt by picking up points themselves.

They did this last night, with Saturday’s hat-trick hero Michael Higdon opening the scoring early on, which was the only goal of the game at half-time. Aberdeen drew level thanks to an own goal but a two goal burst from Craig Dargo and Steven Thomson put the Buddies on easy street. Like on Saturday, Aberdeen grabbed a late consolation goal, Rob Milson scoring, but the Buddies held on.

It’s all about survival for St Mirren but given that they are now only 3 points behind Aberdeen, Danny Lennon should be imploring his team to overtake the Dons. St Mirren have two tough trips to Glasgow before the split but their top flight future doesn’t look far away.

As for Motherwell, they took great strides in booking their top six place for the split. The Steelmen moved 7 points clear of Inverness Caley, with the team from up north only having 9 points left to play for. Caley have a far superior goal difference though but you’d much rather have the points. If Motherwell win at Tynecastle on Saturday or Caley lose at Killie or both of the games end in a draw, Motherwell will have confirmed their top six status.

The Well went two goals up in the first half when Jamie Murphy scored from a neat angle and Chris Humphrey made it 2 whose shot spun off Dillon and over the startled Purnis in goals for United. Johnny Russell netted late on for United, who then laid siege to the Motherwell goal with Darren Randolph making a number of decent saves to keep all 3 points at Fir Park.

With the split edging closer, the table is starting to take shape and the home wins at St Mirren Park and Fir Park may be decisive in ensuring these teams are where they want to be.

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2 point lead for the hoops

After Rangers won at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night, the alleged pressure was all on Celtic as Hibs came to Celtic Park. Celtic started superbly, nearly powering their way to goal in the opening seconds of the game but it didn’t take long for a goal to come.

A through ball that was intended for Gary Hooper skidded past the English striker but it made its way to Anthony Stokes who despatched it into the back of the net. It got even better for Celtic when Scott Brown was pulled down in the box and Gary Hooper fired the penalty home. If this was the nerves showing on Celtic, their fans will be delighted if that continues for the run-in.

Re-introducing James Forrest and restoring the Hooper and Stokes partnership gave Celtic a lot more energy and vitality up top and it definitely made a big difference. There will be games when Lennon has to go with a more robust midfield but there are also times when Celtic should look to impose their play on the opposition. They did this last night and fully deserved the win, which could have been by a larger margin.

Hibs briefly rallied on the back of a few bizarre refereeing decisions but just when the Leith side may have thought a goal was coming, Celtic engineered a great opening for Gary Hooper who hammered it home to make it 3-0 Celtic at the break.

As was to be expected, Celtic took the foot off the gas a bit in the second half although Izaguirre and Commons (who came off the bench) both had great shots that just zipped by the post.

Hibs got a goal back after Charlie Mulgrew tugged at the man breaking into the box. Soft but it was a penalty kick and Liam Miller continued his scoring streak from the spot.

One annoying thing about the ref Norris came when Celtic and Hibs both had a man down receiving treatment and he sent the two of them to the sideline before play could recommence. That is not the ruling any more, if both players have a player injured in they circumstances, they can both stay on the field and it is annoying when refs don’t know the rules.

Celtic introduced Freddie Ljungberg and he won his side a penalty in the dying moments. Again, it was another soft award, more driven by the assistant referee but there is an argument there was contact on the Swede before the ball was taken. Gary Hooper stepped up to complete the hat-trick but placed the kick wide and it finished 3-1.

If there was any disappointment from the Celtic fans, it was merely that the free flowing attacking play couldn’t last for 90 minutes but it’s now the run-in and any comfortable win like that has to be warmly welcomed.

Celtic play on Saturday whereas Rangers play on Sunday so the hoops will be hoping to increase the pressure on their title rivals.

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Not as comfortable as 2-0 sounds

The early tea-time kick-off would have been out of the ordinary for most fans but in the end, it gave Rangers fans more of the evening to enjoy returning to the top of the league. St Johnstone will look back and rue the part they played in their own downfall but it’s results that matter and Rangers can be content with their early evening’s work.

It was looking as though it was going to be a tricky evening for the champions but they were given a massive boost when Danny Grainger had an aberration. His woefully short backpass was intercepted by Kyle Lafferty who easily opened the scoring. Grainger could possibly have won St Johnstone a penalty earlier in the game when he was tripped by Wylde but the St Johnstone defender gave a horror performance over the course of the game and he could have been substituted earlier.

Rangers took control for the rest of the first half and hit the post through Davie Weir, although a foul had already been given. Aside from that, Nikica Jelavic looked wasteful in front of goal but there wasn’t much between the teams.

St Johnstone stepped it up a gear in the second and Rangers had Alan McGregor to thank for keeping them in front with two smart saves. Just when it looked as though the game was building up to a grand stand finish, Rangers swept up the park and good play between Naismith and Jelavic saw the Scottish internationalist finish well…and finish the game.

The 2-0 win sees Rangers on top of the league, a point ahead of Celtic but having played a game extra. The champions also have an inferior goal difference of 7 at the current moment. St Johnstone’s hopes of a top six finish are now virtually extinct, lying 6 points behind Motherwell with 2 games to play and having a goal difference which is inferior by 10.

The pitch at McDiarmid Park was pretty rough and although it is too late for St Johnstone to do much about it for this season, it can only be hoped that they and many of the other SPL teams who have inferior parks do something about it for next season. With the continual mucking about of supporters, the least clubs can do is ensure they have a half decent surface for games to be played on.

All Rangers eyes turn to the internet for further updates about the takeover and then to Celtic Park to see if Hibs can do them a favour and keep them on top of the league tomorrow night.

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It’s been tipped but now confirmed

Rangers have announced that Ally McCoist will take over from Walter Smith, when Smith walks away from Ibrox at the end of the season. McCoist has been assistant manager at the Ibrox club since January 2007 when Smith took over Paul Le Guen.

The announcement itself is not surprising but the timing does seem a little surprising, given that it comes in between the defeat to Celtic and the second leg of their Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon.

Another reason why there is an element of surprise about today’s announcement is the fact that the same information was made public in May 2010 with McCoist saying;

“It will be a privilege and an honour to take over from Walter next year and that is a challenge I shall certainly relish.”

Perhaps the announcement is a good way for Rangers to move some of the attention from their weekend defeat or perhaps there was still an attempt to keep Smith in charge for next season that has now been firmly rebutted by the current manager. It could even be about building the spirits of the fans and the club by presenting the bigger picture to them.

It’s all guess work really but as said, the appointment of Ally McCoist as next Rangers manager is no surprise but perhaps the timing of this announcement is a little bit unexpected.

Rangers fans, happy with Ally McCoist taking over as manager of the club?

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Cup tie revenge is also needed for Jambos

All things come to an end and so Hearts praise-worthy unbeaten SPL run crumbled at Celtic Park on Wednesday night. The defeat itself wasn’t the worst thing, you can lose in Glasgow for a number of reasons but it was the performance that would have really disappointed Hearts fans. Celtic were good but Hearts were just not at the races and could only muster a few skewed shots in the first half as a sign of attacking play.

Three points against the big two in back to back games is not bad but four or more would have indicated that Hearts are right in the mix for the title hunt. That talk will quieten down now for a while but it is up to Hearts to put themselves back in there.

Big teams don’t lose too often, that is why they are seen as the big teams but you learn a lot about a club in the way they handle defeat and this is what the Tynecastle crowd will be looking for today.

Will the defeat on Wednesday impact on the confidence of the players or will there be a fired up Jambo team looking to put things right?

Although Hearts had a decent unbeaten run in the SPL going on, they weren’t unbeaten against SPL opposition and they certainly weren’t unbeaten at Tynecastle. That is because their opponents today St Johnstone hit them with a late Peter McDonald sucker punch and knocked them out of the cup.

That was a sickener for the Jambos and if the Perth side can do it again, the boys in maroon will really start to hate the sight of Derek McInnes and his men. With a win against Motherwell in midweek and an unbeaten run that stretches back to Boxing Day (when they were undone in injury time), McInnes has his team motoring along quite nicely.

St Johnstone will have serious thoughts about a top six finish this season and avoiding defeat today will send out a big message to the teams above them. They may be sitting in 8th at the moment but there is no reason why St Johnstone should not set their sights as high as fourth for this campaign. However, one step at a time…

Kevin Kyle looks set to miss out again for the home team and Danny Grainger starts a two game suspension for the away team.

It’s the big game in the SPL this weekend – can St Johnstone shock Hearts again?

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Better personal terms seals the deal.

All the major sporting news outlets (you know, the one that employs good looking girls but abhors sexism and the one that employs Chick Young) are indicating that Kris Commons has signed for Celtic in a 3.5 year deal.

The left-footed winger / midfielder brings another Scottish internationalist to Celtic Park and further increases the number of players that Neil Lennon has brought to the club as part of the massive rebuilding job he has undertaken.

We can probably expect the usual suspects to hit out with criticism over another midfielder coming to the club but it is easy to see why Commons can have a role to play this season and in years to come for Celtic.

Jamie Forrest limping off injured last night was not a good sign for Celtic and the youngster may be out for a few games. Even at that, Forrest, who has been excellent this season for Celtic, is still very young and would benefit from being rested in some games. With Shaun Maloney being (perpetually) injured and Niall McGinn struggling to find form, it is easy to see why Celtic could look for a little bit more in this area.

You can throw in a Scott Brown suspension at some point between now and the end of the season, the same fate will likely befall Biram Kayal and Paddy McCourt has exceeded all expectations of late with regards to fitness.

If you then consider the fact that Efrain Juarez appears to be on the outskirts, Marc Crosas looks likely to be loaned out before the end of the window and who knows about the future of Freddie Ljungberg in a Celtic jersey and you can easily make a case for the signing of Kris Commons.

Even more so when you factor in the low transfer fee! It is fair to say that Neil Lennon could do with shipping out one or two midfielders if he gets the chance but bringing in better quality to replace lower quality is not a bad move by a manager. And if you want another reason, Commons will bring a slightly older head to a Celtic team that is still very wet behind the ears.

Commons should be a quality addition to the Celtic squad and one the fans hope has an instrumental part to play in the remaining months of the 2010/11 season.

All that and we never even touched on the Commons / Stevie Gerrard story…

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