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Scottish Premier League Update

Ali Hannah on the latest from the Scottish Premier League, November 2009

Celtic | Rangers | Scotland

Scotland

George Burley has claimed that he is better placed than ever to deal with any call-offs ahead of Scotland's friendly international against Wales, but he warned serial offenders that they could be jeopardising their place in his plans for next year's European Championship qualifiers.

The Scotland manager unveiled his 23-man squad, but having learned from the upheaval of ten withdrawals ahead of the most recent friendly in Japan, he admitted that he had already placed others on stand-by.

"Basically they played well and I was very pleased with the attitude and performance of the whole squad (in Japan] and I have spoken to all the ones who were involved over there and are unfortunate not to be in this squad," said Burley. "But there is only so many I can include.

"The other lads have given me a bigger squad to chose from and you know what happens, you name a squad and all of a sudden, bang, five or six are injured, so it's important you have the nucleus of a bigger squad to pull from and I think we now have that."

With Scott Brown and Shaun Maloney, two of the more obvious omissions due to recurrences of the ankle and Achilles injuries which forced them out of the last squad, and the old guard of David Weir, Paul Hartley and Graham Alexander all excluded as he runs the rule over the younger players, he does welcome back the likes of Darren Fletcher.

Philosophically, Burley said that injuries were part and parcel of the game and there was no suspicion that people were lacking the commitment required to represent the country, despite the reservations aired by his former Scotland team-mate Gordon McQueen. If there was, he said it would certainly be frowned upon and, if the same people who were consistently missing for friendly matches suddenly made themselves available when the major competitive action resumed, the inference was they may find themselves overlooked.

"If you are injured, you're injured, and if you have a knock, then you won't take a risk in a friendly game. If it's a World Cup tie, you might be more inclined to do it, but there were players who were injured (for the game against Japan]. Northern Ireland, before their last World Cup game, had ten out, so it does happen. The players are keen to play for Scotland.

"We are trying to build on things and make sure that everybody that is coming into the squad is desperate to play for this country and we want that attitude. I played with Gordon and I went halfway across the world for World Cups and I never got a kick.

"I think we are building the spirit and the attitude where people want to be involved whether it's a friendly or a World Cup game. It's an honour and we need to have that passion and I think we showed we do have it in the Holland and Macedonia games and it's something we need to keep building on. We want everybody to have that desire to play for the country. It's important those involved are 100 per cent committed and it's my job to make that happen."

Burley refused to rule out the future inclusion of players such as St Johnstone's Jody Morris and cited their willingness to associate with the Scotland set-up as proof that players are "desperate" to be involved.

"He is a player who is doing well in the SPL, but we have numerous other players who are in contention for the Scottish midfield spots as well."

One of those could be Andrew Driver if the Hearts player decides his future lies with Scotland rather than England. Burley said progress could be expected on that in the future but failed to pick him for the match against Wales, claiming the player had been unsettled by the issue and needed to focus on playing for his club.

"He had to make a big decision in the summer to play for England, so the next decision he makes is a big one and at the moment he is a young player progressing," said Burley. "We will see what materialises in the future. We will leave it at that."

Celtic Roundup

Tony Mowbray has revealed the depth of the task facing him at Celtic, as the manager once more looked back enviously to the Martin O'Neill era, when Celtic could "attract Premiership players with Premiership salaries".

Asked about the prospect of Celtic one day joining Rangers in a new Atlantic league or in a restructured English Premier League or wherever, it triggered from Mowbray a familiar refrain about the hurdles facing him at Celtic.

As he seeks to reclaim the title from Rangers, and do so by winning in style, Mowbray was honest about the limitations he is working with in the current Hoops squad. The calibre of players that were at the club in recent times was enough to make Mowbray green with envy and he has admitted that he would love the chance to work with some former players who have recently left Celtic.

"We are aware that other people are talking about an Atlantic league, so it is very important that we keep our ear to the ground on all that," the Celtic manager said. "I think Celtic and Rangers will listen to whatever is being talked about, in terms of change.

"But I am just seven league games into this job at Celtic. Right now my goal is to win enough matches to win the SPL for Celtic, and then go and play in the Champions League and see how we do there. And with every transfer window I will try to get together a group of players that could try to punch above their weight in European competition, with a style that is synonymous with this club, which is attractive and entertaining football."

But how will he fulfil that ambition, when the money coming into either half of the Old Firm appears to be shrinking with every passing season? It wasn't the first time Mowbray had to consider how he would square the circle.

"Yes, and I can feel that problem already," he replied. "The reality is there on the pitch for all to see. Teams [in Europe] have got pretty good players because they've got the finance to bring those players in. But I've still got a responsibility to try to build a team that can go on to compete, regardless of how much the other clubs are spending.

"My remit here is clear and my teams are all about trying to entertain. But with due respect, I haven't got a Henrik Larsson, I haven't got a Neil Lennon, I haven't got Alan Thompson's left foot, I haven't got John Hartson's power and size, I haven't got a Bobo Balde, who can head anything that comes his way.

"This is a different time now. There is a different level of finance at both Old Firm clubs. We haven't got the Premiership quality of footballers that we had at this club five or six years ago. But, within the means that we have got, we are still trying to do our very best, and trying to win, hopefully with style."

Of more immediate concern to Mowbray is the state of Shaun Maloney's health. The winger pulled out of the recent Scotland trip to Japan with an Achilles injury, and the Celtic manager admitted that his player was in danger of mid-season burn-out.

"Shaun is a concern to me," Mowbray said. "We've got some big games coming up but I'm not sure if Shaun can continue to play week in, week out. He's fit, and he is training, but he has played a lot of football.

"Both he and Aiden McGeady put in a real hard shift every week, and when I look back on Shaun's injury record, I think he is one we need to keep half an eye on and try to protect. I don't want to flood him with football to the point where he breaks down.

"I think Shaun suffers from a little bit of tendonitis, maybe from over-use. These things are always down to the genetics of the individual. Shaun is an explosive type of player on the field, who puts in high-intensity work and running on the field, so I just feel we need to protect him. I've never seen a player play with the intensity that he does."

Rangers

Rangers manager Walter Smith has issued a stark warning that Scottish football must change or risk dying.
The Ibrox manager spoke out after a month in which the Scottish sports media was dominated by reports of the Old Firm quitting the SPL and going to England, as well as reports on a North Atlantic League that would involve clubs from Holland, Scandinavia, Belgium and Scotland.

The recent talk of Rangers and Celtic breaking away from Scotland to find a more lucrative playground in which to play has prompted Smith to speak out.

As Alastair Johnston, the recently installed Rangers chairman, said of a futuristic European league: "My job is to ensure that, when the invites are handed out, Rangers are invited to the party."

Smith spelt out his belief that the Scottish game is in decline, and his argument is that, unless Rangers and Celtic escape the SPL, the whole scene will die.

The current depression in Scottish football has various contributory factors. The national team, not having qualified for a major finals since France '98, now feels pretty much like a poor relation in Europe. There is also the Old Firm's growing - and alarming - inability to compete with the English Premier League clubs in terms of wages, as Celtic manager Tony Mowbray has also recently lamented.

Added to that has been the body blow of TV broadcaster Setanta's collapse, and the sudden loss of tens of millions of pounds in television revenue to Scottish football, starting this very 2009-10 season. The effect of Setanta's demise has been that of ruin, of turmoil, of a wearing away of self-belief in the Scottish game, let alone of something more tangible, which is a dilution in the playing standards.

And in the midst of all this is the Old Firm conundrum. Amid the depression, are two huge clubs - Celtic playing to 60,000 weekly, Rangers playing to 50,000 - who are regularly quoted as among the biggest in Europe ("biggest" in terms of fan-base). If they were released from the poor parish of Scottish football, the wealth generation of the Old Firm would be vast, and every Rangers and Celtic director knows it.

Smith believes the two clubs will continue to be dragged down. Many, however, if not most, believe the opposite: that if the Old Firm leave the SPL will die, simply because Rangers and Celtic are the be all and end all in Scotland.

Smith knows, whether he stays at Rangers beyond this summer or not, he will not be a part of the future scene, and therefore can feel free to offer his opinion on the matter. But he remains a hugely respected figure, and for him to speak so bluntly about the current predicament was bold indeed.

"I fear for Scottish football if we don't change," said Smith. "I think if we don't do something then Scottish football is in danger of dying. We are already seeing a downturn financially with our top players moving out of the SPL. Both Rangers and Celtic need owners to subsidise teams and, in any business, that's not healthy.

"There is this idea that Rangers and Celtic are only looking after themselves. But if we don't keep a high profile for our game, across Europe and so on, then we will be even worse off. We will be dragged down.

"Less than 20 years ago we could compete with English teams. Now that is impossible and it will only continue.

"SPL clubs are losing players to the Coca-Cola Championship and League One. That is a measure of a steady decline in finances and standards.

"Not a lot of people will invest in small countries. An Arab sheik is going to invest in Manchester City, in Spain, in Germany. What's the benefit of investing in Scotland, unless you are Rangers or Celtic orientated?"

This is clearly an issue Smith has privately thought about at length. He insisted Rangers and Celtic "will always have a presence in Scottish football" though he acknowledged this may be in its lower echelons. The manager also says the opportunity should be there for other Scottish teams, who win their own remaining championship, to progress to a European league.

"It will mean that the other teams [in Scotland] will have an opportunity to be successful," Smith said. "Let me make it clear, when I see a situation of Rangers and Celtic going to play in a European league, there would be the possibility that other Scottish teams could get there. It's a case of leaving the league to play in a European league but the Scottish team who wins the league should have a chance to get into that league as well. That would mean playing off against the teams that are already in it, so therefore you have a benefit in your football.

"Everyone is saying Rangers and Celtic are leaving Scotland, it's goodbye and that is the end of it. But I don't see that. I don't see it as necessarily being the case. There still can be room for Scottish clubs to show ambition to get to that level too."

Ali Hannah

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