Hearts overcame Partick Thistle on Tuesday to set-up an intriguing Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Inverness Caley Thistle.
The Calcutta Cup away from home is always a tale of two emotions, hope and expectation. Scotland hopes, England expects. None of this team were born when Scotland were last victorious in West London, which is just as well as it would make them 36 years old.
The confusing career of Scott Allan is set to take another twist, with former mentor Neil Lennon vowing to restore him to Celtic’s first team ahead of his return to Hibernian in the summer.
When Steven Naismith hobbled off against Celtic back in October, it wasn’t just the on-loan striker who would take time to recover. Without him, the Glasgow side completely humbled Hearts that day and for the following two months, in the eight games he missed, the Gorgie team won only once.
England head coach Eddie Jones is never shy of aiming a dig at the opposition and he was at it again yesterday, mocking Scotland’s dismal record at Twickenham.
Derek McInnes has condemned the Aberdeen supporters who abused Steven Gerrard after Tuesday’s win at Ibrox but insists every similar incident must be treated with zero tolerance. Some Dons fans tarnished their team’s Scottish Cup replay victory by chanting the “cheer up” song at the Rangers manager, which his Pittodrie counterpart admits is out of order.
Failure can leave football clubs in a permanent state of flux. That is where Rangers appear to be at this juncture.
The hero of our last great storming of the home of English rugby is a shy, retiring fellow who does not even appear to have his own Wikipedia page. There is a Welsh Tom Smith, an American one, the Irish version spelt Smyth, the Australian model, the Tom Smith born in 1883 and of course the Scottish prop of more recent vintage, all of them meriting mention in the online encyclopedia for their skills with the egg.
Hibernian head coach Paul Heckingbottom believes Jonathan Spector can provide defensive versatility at a time when the club’s backline resources have been stretched almost to breaking point.
British Muslim Home Secretary Sajid Javid last night condemned the cowardly New Zealand mosque massacre as an “attack on the freedom and values that unite us all”.
WARREN GATLAND exits the Six Nations stage a winner regardless of the outcome of Wales’s game against Ireland but if he was to pull off a third Grand Slam it would be the stand-out achievement of his 11-year involvement in the championship.
STEVEN GERRARD has admitted he must find new leaders and more quality in his ongoing drive to cleanse a ‘toxic” Rangers – or he’ll face the axe.
Dean Smith has backed Kortney Hause to keep getting better and better with the defender now firmly in the groove at Villa.
Self-confessed optimist James Shan is still targeting a top two finish – but has charged Albion to win all of their last nine games.
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The Reds splashed the cash on Alisson and Fabinho last summer - so will there be a repeat?
United are right in the mix for the top four but are into the latter stages of the Champions League and FA Cup