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Jamie Ness today appealed to Rangers boss Walter Smith to pitch him into the massive Scottish Cup showdown with Old Firm rivals Celtic.

Smith is facing an anxious wait to see if midfield talisman Lee McCulloch will be fit to play for the Gers in the match at Ibrox this Sunday.

McCulloch limped off in the first half of his side’s 1-0 win over Hearts at home last night, with a recurrence of a long-standing knee problem.

But Ness, who made his first- ever top-team start in the Old Firm game last month, reckons Rangers can cope without the Scotland internationalist against their city rivals.

And the hugely talented 19-year-old said: “I always want to play and hopefully the gaffer will think I have done enough to merit a place in the team. I have been surprised at how much I have played, but I have trained with the first-team boys regularly for almost two years now and that has helped.

“I know all of the boys and I know their games really well. That has served me well since I have come into the team.”

He added: “Lee is an important player for us and we will miss him if he doesn’t make it. But we have Maurice Edu and Steven Davis who can play in the middle.

“Steven has been playing wide right, but he can come back into the middle if need be. We have quite a lot of players who can play in that position if Lee isn’t available.”

Ness was encouraged by how Rangers played in their rearranged SPL fixture with third-placed Hearts last night, after McCulloch limped off.

The triumph, secured thanks to a Kyle Lafferty goal after just four minutes, moved the Scottish champions to within five points of Celtic at the top of the league table with two games in hand.

Meanwhile, Ness has praised controversial new signing El-Hadji Diouf – who came on for McCulloch just days after completing his loan move from Blackburn – for his performance on his Rangers debut.

He said: “It was difficult for him. I don’t think he expected to come on so early on. But, when he did, he showed some good touches. I think he will only get better and become a really good player for us.

“I think he could do a job for us in the Old Firm game on Sunday if he is selected.

“He has definitely got the quality so if he gets picked I am sure he will be able to make an impact.”

Labels: Celtic, Evening, Glasgow, Times

One Monday afternoon, I signed my name to a five-year contract at Anfield, committing myself to the club until 2005.

By Thursday, I'd signed for Leeds United. That sounds as ridiculous to me now as it must have sounded to Liverpool's supporters back then but
I can't think of a better example of how quickly a player's outlook and circumstances can change.

A few weeks ago, Torres made a public pledge to see out his contract at Anfield, apparently killing talk of a move stone-dead.

I can, therefore, understand why comments like that stick in the throat when he submits a transfer request before January is out.

At the risk of defending what many people would say is indefensible, I have to admit that I sympathise with him.

At the start of last month, Torres probably thought he was going to be a Liverpool player for the foreseeable future. He was probably fairly happy about that too.

Then Chelsea came calling, offering serious money, the London lifestyle, Champions League football and trophies – all the things that Liverpool cannot promise him at present – and the mind starts to wonder.
It gets you thinking more carefully about your situation.

Should he, as a £50m striker, be playing in the Europa League and messing about halfway down the Premier League? Or should he aspire to better than that?

As an ex-player, there's only one answer. It's asking a lot for one of the finest players in the world to settle for second best. That's not how lads like Torres work.

In different circumstances, I took the same attitude when I completed my transfer to Leeds. As they read the papers, Liverpool's fans must have thought "he's well out of order, signing a new deal and then moving on" and that's how it appeared in print.

What they didn't know was that I'd been told to prepare myself for a season on the bench – something which, to be perfectly honest, was unacceptable.

At the time, I was in the finest form of my career. I also thought I was well worth a place in Liverpool's starting line-up. The word in my ear was that the number three jersey would be mine.

On the morning when I signed my new deal – lucrative by the standards of the day – I told myself that there'd be no looking back.

So what happened? A couple of days later, I'm sitting in a bar with a few of my friends when my phone rings. It's a message to tell me that Liverpool have signed Christian Ziege and I ought not to expect a starting place for the rest of the season.

I was shocked. As soon as I got my head around it, I knew immediately that it was time to go. In three days, I'd gone from being on top of the world to the thick of the transfer market.

It was truly a blessing that Leeds United made so much effort to sign me and did so despite the fact that I was carrying an injury. I went from one outstanding club to another.

It turned out to be a defining stage of my days as a footballer, a period I took great pride in.

Yet in 2004, it all happened again – I offered to take a pay cut and the board at Leeds said no. Suddenly, and against my wishes, I was looking for another employer.

That's the odd thing about my career – I was pushed into the two most significant transfers I made. Of course I was privileged to sign on elsewhere and grateful for the opportunities that came my way but I've never tried to pretend that I left Liverpool because I wanted to.

Leeds were everything I looked for in a club and I wanted to join them when the offer came. But that's not the same thing by any stretch.

Looking back, if I'd been asked on that Monday morning what the future held, I'd have told the press in all honesty that I wanted to retire as a Liverpool player. By the time Thursday arrived and I was completing my medical with Leeds, I'd have sounded like an idiot. In general, the comments you make are completely honest in the moments when you're making them. And even if you're bluffing, it takes a brave (or extremely stupid) footballer to admit that you're angling for a move elsewhere.

Not so long ago, people were writing off Roman Abramovich as a spent force in English football – someone whose passion for Chelsea was on the slide.

An investment of £50m in one of the world's most complete strikers is a massive shot in the arm. It makes Chelsea seriously attractive again and it's the height of flattery to be told that you're worth the British transfer record plus £20m.

In reality, there's no decision to be taken.

Labels: Evening, Leeds, Matteo, Second, Torres, United, Yorkshire

In the absence of Wales international Jonathan Davies, the strong-running Williams has been in impressive form in recent weeks.

He made a couple of a powerful bursts in the battling LV= Cup defeat to the Dragons and also stood out in the 17-13 loss to Connacht in Galway last weekend.

Williams has an impressive pedigree.

He scored a stunning individual try for Wales Under-20s against France at the Arms Park last season and claimed the man-of-the-match award in Llanelli's Swalec Cup final triumph at the Millennium Stadium.

With the likes of Davies, Regan King and Gareth Maule all in fine form this season, chances in the Scarlets midfield have been limited.

However, Davies is hoping Williams can now show the future is bright for Scarlets fans still mourning the announcement that All Black playmaker King is on his way to Clermont Auvergne in the summer.

"Scott has really impressed over the last couple of weeks," said Davies. "He has really put his hand up which is great to see.

"Scott is our next level of development player coming through, if you like, and he is going to start putting pressure on people like Jon and Regan, which is what we want."

Williams slots into a back division showing just two changes from last weekend's reverse in Connacht.

New Wales cap Rhys Priestland replaces Dan Newton who drops to the bench, while Scotland's Sean Lamont is named on the wing with Darren Daniel returning to Premiership duty with Carmarthen Quins.

Josh Turnbull for Johnathan Edwards at openside is the lone change up front, with veteran prop Iestyn Thomas retaining the captain's armband.

As for Ulster, they welcome back Ireland's Paddy Wallace, Tom Court and Andrew Trimble from Six Nations duty.

Fly-half Ian Humphreys has passed a fitness test on the shoulder he injured against the Ospreys last weekend and he partners Springbok Ruan Pienaar at half-back.

Ulster will be looking to end a woeful record that sees them without a Celtic league victory in Llanelli. "It's a game we've got to win because we don't want to get too far down the table at this stage of the season," said Wallace.

Labels: chance, Evening, given, shine, South, Wales, Williams

The last time he travelled to Ibrox with his team, Neil Lennon did so in the knowledge he still had it all to prove as a manager capable of succeeding the big matches.

Having put those worries to bed with a comprehensive 2-0 victory, the Celtic manager returned to the home of Old Firm rivals Rangers this time around aiming to prove he has assembled a team good enough to win silverware this season.

He hasn’t had to look far this season to find his critics since taking over the hot seat in the summer and goes into every Old Firm showdown in the knowledge he is just one defeat or bad performance away from more questioning over his ability to handle the job.

And that is why, even though the spoils were shared in the Scottish Cup fifth round clash after a thrilling 2-2 draw, Lennon deserves to receive the recognition that has rarely adorned him before now.

Inheriting a squad which required major reconstruction in the summer, the Hoops boss has managed to make some astute purchases and unearthed some star turns such as Emilio Izaguirre, Beram Kayal and Gary Hooper.

Slowly but surely, improvements have been made and the team that dominated Rangers at Ibrox yesterday is unrecognisable from the one that suffered some major disappointments earlier in the campaign.

Questions were raised over the character of the side. Having come from behind twice, and coped with a major set-back in seeing their goalkeeper Fraser Forster sent off, it appears as though those were well and truly answered.

Of course, given the manager’s own infectious character, it is no surprise to see his side instilled with similar traits, but Lennon also proved there is so much more to his management style than just that.

He had massive decisions to make before and during the game and he got every single one spot on.

A weaker person might have felt pressured into sticking with Hooper and Anthony Stokes in attack given their highly impressive goalscoring form of late and knowing, if the result didn’t go his way, he’d have been slaughtered for making the change.

But Lennon went with what he believed would be the best system to combat Rangers’ 4-5-1 formation and, even in the heat of battle, managed to remain focused enough on what he was witnessing to make some calculated calls.

Unnoticed most likely by many, the game was only five minutes old when Lennon made his first tactical call of the game with his team already trailing and the width of the crossbar all that prevented the one-goal deficit becoming two.

Having started with Ki Sung-Yueng in an advanced midfield position, he quickly realised that wasn’t going to work and deployed the him in a deeper role with Kris Commons tucking in closer to Hooper.

It immediately paid dividends when the midfielder cancelled out Jamie Ness’s opener. Then, when having to deal with the loss of Forster, and falling behind for a second time when Steven Whittaker scored from the penalty spot, Lennon refused to panic.

He managed to hold out on introducing Georgios Samaras until the final half hour when there must have been a massive temptation to bring him on a lot earlier, and Lennon was rewarded for his patience through Scott Brown’s fantastic curling equaliser shortly afterwards.

Of course, nothing has been achieved as yet by the Northern Irishman. He is still in a situation where it looks as though he will have to win the championship this season to earn an extended deal.

You would imagine, however, the strides taken have not gone unnoticed in the boardroom and you wonder just how big a lift it would give the Celtic players were something to happen on that front earlier than most anticipate.

Lennon, for his part, was only interested in focusing on yesterday’s performance.

There wasn’t a failure in his team with the likes of Mark Wilson, Charlie Mulgrew, Brown, Kayal and Joe Ledley all playing superbly.

“I thought we were brilliant,” said the Celtic boss. “We got off to a bad start, but we reacted excellently by getting back on level terms and when we had settled into the game and enjoying a lot of possession we were careless and got caught out.

“Then, having went behind for a second time and been reduced to ten men, we picked ourselves up and I thought we totally controlled the second half and more than deserved our equaliser.

“So I couldn’t be happier with the way my players performed and I told them that when they came in at full-time.

“At the interval, I reminded them that there was no point in playing well in an Old Firm game and getting beat.

“Thankfully, that didn’t turn out to be the case and, on another day, we might have actually won the game with one or two chances we created towards the end.”

As he returned to work first thing this morning at the club’s Lennoxtown training base with a night to reflect on the events at Ibrox, Lennon knows he now has it all to do again with four Old Firm games still to come.

But for what he has achieved up until now, he deserves more respect than he has gained in some quarters.

By Darrell King

FOSTER Rash Had a ropey moment when Jelavic blocked his kick-out and it almost squirmed over the line. And totally mistimed his attempt to nick the ball away from Naismith at the penalty, earning a red card.

WILSON Willing Enjoying a real renaissance at the minute. Always willing, tried to get forward at every opportunity and great awareness to to set up Brown for goal.

MAJSTOROVIC Okay Couple of slack bits of play but overall nice and steady and dug in well considering just back from injury.

MULGREW Solid Growing into the centre-half position and his speed allows him to mop up danger. Confident performance.

IZAGUIRRE Positive Always wants to get forward and this game was no different. Whipped in some dangerous balls and came out tops in duel with Davis.

COMMONS Unlucky Scored a fine equaliser and was beginning to be a growing influence when manager cleverly moved him into a role off the front. But someone had to be sacrificed at keeper’s red and it was him.

KAYAL Gritty Steamed in and tried to get on the ball as much as possible. Not as effective as his performance in the January 2 win at Ibrox, though.

BROWN Excellent One of the skipper’s best displays in an Old Firm game that has so often found him wanting. Running spat with Diouf, but got the better of him with a sublime, swerving shot to make it 2-2.

KI Composed The fact he was pitched straight back in after more than a month away at the Asian Cup shows his importance to the team. Fine range of passing throughout and just the man you want when you are bossing a game.

LEDLEY Busy Got about the pitch and quietly efficient. That said, might not be guaranteed a starting slot with the competition around him all playing well.

HOOPER Tough shift Busy and willing, but at times looked a little bit lost without his partner Stokes. When Samaras came on he looked more like himself. A very clever striker.

Subs ZALUSKA Steady No chance with the penalty kick but would probably have expected to have been a lot busier when put on.

SAMARAS Denied Only a truly world-class top from Allan McGregor stropped the big Greek from being a match-winner. Also unlucky to be flagged off when clean through, when he was clearly onside.

Labels: biggame, bravery, cunning, Evening, Glasgow, Latest, Lennonaposs, spoils, testament, Times

Daniel Majstorovic is on course to be fit for Celtic’s Scottish Cup showdown with Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.

The Swedish defender has declared himself raring to go for the crunch clash after coming through training unscathed at Lennoxtown this week.

The centre-half’s involvement in the Glasgow derby match had been in doubt due to the hamstring injury he picked up last month.

However, Majstorovic today revealed he is optimistic about starting for Neil Lennon’s side in their third meeting of the season with Walter Smith’s men.

Fellow Scandinavian stopper Thomas Rogne has also predicted he will have shrugged off the calf strain he picked up against Aberdeen last weekend in time to face Rangers. The news is a massive boost to the Parkhead club’s chances of recording their second straight win over their Ibrox rivals.

Lennon was forced to field full-backs Charlie Mulgrew and Mark Wilson in the middle of his back four in the SPL game against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Tuesday.

He said: “I’m getting better and I’m back on track. I’ve had good training and after today and tomorrow we’ll see what is going to happen for Sunday.

“I’m not used to this, it’s my first injury for a long time. But I’m feeling good now.

“We just need to be careful not to take any risks. This will be a very important game for us, it’s one of our targets for the season.

“I played in big derbies in Greece, but in those matches it was home fans only because it is too dangerous, that’s a big difference at Celtic-Rangers games.”

However, Majstorovic has backed Mulgrew and Wilson to do a job for Celtic if he and Rogne fail to recover in time. He added: “Charlie and Mark don’t play regularly in central defence, so I was a bit wary on Tuesday night, but they played really well.”

Meanwhile, Rogne is prepared to let adrenalin take him through the match even if he isn’t 100 per cent fit. The Norwegian said: “It’s getting better by the day,

“If it keeps on going like this, hopefully I am able to play.

“In these games if you’re not 100% fit in your body you’re always going to get your mind into the game so your adrenalin will keep you fine.

“I’m not sure you have to be 100% – because it’s such a massive game you are really up for it.”

Labels: boost, Celtic, Evening, Glasgow, Times