Latest news with #PremierSportsCupFinal
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Philippe Clement pinpoints Rangers breaking point as flop boss admits board 'listened to fans too much'
Philippe Clement has pinpointed the moment he felt his Rangers breaking point had arrived. The Belgian boss was given the boot at Ibrox last season with rivals Celtic running away at the top of the Premiership and no chance of silverware after a Premier Sports Cup Final defeat and a major Scottish Cup upset at Ibrox from Queen's Park. Despite winning plaudits for his results and performances in the Europa League, his side couldn't replicate it week to week in the domestic bread and butter and ultimately it proved costly to the 51-year-old after he was axed. It is all change at Ibrox now with 49ers Enterprises completing their takeover at the club and Russell Martin now in as manager. But former boss Clement believes THAT Hampden defeat to Brendan Rodgers was the 'vital game' as he admitted the board 'maybe listened too much to some fans' as he looked back on his time in Govan. He told BBC Sport Scotland: "I had a feeling, a bad feeling, after the League Cup final. I think it was a vital game. "If we had won, there would have been more patience with the fans also and the board could have stayed much calmer. "It's a pity that the story stopped, that the board didn't have the patience, or maybe listened too much to some fans. "There are other clubs where there is a difficult moment and everybody sticks together because everybody knows the story, how the work is done inside the building, and they continue and they are successful afterwards. "In three or four windows, we could have closed the gap [to Celtic] with a good development of players, but the decision is made and you need to accept it." It is set to be a busy summer at Rangers with a host of names already linked with joining the new Martin revolution. But Clement reckons FIVE players at the club now have real sell on value and teams would pay good money for their services. Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande have both been linked with summer exits - the latter with Everton. But there are also others who the Belgian reckons could net a tidy windfall. He continued: "Nicolas Raskin made a really good evolution. A lot of clubs are interested in him. "But you also have Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, who will have a better value. Mohamed Diomande is also one of those guys. "The club has worked well the past year in that way. "There are now four or five players with the value to sell and several teams would pay good amounts of money.
Daily Record
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
9 key Celtic dates this summer from the big Kieran Tierney unveiling to pre-season tour
The dust has only just settled on 2024/25 but before you know it, the new campaign will be around the corner It hurts just now but in time Celtic fans will reflect on season 2024/25 with fond memories. A dramatic Premier Sports Cup Final victory to overtake Rangers as Scotland's most decorated club; cantering to four-in-a-row and a record-equalling 55th league title; ending a 12-year wait to reach the Champions League knockouts and taking Bayern Munich to the final kick of the ball. If you asked most punters last summer, they'd have taken that. Yet more than a decade of domination has created an expectancy for Celtic to win Treble after Treble. For the first time, a Brendan Rodgers ' team fell at the final hurdle as triumphant Aberdeen stunned the nation by getting their hands on the Scottish Cup. It will take a few weeks for Celtic and their fans to get over that rare yet painful Hampden defeat, but before you know it, the new campaign will be upon us. Here, Record Sport picks out the nine key dates for the green-and-white faithful to mark down in their calendars across the summer. June 12 - Transfer window opens Rodgers will be planking himself on a sunlounger this week after another exhausting season but the gaffer has already sanctioned a couple of early transfers. Doohan, 27, came through the youth ranks at Parkhead before leaving in 2023, but with Bain's deal being cut short by 12 months, the academy graduate will return to fill the European quota as third-choice. It's a pretty insignificant move in the grand scheme of things, but it gets the ball rolling on what could be a busy window - with a new goalscoring striker top of the manager's wishlist. June 20 - SPFL fixture release day One of the most hotly anticipated days on the Scottish football calendar, clubs up and down the country will discover their gruelling schedules for the year ahead. As champions of Scotland, Celtic will begin their pursuit of five-in-a-row at home for Flag Day on the weekend of August 2/3. However, fans should be aware of a new SPFL policy which allows all Premiership clubs competing in European play-offs to postpone a league match on matchday three (23 and 24 August). The welcomed rule change has been designed to give Scottish teams the best possible chance of qualifying. July 1 - Kieran Tierney officially returns Fans will be counting down the days until they see returning hero Kieran Tierney kitted out in the famous green and white jersey. As the club confirmed in February's interim financial report, the left-back will officially become a Celtic player again from July 2025, with his Arsenal deal due to expire on June 30. Six years after being sold for a then-club record £25million, the idolised defender will return on a free transfer after agreeing a pre-contract. The 27-year-old has been called up for Scotland's friendly double-header against Iceland and Liechtenstein on June 6 and 9. He'll then pack up for his holidays before returning to Lennoxtown for pre-season. July 8 - Cork City vs Celtic Talking of pre-season, the first friendly pencilled in so far is a short hop over the Irish Sea to face Cork City. SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will host the inaugural Cork Super Cup and the historic ground's first competitive men's football game. A bumper sell-out crowd is expected as Irish Celtic followers get the chance to witness their heroes on home soil. The Double-winners are then expected to travel for a warm-weather training camp before welcoming Newcastle United to Celtic Park on July 19. August 4 - Champions League play-off draw Unlike recent years, Celtic will have to navigate a two-legged playoff to reach the £30m promised land after Scotland slid down the coefficient table and lost its guaranteed Champions League spot. The Hoops are one of 10 teams who will compete via the Champions Path, and, as a result of Rijeka pipping Dinamo Zagreb to the Croatian Football League title, have secured a seeded position. That means they'll avoid the likes of FC Copenhagen, Bodo/Glimt, Red Star Belgrade and Ferencváros in the winner-takes-all clash. The Glasgow giants will discover who stands in their way of joining the big boys at Europe's top table for a fourth consecutive season when the draw is made in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday, August 4. August 19/20 - Champions League play-off first leg As things stand, the likes of Swiss giants FC Basel, Austrians Sturm Graz and Romanian heavyweights FCSB could all lie in wait. The picture will become much clearer once rival clubs advance through the third qualifying round, which will take place over two weeks on August 5/6 and 12. August 26/27 - Champions League play-off second leg Celts will hope for the luck of the draw and home advantage in the winner-takes-all second leg to reach the revamped league phase. Experienced Rodgers masterminded nail-biting wins over Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Astana at the same stage during his first spell in charge and will be aiming to do the same again. August 28 - UCL League Phase draw If all goes to plan and Celtic get back amongst Europe's elite in the next edition of the competition, then the draw will be made on Thursday, August 28. Should the Parkhead side fail to progress, then they will at least have the safety net of the Europa League and that draw takes place 24 hours later at the home of UEFA. August 29 - Transfer window closes There could be a revolving door this summer as the club braces itself for big-money interest in the likes of Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate. Rodgers declared earlier this month that, in an ideal world, he would only need to add three new faces to his squad ahead of the new campaign. However, the unpredictability of the transfer market and Celtic's successful player-trading model means the Hoops could well be trading right down until the final hours of the window. Rodgers will hope it isn't as frantic as last year, when £11m record signing Arne Engels, Auston Trusty and Luke McCowan all checked in on deadline day.
Daily Record
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Raging Rangers warn SFA we 'deserve better' as they fire in powerful statement and Barry has his mind blown
Rangers have been left raging and called for goalline technology to be introduced after Raskin's goal was missed Rangers have released a raging statement after Nicolas Raskin's no-goal against Hibs – with Barry Ferguson branding it 'mind-blowing' and 'baffling'. And the club want to see goal-line technology introduced as they vow to raise the issue with the SFA. The midfielder thought he'd doubled Rangers ' lead against Hibs when his strike appeared to cross the line – but it wasn't spotted by ref Nick Walsh and Hibs immediately went up the other end to equalise. VAR checked it but the SFA have since released guidance saying there was no conclusive evidence it did in fact go in. It comes off the back of a slate of VAR and refereeing incidents that have irked Rangers this season. The same ref Walsh was involved in a controversial sending off of Mohamed Diomande earlier this season – something head of refereeing ref Willie Collum admitted shouldn't have stood. They also released a furious statement after Frank Connor was named on VAR for the final Old Firm of the season after his perceived blunder in the Premier Sports Cup Final. Interim boss Ferguson was asked about it on Sky Sports and branded it 'mind-blowing' and 'baffling', adding that it was 'worrying' that VAR weren't able to award the goal. And a scathing club statement reads: "Incidents like this again bring into question the effectiveness of VAR and also highlight the need to introduce goal-line technology in Scottish football. 'Our supporters, players and staff deserve better. We will raise this with the Scottish FA and continue to press for initiatives which improve the accuracy of decision-making.'
Daily Record
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Chris Sutton asks if Rangers have Glasgow bragging rights as Robbie Savage delivers blunt Celtic response
A 1-1 draw means the Ibrox club have taken seven points from their rivals this season and are unbeaten in their last three derbies Chris Sutton wonders if Rangers in fact now have the Glasgow bragging rights after their 1-1 draw with Celtic. It's now three derbies without defeat for the Light Blues, who would have made it three wins on the spin but for Adam Idah cancelling out Cyriel Dessers' opener at Ibrox. Brendan Rodgers ' side will be plenty pleased with the two trophies already in the cabinet this season and an historic Treble coming their way if Aberdeen are beaten at Hampden in this month's Scottish Cup Final. But the Hoops' displays against the team they want to beat the most have left a bit to be desired recently. A 3-0 scudding at Ibrox was followed up by a 3-2 defeat at Parkhead, which saw the champions fight back from 2-0 down only to lose to a late Hamza Igamane winner. Today's result means that their 3-0 triumph back in September is Celtic 's only 90 minute victory over Gers, having emerged victorious on spot-kicks after a thrilling Premier Sports Cup Final back in December. And this Rangers resurgence in Scotland's biggest fixture prompted Sutton to ask 606 Football Phone In co-host Robbie Savage whether the blue half of the city can actually claim the high ground this summer Sutton: "I was at the Glasgow derby. It was a 1-1 draw Rob, I don't know whether you watched the game. Here's an incredible stat for you - Barry Ferguson hasn't won a home game since he's been Rangers manager. Savage: "Really?" Sutton: "That's incredible isn't it? When you think about that. Here's another for you - Rangers have got the better of Celtic in the league games this season. They've taken 7 points from them Rob. So going into the summer, do they have the bragging rights? Savage: "No, Celtic do. They're champions." Sutton: "Okay. Just wanted to put that out there." Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
