Scottish Premier League News August 2013: Celtic Prepare for trip into the unknown in Champions League
Lisa Dillon
Celtic
Neil Lennon believes that Celtic were handed the worst possible draw when they were paired against Shakhtyor Karagandy in Kazakhstan. The journey will be the club's longest ever trek in European football.
The Scottish champions were pitted against the lowest ranked of five possible opponents when the draw for the final play-off round for the group stages of the prestigious UEFA Champions League was made.
But, while Celtic will be favourites to progress purely on the back of their vastly superior experience at this level, the tie is nothing short of a logistical nightmare.
Kazakhstan borders China and is a minimum of eight hours away by charter. It's also five hours ahead of GMT, meaning Celtic have to travel from Aberdeen in the immediate aftermath of a Saturday lunchtime SPFL tie.
"It's a bit of an unknown one for us," Lennon said. "We'll try and get as much information as possible on them.
"Logistically, it's a bit of a nightmare. We're playing in Aberdeen on the Saturday lunchtime and we have to fly direct to Kazakhstan after that. We'll be focused - there's a lot at stake and we'll prepare as well as we possibly can.
"The game also looks as though it will be played on a plastic pitch. That will be the fourth time in a year that we've had to do that. The trouble with it is that there are different types of artificial surfaces.
"The only inclination we'll get of how it's going to play is once we get out there, but we coped well in Helsinki and Moscow last year."
Meanwhile, Lennon is still trying to add a new player to the ranks. Having lost the spine of last season's side with Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper and Kelvin Wilson all having moved on elsewhere, there is money for the Celtic manager to spend.
But he has his work cut out attracting players to play in the SPFL. Securing a ticket into the group stages of the Champions league would enhance Celtic's attraction to prospective players - but first they have to get there.
"We're a bit bare on numbers and we want to add players," he said.
"We've been linked with a lot of players but this window has been the most remarkable. I don't want to talk about speculation.'
Asked again about an approach for long-term target Kevin Doyle, Lennon replied: "We tried to get him in January but that was then and this is now. He's contracted with Wolves but he's a player we've expressed interest in.'
Meanwhile, Shakhtyor Karagandy boss Victor Kumykov wasted no time in starting the mind games. The teams were barely out of the hat when he wrote his side's chances of eliminating Celtic off.
"Celtic are by far the strongest team we could have got in the draw," he said. "It's even bad that we are at home in the first leg too, because it is always better to play the second leg at home.
"Celtic are definitely stronger than we are. Their players have a value of 12 times our squad.
"We don't give ourselves any chance at all, but it is necessary to understand what we are up against here.'
Despite Kumykov's fears, exiled Scot Stuart Duff warned Celtic they will be facing a 'Martin O'Neill-like' team.
Former Dundee United and Aberdeen star Duff plays for Kazakhstan Premier League outfit FC Kairat and says Celtic's opponents will prove a daunting physical prospect.
Duff said: "They are a very big, physical side who like to dominate.
"They have two huge guys - both about 6ft 5in - in their defence who can intimidate strikers.
"Up front they are very imposing as well, so it's something their manager likes in his players.
"They're actually a bit like a Martin O'Neill side, built a lot on height and strength.
"So Celtic will have to be prepared for a battle."
Rangers
The horrendous civil war that has raged at Ibrox since the club was liquidated in February 2012 shows little signs of abating.
Charles Green made a controversial return to the club as a "consultant" - and wasted little time in stirring the Ibrox pot. The club had barely announced his return when he gave an outspoken interview to a tabloid newspaper, claiming that if Ally McCoist did not win the league and "at least one of the Cups" he would be sacked.
Hours later, Rangers suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Forfar in the League Cup - and the Rangers manager turned on the returning former chief executive.
"It's just more hot air that we've come to expect from Charles," said McCoist. "Our players picked up the newspaper at breakfast to be reminded they're the worst team in Rangers' history. The self-acclaimed straight-talking Yorkshireman has again let himself down.
"His contempt and total lack of respect for my players, for our football club, for our support and Scottish football in general is appalling. If it was a threat then the self-acclaimed straight-talking Yorkshireman should know that boys from the West of Scotland don't scare easily."
Green quit as chief executive in April before being cleared by an internal investigation over claims of close links with former owner Craig Whyte during last year's takeover of the club.
There was also fresh turmoil with the news that a group of Ibrox shareholders are aiming to remove key board members, including new chief executive Craig Mather.
After the defeat at Station Park, McCoist, who was unhappy with Green branding his players "the worst Rangers team ever" last season, made it clear he did not welcome the Yorkshireman's return.
"After I've given him that endorsement, it would be crazy of me to say 'welcome back Charles'," he said. "But our players picked up the newspaper at breakfast to be reminded they're the worst team in Rangers' history.
"Instead of concentrating on the match, their minds are elsewhere and they're worrying about their jobs. Because, let's face it, if he's said we don't win a cup and we go then some of the players would be under threat too."
Rangers had been unable to field eight summer signings against Forfar's part-timers because a signing embargo imposed a year ago does not end until 1 September.
McCoist, though, is well aware that the airing of dirty laundry in public needs to stop. McCoist admitted that the boardroom events and rumours of a coup has left everyone at the club on tenderhooks.
Scottish tycoon Jim McColl, a minority shareholder, has joined forces with accountants Frank Blin and Paul Murray to force an EGM aimed at replacing most of the current board.
McCoist, who owns around one per cent of Rangers, refused at this stage to confirm his backing for McColl's restructure plan.
But he confessed the internal strife must be brought to an end quickly if Rangers are to prosper again.
McCoist said: "I hope everyone gets together for the good of the club.
"Whether decisions are made before or at the meeting is immaterial to me. I just want the decision to be made and for everyone to get together and once and for all think about the future of the club and move on.
"If it goes to an EGM there are financial costs involved and it maybe drags our dirty linen back into the public arena, which we never did for 138 years. However, we have become quite good at it in recent years.
"Events of the last week have definitely unsettled the workforce - and I mean players and staff.
"I haven't made my mind up yet whether I'll abstain from voting as a shareholder at an egm or not. I will weigh everything up between now and then. I also have not decided whether I will go public on how I vote or not.
"There is a lot of thinking to be done but at this stage I'd say if you have a vote you'd be stupid not to use it."
Hearts
Hearts have been issued with a registration embargo for going into administration. A Scottish Football Association judicial panel has imposed a ban on the club signing new players aged 21 and over until Feb 1 next year.
The club cannot sign any player at the moment because of an automatic registration embargo which kicked in when they went into administration on June 19 under what were then Scottish Premier League rules.
In a similar hearing last year, Rangers, before they went into liquidation, were hit with a fine and one-year transfer ban, the latter of which transferred to the newco club when they assumed the SFA membership.
That punishment came as a result of several charges relating to former owner Craig Whyte's decision to withhold tax payments of about £13 million.
Rangers were fined £50,000 for suffering an insolvency event and twice that figure for bringing the game into disrepute.
An administrators' report on Wednesday revealed that Hearts, whose Lithuanian directors have left the club, owe Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs £1.9 million.
Gary Locke, the Hearts manager, had called for "common sense" to prevail ahead of the SFA disciplinary hearing.
"We have got a 15-point deduction and theoretically we have close to an under-20 squad," he lamented. "So we have certainly been punished enough as far as I'm concerned.
"But at the end of the day we have done things that deserve to be punished. We have to take it on the chin. I hope we get some common sense and they can just let us crack on."
Locke added: "The people who ran the club and made it difficult for us, they are not here any more. We are trying to build the club back up. Supporters are doing their bit, I'm trying to do my bit, players are doing their bit, everyone that works behind the scenes is trying their best.
"Hopefully we get today over and done with and look forward as a football club.
"That's all we want, we want to move on and try to compete at the top level of Scottish football, which is where we expect to be."
Buy tickets for soccer matches around the world