Latest news with #SPFLChampionship
Scotsman
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Finlay Pollock doubtful for Hearts pre-season as he reveals help from a Tynecastle legend
SPFL loan at Raith Rovers helped the Riccarton kid develop Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... Hearts midfielder Finlay Pollock is doubtful whether he will be ready for new manager Derek McInnes' first pre-season programme. The 20-year-old suffered a season-ending hamstring injury on loan at Raith Rovers in April and underwent surgery. He is now in a race against time to be fit for pre-season training. McInnes was appointed by Hearts last week and is currently assessing and reshaping the first-team squad. Pollock is eager to prove himself to the new head coach when players report to Riccarton in the middle of next month, but he admitted he may need to wait a little longer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's touch and go whether I make pre-season,' he told the Hearts website. 'Hopefully I can make sort of mid-July or the end of July. That's the aim, if all goes well, to try and get back for then. I'll need to make sure I'm right before I come back.' Six goals in 25 Raith appearances amounted to a productive loan spell for Pollock in the Scottish Championship. He was moved from midfield to attack by Raith and is grateful to the club's assistant manager, Colin Cameron, for helping him develop. Cameron is an iconic Hearts figure who won the 1998 Scottish Cup with the club. SPFL Championship move helped by Hearts Scottish Cup winner 'Obviously he is a bit of a legend here [at Hearts],' acknowledged Pollock. 'My whole family know that and my dad reminds me how lucky I was to be with him each day. But he taught me on the pitch as well. Even if it was after training when we'd go out for second sessions. He just showed me where to be, different positions to keep and to hold and when to run, when to stay, when to come short, when to go long – all these different things. That just helped me on the pitch and it just improved me as a whole.' Pollock adjusted quickly to life as a striker after Raith shunted him forward from midfield last autumn. 'They [Raith] definitely saw my pace,' he said. 'That's one of my strengths and they saw that I could probably outrun centre-backs in the league, fairly comfortably. They always wanted me to stretch the game. They really wanted me to try and utilise my pace as much as possible against these defenders. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad '[Cameron] let the rest of the team know that as well. That was sort of the main message for me to do that – and I got a lot of goals out of doing that as well. I learned a lot. The Championship was very tight, it was very competitive, very physical. So, you've got to adapt when you're on the pitch and use different parts of your body to protect the ball and keep the ball. And learn when to go forward, when to come short, all different aspects like that. Just getting a run at games like that helps you to learn and understand.'
Edinburgh Reporter
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
BBC ALBA brings action-packed weekend of football to viewers
Expect highs and lows as teams compete for survival or a place in the higher division next season in the SPFL Championship and League One play-offs – Watch the second-leg fixture unfold tonight (Friday 16 May) on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer (7.20pm ahead of 7.30pm kick-off) as Annan Athletic take on East Fife in the League One play-offs. The final Championship play-offs then take polace tomorrow (Saturday 17 May) as leading Airdrieonians face Cove Rangers, with live coverage on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer 8pm ahead of kick-off at 8.10pm. Fans can also catch the action from the SWPL on Sunday (18 May) as third-placed Glasgow City play against Heart of Midlothian. Live from Petershill Stadium, fans can watch on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer from kick-off at 12pm. Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Three Hearts players win end-of-season awards in the SPFL
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Tynecastle club see winners out on loan in the SPFL Championship and League Two Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... Three Hearts players won Young Player of the Year awards following consistent performances at their respective loan clubs. Midfielders Macaulay Tait and Finlay Pollock plus goalkeeper Liam McFarlane, were recognised by Livingston, Raith Rovers and East Fife respectively for their efforts this season. Tait picked up three trophies at Livingston's end-of-season event despite only arriving on loan from Hearts in January. He was named Coaches Young Player of the Year, sponsored by Glen Turner, Fans' Young Player of the Year, sponsored by Livi Self Storage, and Players' Young Player of the Year, sponsored by Food 2 Go. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 19-year-old has played 19 times for the West Lothian club and earned plenty praise from manager David Martindale for his composure and intelligence in midfield. He helped Livingston earn a play-off place for a chance to gain promotion to the Premiership, after which he will return to parent club Hearts. Former Hearts players Ryan McGowan and Robbie Muirhead also collected trophies for their efforts at Livingston this season. McGowan won Coaches Player of the Year, sponsored by Home of the Set Fare Arena, for his solid displays in central defence. Muirhead walked off with three awards. The forward got Top Goalscorer, sponsored by Alastair Stables at Pumpherston Autocentre, after 18 goals in 44 appearances so far this season. He also took Goal of the Season, sponsored by Vital Health and Wellbeing, for his stunning free-kick against Ayr United, and finally was named Fans' Player of the Year, sponsored by Coachtraders. What does the future hold for Hearts youngsters? At Raith Rovers, Pollock won the Young Player of the Year trophy, sponsored by Alan Hodge Joiners, after scoring six goals in 25 games in the Scottish Championship. The 20-year-old changed position to play as an attacker at Stark's Park and produced some important goals and assists as Rovers narrowly missed out on a Premiership play-off place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Pollock is already back at Riccarton after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against Ayr United last month. He will take time to recover over the summer before Hearts decide what role he might play in their first-team squad next season. McFarlane enjoyed a strong campaign in League Two with East Fife and won the East Fife Supporters Club Young Player of the Year award, sponsored by A&J Developments. The 20-year-old goalkeeper managed 13 clean sheets in 35 outings and will now hope to help East Fife navigate a route through the play-offs into League One before returning to Hearts for pre-season training. All three youngsters are considered potential future first-team players by coaching staff at Riccarton. They were sent on loan to enhance their first-team experience as well as their overall development, and Hearts hope they can join other youth academy graduates in the senior squad. Striker James Wilson, 18, and defender Adam Forrester, 20, have become first-team regulars at Hearts this season and cemented themselves in among the club's established professionals. The long-term aim is for more Riccarton academy pupils to make the transition from youth level to first team. READ MORE: Hearts deal with fan chants
Scottish Sun
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
How Scottish lower leagues could look if new SPFL reconstruction proposals go through – with one less division
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE immediate prospect of returning to a 10-team Premiership has been defeated - as has the notion of expanding the top league. That much became clear yesterday when the SPFL revealed that their controversial move to remove two teams from the top flight would understandably FAIL to get the 11-1 majority it would require to pass. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Neil Doncaster and the Competitions Working Group have come up with new proposals Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 The league's top brass say there is 'broad agreement' around potential changes Credit: The Sun It was at the beginning of this month when it was revealed that league reconstruction was back on the table. SunSport told how SPFL chiefs wanted Scotland's top 42 clubs to consider various different forms of reshaping the leagues. But while that idea has been dismissed for now, it's being claimed there is 'broad agreement' around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. That in itself is quite an interesting claim considering how difficult it has proven at all levels to get agreement about restructuring in the SPFL boardroom. The SPFL statement read: "The SPFL's Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. "It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership. "There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. "These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders." So what could these reshaped leagues look like, and when could they come on board? Well, it's believe that the discussions when they reconvene on May 7 will centre on the SPFL Championship expanding to 12 or 14 teams. Celtic have clinched the Premiership title - now Hatate could leave with SIX players coming in And assuming there are no new teams being admitted into the current senior set up of 42 senior teams, that would leave a third tier of either 16 or 18 teams. It's thought the earliest these plans could come into place would be the start of the 2026-27 season. It would put an end to the current ten-team format of the Championship, which has generally provided one of the most evenly-contested divisions in UK football. But one spin off COULD be greater leeway for Championship clubs to field younger players - IF the percentage chance of relegation drops given the presence of two more teams in there. Also, should relegation out of the senior leagues occur at the bottom of tier THREE rather than tier four it remains unclear exactly what the fourth tier would be. 3 Moves are afoot to split the Lowland League into West and East as well as the Highland League. But would that mean there's a place for the winners of all THREE leagues to go up to this 18-team third tier each season - something which would at least open up the pyramid at long least. That would be a surprise, considering that the club's rank and file teams will have to assent to any such proposal and the bottom placed team in the SPFL each year currently only has to submit to a playoff. One thing is clear: the devil will be in the detail if these plans are to fare any better than the hundreds of other ones which have been left on Scottish football's cutting room floor. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scotsman
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Ex-Celtic and Hearts stars up for PFA Scotland award as Player of Year nominations revealed for three divisions
Award nominees for SPFL lower leagues unveiled 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... PFA Scotland has revealed the nominees for the Player of the Year awards in the Championship, League One and League Two. A total of four players from each division have been nominated based on votes from fellow players. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Championship nominees all come from the top three clubs in the table with two Falkirk players and one each from Livingston and Ayr United making the list. From left: PFA Scotland Player of the Year nominees for the SPFL Championship - Robbie Muirhead (Livingston), Calvin Miller (Falkirk), Brad Spencer (Falkirk) and Jay Henderson (Ayr United). | Jeff Holmes The Bairns, who are bidding for a remarkable second successive promotion, are represented by midfielder Brad Spencer and winger Calvin Miller, who have each been nominated for Player of the Year for a second consecutive year having been beaten to the League One prize last season by then team-mate Callumn Morrison. Spencer, who is the son of former Scotland and Chelsea striker John Spencer, has been with Falkirk since 2023 after following manager John McGlynn from Raith Rovers. He has started all 34 of his side's league fixtures this season, contributing eight goals and two assists, while producing dominant displays in the middle of the park. Miller, who started his career at Celtic, making five first-team appearances for the Hoops before spells at Notts County, Chesterfield and Morton, has also been an ever-present for Falkirk this season, notching nine goals and 10 assists in the second tier. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Livingston striker Robbie Muirhead is also up for the Championship award for a campaign where he has so far amassed 16 goals and seven assists in all competitions following his move from Morton last summer. The former Dundee United and Hearts forward is joined on the list by Ayr United midfielder Jay Henderson, who has been a standout for the Honest Men in their play-off push following his season-long loan move from Ross County. Henderson has been an ever-present in Scott Brown's side, with 14 goals and 13 assists in all competitions making him one of the highest ranked midfielders for goal contributions outwith the Scottish Premiership. From left: PFA Scotland nominees for SPFL League One Player of the Year - Scott Stewart (Arbroath), Fraser Fyvie (Cove Rangers) and Fraser Taylor (Arbroath). Mitch Megginson (Cove Rangers) not pictured. | Jeff Holmes In League One, the division's top two teams dominate the voting. Champions Arbroath's title has been built around the excellence of midfielders Fraser Taylor and Scott Stewart, while Cove Rangers will look to the experienced Fraser Fyvie and Mitchel Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Megginson to continue their good form as they prepare for the play-offs. It's a similar story in League Two, as division leaders Peterhead and second-placed East Fife have two nominees each. Andrew McCarthy and Cieran Dunn receive recognition for their efforts in helping push Peterhead to the brink of the title, while East Fife defender Andy Munro is joined by the league's top-scorer, 39-year-old Alan Trouten, in receiving nominations. The nominations for SPFL Premiership Player of the Year, SPFL Young Player of the Year, SWPL Player of the Year and SWPL Young Player of the Year will be announced on Monday, April 28.
