Scots youngsters seeking gold
Ireland have won the last four matches but home hopes are high this time with seven of last year's team in again on this occasion at arguably Scotland's premier stocked water.
James Litster, the team manager, said the 14 anglers and two reserves have done all they can to prepare for the event.
He added: 'They will give 100 per cent but all the teams have quality anglers in them.'
The Scottish youngsters have been preparing at the lake since Saturday and the other teams arrived on Sunday night.
Fishing is from 10am to 5pm on Wednesday.
PICTURE: Lake of Menteith
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Scotsman
30 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Last man to fire Scottish club to European Cup semi-final is turning 67 and gets up at 5am for work
Davie Dodds, the ex Dundee Utd, Rangers and Aberdeen player. | John Devlin Return of Rapid Vienna to Tannadice stirs up memories of 1984 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... On assignment a few weeks ago to interview Steven Pressley, somebody caught my eye as they walked purposefully across the zebra crossing in front of my car near the hotel where I was due to meet the new Dundee manager. It took a few seconds to reconcile the man in work overalls with the younger version of himself. There goes the last man to score a goal to send a Scottish club into the regulation semi-final stage of the European Cup, I thought to myself. Or maybe I didn't. 'Bloody hell, it's Davie Dodds!' is probably nearer the truth. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There's never not a good time to catch up for a pint with the man in question. It's a rare privilege since he rarely agrees to interviews these days. As he exclaims himself when I phoned to ask if he had time to discuss the part he played for Dundee United in a European Cup quarter-final tie: 'It was bloody 41 years ago!' Davie Dodds, the ex Dundee United, Rangers and Aberdeen player. | John Devlin Still, the return of Rapid Vienna to Tannadice for a Conference League qualifying tie poised at 2-2 following the first leg in Austria last week seems too good an opportunity not to at least try to request some time with the former striker, who turns 67 next month. Especially since, as I explain to him, he's been in my mind since spotting him on route to meeting Pressley, his former teammate. Rapid were the opposition for the aforementioned goal and yes, it was over 41 years ago. It was expertly struck on the turn from his favoured distance of about ten yards out. Actually, this counts as long range for Dodds. As Eamonn Bannon remarked with a smile when I told him I was hoping to speak to his old pal. 'Never took penalties, of course. Too far out!' It makes Dodds' goal return of 150 in 321 outings for United even more impressive. It wasn't bad at Aberdeen, either – 26 goals in 94 appearances following a short spell in Switzerland. And at Rangers, too, where the Dundonian struck four goals in just seven league starts for the team he supported as a boy (his father supported them). It's where he played with Pressley, which might surprise some since it feels like they belong to different orbits. Indeed, they sat alongside each other on the bench for a Champions League tie against Marseille, which seems slightly mind-blowing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dodds enjoyed quite a career. And quite a selection of clubs – Neuchetal Xamax were his side in Switzerland, where teammates included German legend Uli Stielike. Like seemingly every Dundee United player of his era, there were also 'clubs that got away'. European Cup holders Liverpool wanted to sign him in 1978. Jim McLean said no, not even informing the player. Celtic wanted to sign him in late 1984 for a record fee between Scottish clubs. Again, McLean said no. Dundee United's Davie Dodds (right) during a 3-1 win over Rangers at Tannadice in 1982. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 I supported Rangers but said yes to Celtic 'A reporter from the Daily Record phoned me and said, 'Celtic are putting in a bid of £300,000 for you - I know you are a Rangers supporter, would you sign for Celtic?'' recalls Dodds. 'Davie Hay was the manager. I said, 'Yeah, no problem, tell them to put the bid in'. Wee Jim knocked it back. So that was Liverpool and Celtic….' It seems notable that Dodds is still working. That's what had struck me when I saw him walking in the centre of Dundee. The football agenda just now is dominated by clubs simply trying to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. Well, Dodds scored the goal to get United into the last four of what was then known as the European Cup and scored against AS Roma in the semi-final. Is Hans Krankl, the great Austrian striker who played for Rapid, getting up at the crack of dawn to begin a day's work? Is Antonin Panenka, the legendary penalty innovator who also graced the Tannadice turf on the evening in question, cleaning toilets, which is part of Dodds' remit these days? Of course not, although they are both a good bit older. Dodds plans to retire when he hits 70 but won't ever complain about the graft. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I just enjoy life, my own life,' he says, citing holidays in the family caravan at Seton Sands and in Tenerife at Cheltenham-time as well as golf at weekends his Dundee United commitments – he is a club ambassador - permitting. We are speaking in a pub between Broughty Ferry and central Dundee. It's not quite in the shadow of Tannadice, scene of so many great European nights where Dodds played a central role, but it's near enough. To his fellow regulars, he's just Doddsie. Life after football He details his post-football life. He ran a pub initially, called Rendezvous. 'I had it for five years. Profits were staying the same, overheads were going up. I said, 'I am going to sell it and do something else'. A girl that used to work with me in the pub had her own cleaning business. I don't know why, but I said: 'I fancy doing the cleaning business.' I called it Rendezvous, because that was the name of my pub. That was 20 years ago. It took a while to build up, but now it's fine.' Former Dundee United forward Davie Dodds enjoys a post-work pint in Dundee. | National World - Alan Pattullo He employs two others part-time but is prepared to get his hands dirty, which means getting up at around 5am. 'Toilets and canteens have to be cleaned before the workers start, at half seven,' he says. 'It's technical nowadays – it's not just a feather duster, it's solvents and that now to get plastic off and stuff.' He operates at two new build sites in Dundee and is finished by early afternoon. 'I like getting up in the morning,' he says. 'I don't like staying in the house, I have always been up and out. A couple of pints in the afternoon and then home for my tea.' It doesn't sound completely different to his life as a footballer, though mercifully he is his own boss now. He isn't forced to kowtow to that most fearsome foreman, Jim McLean. They never saw eye to eye. McLean had a particular problem with strikers, it seems, and when United faced Rapid in the second leg, Dodds hadn't scored for – shock, horror – three matches. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Inevitably, McLean wasn't happy. 'The performance of our front players is causing concern,' he writes in his always insightful programme notes for the match. 'The very hard tackling from behind is still being endured by our strikers, but their link-up and goal threat must be improved. I will be looking for decidedly better form from Davie Dodds and Paul Sturrock in both departments.' 'I did everything I wanted to' What's notable on re-watching highlights of the second leg v Rapid is Dodds responding in the way the genius McLean no doubt suspected he would, by ramming the words back down his throat. Something else is also worth highlighting. Ironically given McLean's point about tackling from behind, Dodds commits a typical striker's challenge when barging into the back of an opposition forward in what looks like a very good shout for a penalty. It's not given and United cling onto the lead secured by Dodds' 23rd minute strike. Derek Stark's away goal two weeks earlier proved crucial since the teams were tied 2-2 on aggregate. Davie Dodds in action for Dundee United during the League Cup final win over Dundee at Dens Park on December 6, 1980. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 Dodds can't remember the penalty escape. 'I am surprised Wee Jim didn't haul me off!' he says. But he does of course remember the goal, despite what he earlier claimed. He counts it among the three most important he scored for the club, along with the opener in the following month's 2-0 home leg semi-final victory against AS Roma and another opener, this time v local rivals Dundee in 1980's League Cup final win. 'I was lucky enough to play for my hometown heroes (United), the team I loved Glasgow Rangers (where he was also first-team coach), and played at every level for Scotland – under-15s, under-18s, under-21s and I scored for the senior team (on his debut, v Uruguay),' he says. 'I did everything I wanted to in my career. I won the league with United. I was at Rangers eight years, won leagues there.' He was particularly touched by the reception he received from Aberdeen supporters when he was introduced at Tannadice at the last game of last season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Scotland's DIRTIEST and CLEANEST football stadium toilets revealed as Celtic Park makes top 10
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE were in crisis mode last season as they suffered relegation from the Scottish Championship after entering administration amid major cash woes. But it's not all doom and gloom for the Highland club as they've since been crowned kings of Scotland - for having the cleanest TOILETS at their home ground the Caledonian Stadium. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 2 The Caledonian Stadium tops the charts along with another stadium Credit: SNS 2 Broadwood Stadium is another venue praised for its facilities Credit: Kenny Ramsay Data compiled by comparison site SeatPick, calculated the average rating for Google reviews specifically mentioning toilets across the four leagues in the SPFL pyramid. Stadiums with fewer than 100 Google reviews were omitted, leaving a total of 23 in the final analysis. And coming out on top with perfect scores are the homes of two clubs who have both been struggling with financial worries in recent times, including Inverness Caley. The Caledonian Stadium earned a perfect five out of five score from one review, alongside Broadwood Stadium - now home to Hamilton Accies - which received two perfect scores to see them share the bragging rights. But Accies technically feature at the other end in the unwanted list, with New Douglas Park - now home to Clyde FC - being rated as having the DIRTIEST toilets of any Scottish football stadium. The North Lanarkshire venue received a damning 1.33 out of five from four reviews, highlighting the need to improve the standards of facilities. That ground is then followed by Premiership stadiums such as Dens Park and the Almondvale Stadium, which both take second and third place with scores of 1.89 and 2.32 respectively. Partick Thistle's home ground Firhill and Pittodrie make up the top five with scores of 2.45 and 2.65, while New Firm rivals Dundee United come in sixth with Tannadice given 13 reviews with an average of 2.81. Celtic Park and Hampden are both in the top 10 for DIRTIEST toilets too as the Hoops' home ground comes in tenth with 3.39, while Hampden is placed eighth with 3.06. McDiarmid Park and Somerset Park make up the top 10 in seventh and ninth place respectively, with scores of 3.04 and 3.13. Rangers players look terrified and exposed under Russell Martin In terms of the cleanest venues, along with the Caledonian Stadium and Broadwood, there is also praise for East Fife's Bayview, Morton's Cappielow and the Falkirk Stadium. Bayview is third with 4.85 from two reviews, Cappielow has been given a strong 4.5 from four reviews and Falkirk earned an impressed 4.39 from three reviews. Discussing the findings, CEO of SeatPick Gilad Zilberman said: "Stadium facilities play a crucial role in the overall fan experience at football matches. Our study shows significant variations in toilet quality across Scottish football grounds, with some venues clearly needing improvement. "Clean and well-maintained toilets might seem like a minor detail, but they make a substantial difference to match day comfort, especially during half-time when facilities face peak demand. 'The study also revealed that newer stadiums generally scored better than historic grounds. Most venues with ratings above 4 were built or significantly renovated after 1990, indicating that modern design standards may include better toilet facilities. "An interesting pattern emerged from the data showing that Scottish Premiership teams feature prominently among the worst-rated facilities, with four of the top five poorest toilet ratings belonging to top-flight clubs. "This suggests that even the highest level of Scottish football doesn't guarantee quality amenities for fans." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
The right winger who Rangers must shut down to reach Champions League
The experienced Belgium international midfielder, a veteran of many European campaigns during his 11 seasons as a player at the Jan Breydel Stadium, was certainly elated with the hard-fought victory over the formidable Austrians. However, the 32-year-old, who pitched in with the hosts' final goal in the last minute of regulation time to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph, was less than enamoured with the overall performance. 'We'll have to raise our game against Rangers,' said the Blue Blacks captain. 'We have already played against them in pre-season and drawn. But this will be a completely different story.' Read more: Vanaken's cautious words suggest that his team, very much like Russell Martin's side, have not produced the sort of form of which they are capable of at this early stage in the new campaign despite their highly impressive midweek victory. Could the presence of one man in their starting line-up at Ibrox next Tuesday evening and then over in Bruges the following week, though, mean the next two encounters between the Belgian and Scottish giants have a different outcome to their friendly tussle in Govan at the start of last month? Fans of Club Brugge, who drew with Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League league phase last term and qualified for the last 16 following an emphatic knockout round play-off win over Atalanta of Italy, are hopeful that summer acquisition Carlos Forbs can elevate them to a higher level in the coming months. The Portuguese winger has struggled to fulfil his vast potential in his embryonic career to date. He failed to make the breakthrough to the first team at Manchester City after eight years in the youth ranks at the Etihad Stadium and was sold to Ajax for €14m two years ago. But he hardly featured at the Johan Cruyff Arena and returned to England last year when he was farmed out to Wolves on loan. He was involved in 10 Premier League games during his time at Molineux. However, no bid was forthcoming and he returned to Amsterdam in May. (Image: SNS) The chance to get the regular first team football with Club Brugge this season was appealing to the 21-year-old and he agreed, after helping Portugal to make it through to the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia in June, to a €6m transfer to Belgium last month. His manager Nicky Hayen, who has lifted the Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup this year to make amends for surrendering the Pro League title to Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, has stressed that it will take Forbs time to get up to speed. But his individual display against Salzburg strongly suggested that when he does his new employers will have a potent attacking weapon on their hands. The statistics told the story at the end of 90 breathless minutes. He attempted the most dribbles (eight), succeeded with the most dribbles (five) and had the most touches in the opposition box (nine). The highlight of his outstanding showing was the goal he scored with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. He intercepted a pass from Jacob Rasmussen, ran half the length of the park and slotted beyond goalkeeper Alexander Schlager from a tight angle to make it 2-2 on the night and 3-2 overall. The home supporters in the 23,736-strong crowd erupted. A star was born. The new hero received a standing ovation when he was replaced late on. His new team mates were effusive in their praise following the final whistle. Read more: "We know his qualities,' said Vanaken. 'He's fast and he can make moves with both his left and his right foot. You really can't defend against him. Forbs is an absolute weapon for us." Joaquin Seys - who started a remarkable second half fightback by the home favourites, who had fallen 2-0 down and 2-1 behind on aggregate in the first-half, when he netted on the hour mark - is convinced that more, much more, is to come to from the lightning quick and skilful wide boy. 'He's a fantastic player,' said the left-back. 'We're going to see more great things from him." The sudden emergence of Forbs should be a concern for former Scotland centre-half Martin as left-back has been something of a problem position in his side during the early weeks of his tenure. He has played Jefte there in Rangers' last three games. But the Brazilian winger slipped just before half-time in the third qualifying round match against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Tuesday night, failed to clear a high ball which he should have dealt with easily and allowed Rafiu Durosinmi to pull one back for the hosts. (Image: SNS) In the three games before that, against Panathinaikos of Greece and Motherwell at Fir Park, it was Max Aarons who was given the nod in the specialist position in the back four. But the Bournemouth loanee prefers to be deployed on the right flank and it showed. With Ridvan Yilmaz locked in talks with Besiktas in his native Turkey and a move back to his homeland looking likely in the coming days, it is not immediately apparent to supporters who Martin, under mounting pressure despite leading his side through to the Champions League play-offs and to within touch of a multi-million pound pay day, can deploy at left back to nullify the threat posed by Forbs. Hayen took a gamble playing the Sintra-born forward on Tuesday night and was rewarded for his bravery. He is, then, likely to take a chance on the youngster again in both legs of the play-off. Rangers will need to be ready or they will fail to progress to the league phase for the first time in their history. 'It worked out well,' said the Club Brugge manager. 'Ultimately, it was the right decision. He is not fully fit yet and ideally we would only use him for 45 minutes or so. But we saw his qualities and he was able to make a difference.'
