Scottish Premier League News May 2013: Ally McCoist has admitted that Rangers need cleansing from top to bottom
Lisa Dillon
Celtic
Neil Lennon was fuming that none of his senior players got a look in when it came to the PFA Scotland player of the year awards. Motherwell's Michael Higdon took the gong but the fact that there wasn't one Celtic player short-listed for the main award had Lennon foaming at the mouth.
Describing the decision as "abysmal", Lennon revealed there was real anger in the Celtic dressing room about the perceived snub - Inverness midfielder Andrew Shinnie, Hibernian forward Leigh Griffiths and Aberdeen striker Niall McGinn were the others who were listed – and questioned what more his side could do for recognition.
No Celtic player polled more votes in the main category than the Motherwell striker Michael Higdon. Victor Wanyama was named on the young player shortlist but Lennon viewed the democratic outcome as a snub to his side.
Lennon seethed: "It beggars belief that we make a semi-final of the League Cup, final of the Scottish Cup, win the championship, make the last 16 of Europe, beating Barcelona, beating Spartak Moscow, putting the country on the map again, and I think the outcome of those votes belittles all the efforts of the players. I think it's abysmal.
"Are people voting for the best player in Scotland or the most improved player in Scotland? There's a huge difference in my eyes and that's not taking anything from the candidates that were nominated. They have all had fine seasons, but to not have one Celtic player in that group is unbelievable."
When it was put to him that the votes for Celtic players might have been spread throughout his team, Lennon said: "I have no idea what way the voting goes but you can't tell me that Fraser Forster, Wanyama, Kris Commons, Kelvin Wilson, Gary Hooper weren't in the forefronts of people's minds when the votes were made. It's ridiculous.
"There is a lot of ill will in the dressing room now. The players are very, very disappointed with the outcome. They have performed heroically."
Meanwhile, Lennon also urged supporters not to underestimate this season's title win. With no Rangers in the SPL this season there was a distinct lack of competition for the major prize, but Lennon believes it does not lack any prestige because of the situation the Ibrox side are in.
"It is never easy [to win the league]," said Lennon. "For me, you would denigrate what they [the players] had done if you said it was easier. It was not easy at all. In terms of competition, in my time, as player and manager, this is the eighth championship we have won and four of those were won by 17 or more points with Rangers in the league.
"The only time it has been close is when it goes down to the final game of the season with Rangers," added Lennon. "The fans desperately miss the edge, the general to and fro between both sets of fans.
"I suppose what everyone misses is that when the results come in, and you have had your result, then you look over what is happening across the road [at Rangers].
"But as far as we were aware or concerned, we knew what was facing us going into this season and we had to get on with it.
"It means everything [to win this title]. It is a privilege to manage the club. I have a really young squad and the way they have performed this season is fantastic. That was the icing on the cake, to take it over the line in the championship again after last season, and now we have a Scottish Cup final to look forward to off the back of a great European campaign. They have worked wonders this season."
Celtic's title win confirms their participation in the Champions League once again next season. But, because of Scotland's falling Uefa co-efficient rating, they will have to negotiate three qualifying rounds this time if they are to play in the lucrative group stage for a second successive campaign.
Lennon is hopeful that some of the revenue his team earned this season by reaching the last 16 of Europe's elite tournament will be used to keep his squad intact with a new deal for 28-goal top scorer Gary Hooper at the top of his wish list.
"My gut feeling is that he [Hooper] will stay," added Lennon. "He has been our leading goalscorer for the last three seasons. It is not just the volume of goals, he gets important ones too. When you really need a goal, he pops up with the important one. It's pivotal that he stays.
"Our policy is to bring young boys in, develop them and sell them on. We have got plenty of assets in the team for the first time in a long, long time.
"But on the back of what we did in the Champions League this season, I don't think there is the pressure on the board to have to sell now.
"Our preference is to get him [Hooper] a new contract and keep him for a little bit longer."
Lennon also singled out attacking midfielder Commons for praise as he analysed Celtic's productive and memorable season. The 29-year-old is among the favourites to be named Scotland's Player of the Year, despite being overlooked by the award from his contemporaries.
"He has had a fabulous season," agreed Lennon. "He was plagued with injury last season but he worked really hard during the summer.
"He's a brilliant player and I played with him towards the latter part of my own career [for Nottingham Forest].
"I knew a lot about him and I was delighted to sign him. He has taken on his football to another level here. He's been fantastic."
Rangers
Stressed out Ibrox manager Ally McCoist has admitted that Rangers need cleansed from top to bottom.
The long-suffering Rangers manager was forced to become the focal point of the club once more after outspoken chief executive Charles Green resigned from his position. The decision sparked all sorts of chaos behind the scenes at Rangers, with disgraced former owner Craig Whyte still claiming to hold a stake in the Ibrox club,
And in amongst the murky business, McCoist was left appealing for some sort of clarity.
He said: "In the past six weeks the whole thing has been all over the place with one thing or another. No matter who is in charge we need a bit of stability, there is no doubt about that.
"I've never felt we were beyond it all. I always felt there were things unfolding because there were stories appearing here and there.
"We were never going to get an opportunity to move on.What the club actually needs is to be totally cleansed. We need to give ourselves an opportunity to move on.
"We need everything out in the open and hopefully this internal investigation will do that.We need to let everyone see what has been going and where this club are hopefully heading.We haven't had the chance to do that.
"I'm not despondent, though. Sometimes you wonder where the next hit is coming from but we do need to move on. And the biggest thing we need to come out of the stability is that in every press conference I'm sat here talking about the football.About teams, players, bad results and good results. That for me would be stability."
However the manager confessed he expects the summer strategy he had set up with Green to be a casualty when the dust settles.
He said: "I would imagine my budget will have changed from what I was told it was initially. I was pleasantly surprised with my budget prior to the departure of Charles. I was happy with it. Did I believe it? I was happy with it!
"I'm just guessing. I hope I'm wrong. I was told what the budget would be but I'm fearful that won't be the case now. I would settle for it not changing but I have a sneaky feeling it will.The thing is, we're really far down the line with a lot of targets and a lot of players.
"It's not an ideal situation. We can only sign players who are out of contract and we can only register them on September 1. It's in our best interests to move as quickly as we possibly can and get them signed up.
"That goes without saying because if these players have other options they're well within their rights to look at them and they may not choose us.So it's more important than ever than we get players ASAP."
Reflecting on Green's 11-month tenure at the top, McCoist admits he was still surprised to see him go the way he did.
He said: "I was taken aback when the news broke. I came over to Ibrox from Murray Park and was told at a meeting. My opinion hasn't changed because the most important thing always has and always will be the club.
"I'm a half-full guy rather than half-empty, as everyone knows.You can argue about how the job has been done this season but the bottom line is it's been done. The boys have managed it and done their job.
"As coaches and managers we would all like to be given the opportunity to do our job - and that's to take the team forward. You have to give Charles credit initially at the start. We were in desperate need of someone coming in to buy the club and take us forward.
"The biggest thing you can say about that is he got us a licence to play and a team on the park."
Asked if after a period of stability, the place had been derailed again, he sighed: "Listen, Charles told everyone he was a straight-talking Yorkshireman and that's certainly what he was. Did everyone agree with what he said? Not at all.
"I'm not going to attempt to put the blame on one man for the club turning a bit, though, not at all. He said a lot of things that provided a lot of inches in the papers. I didn't agree with everything he said but I agreed with a lot of what he said."
Motherwell
Michael Higdon, the Motherwell striker, endured the best and worst times in a 12-hour period after being crowned Scotland's players' player of the year.
The 29-year-old clinched the award but spent that evening in the cells after a drunken altercation with a bouncer outside a Glasgow nightclub. Despite the trouble, he claimed later that he would not allow it to tarnish the award.
"I'm annoyed at myself for getting myself into a situation like that because it's not me," Higdon said. "I'm not the type of lad who goes out clubbing or to bars.
"I'm a country pub type of guy. That's the only disappointing aspect of it because I think this was avoidable. I should have known better than getting myself into that kind of situation.
"But, honestly, it's still the best night I've had as a footballer. It's a career high and that's all I'm thinking about, rather than any negatives. I hope other people see it like that too. These things happen in every walk of life.
"I've had a great season and that's what I hope people remember. Things have been blown out of proportion. There was nothing in it, really."
Higdon had beaten off competition from Niall McGinn, Andrew Shinnie and Leigh Griffiths to become the first player since 1990 not attached to Celtic or Rangers to win the PFA award. Higdon is this season's SPL top scorer, with 26 goals in league matches for second-placed Motherwell.
He added: "My emotions are up and down, to be honest. Sunday night was one of the best nights of my career, in fact it was the best night.
"To be picked as player of the year by my peers was unbelievable. At the end of the day I'm still absolutely ecstatic at winning the trophy. It doesn't get any bigger for a player than winning that award, that's for sure.
"What happened later, that was just a misunderstanding. One of these things that sometimes happens. But it doesn't take away any of my elation. I wish things hadn't happened in the way they did."
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