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But even that was nothing compared to the roar which greeted a second goal from David Wotherspoon deep in

And few could blame the supporters for the scenes of unconfined joy which greeted the final blast of referee Mike Tumilty's whistle, almost three months of suffering had been put to an end, a run which had seen Hibs slip ominously towards the relegation zone with just two points from a possible 30, crash out of the Scottish Cup and go more than seven-and-a-half games without a solitary goal.

This victory won't win Hibs any prizes, the chances of those this season have disappeared, but it did, at least, bring some light at the end of what has been a long, dark and seemingly endless tunnel of despair.

While much work remains to be done, as Calderwood immediately acknowledged, the manager, players and fans alike can, for the time being, enjoy their moment of triumph, one which saw them leapfrog last night's opponents St Mirren and once more open up a five-point gap on basement outfit Hamilton ,although the Accies do still have two matches in hand.

Whether this results signals the start of better days to come or again prove to be no more than a false dawn, time alone will tell but there was certainly a steely determination among the players from first whistle to last, almost as if the predicament they were in and the consequences which might befall them had finally hit home.

Labels: break, curse, finally, Mirren, Scotsman

But even that was nothing compared to the roar which greeted a second goal from David Wotherspoon deep in

And few could blame the supporters for the scenes of unconfined joy which greeted the final blast of referee Mike Tumilty's whistle, almost three months of suffering had been put to an end, a run which had seen Hibs slip ominously towards the relegation zone with just two points from a possible 30, crash out of the Scottish Cup and go more than seven-and-a-half games without a solitary goal.

This victory won't win Hibs any prizes, the chances of those this season have disappeared, but it did, at least, bring some light at the end of what has been a long, dark and seemingly endless tunnel of despair.

While much work remains to be done, as Calderwood immediately acknowledged, the manager, players and fans alike can, for the time being, enjoy their moment of triumph, one which saw them leapfrog last night's opponents St Mirren and once more open up a five-point gap on basement outfit Hamilton ,although the Accies do still have two matches in hand.

Whether this results signals the start of better days to come or again prove to be no more than a false dawn, time alone will tell but there was certainly a steely determination among the players from first whistle to last, almost as if the predicament they were in and the consequences which might befall them had finally hit home.

Labels: break, curse, finally, Mirren, Scotsman

The timing is, of course, suspect, coming as it does just two days after a one-sided derby defeat to Celtic and fewer than 24 hours before the team left for a decisive clash with Sporting Lisbon. But then it was Rangers' announcement to make. It would be foolish if the club had chosen to deliver the message at a time when it would not be able to have the maximum positive impact. If confirmation of McCoist's promotion re-energises both the players and fans, then so much the better. As McCoist re-emphasised yesterday, the team is still involved in four competitions. Unlikely though it is, he might step into the shoes of a manager who has just completed the quadruple. Then the pressure truly will be on the genial 48-year-old with the winning smile and attractive personality.

McCoist has always enjoyed a reputation for being lucky. He was the original Goldenballs. But he hasn't just walked blithely into this new job. The truth is he has worked just as hard as those managers who are praised for having earned an apprenticeship in the lower leagues. He has been at Smith's side since January 2005, when he was recruited to assist Smith with Scotland. It wasn't a plum job and let's face it, McCoist could have had an easier, probably more lucrative time of it carrying out the many television roles which he had to drop when he moved to become Smith's full-time assistant at Ibrox, four years ago.

He had decided to play a long game, having taken his coaching badges towards the end of his career. He was happy to exist in Smith's shadow, emerging only to front irregular press briefing sessions. These would normally be before and after Scottish Cup matches. The most recent one which he handled before yesterday's announcement, made in the Ibrox Blue Room, was following the 2-2 Scottish Cup draw with Celtic earlier this month. He again impressed with his honest assessment of what had unfolded that afternoon.

To his eyes, he said, it was possible to agree with the referee's assertion that Steven Naismith had dived in the incident which brought about the striker's second booking of the afternoon. Like Smith at Parkhead on Sunday, he could also probably see the worrying signs of a decline and he was again confronted with an uncomfortable truth just a few days ago.

It isn't, then, the inheritance he might have wished for. But who gets to choose when to become manager of a club such as Rangers? McCoist has already known the hard times at Ibrox. He not only survived, but prospered. He was jeered by his own fans during a home Scottish Cup defeat to Dundee in 1985. A glaring miss against Internazionale in San Siro in a Uefa Cup tie also made fans fear that the young striker bought from Sunderland was not going to make the grade, although his goal-scoring form was hard to deny. He was top goalscorer in each season between 1983-84 and 1988-89, but Graeme Souness's appointment as manager led to another spell when someone less hardy than McCoist might easily have fallen prey to self-doubt. Souness often left him on the substitutes' bench and became just the latest manager to despair at his time-keeping. But he truly does define irrepressible, the word so often used to describe McCoist.

Labels: Blueeyed, McCoist, ready, Scotsman

But, while wishing no player any harm, former Scotland captain Gary Armstrong beli

"Did the team that gave such an inept performance against Wales last time really want to play for the jersey? Or were they more interested in picking up a pay-packet because there were times when it looked that way," said Armstrong, who retired from internationals following the 1999 World Cup.

Adds the former colleague of coach Robinson on the 1989 Lions tour of Australia: "This Six Nations title has gone now for Scotland so why not look ahead to the World Cup later this year and start the planning?

"I've been impressed by what Robinson has done for Scotland so far but he has to make a stance and not just try to punch holes in the glass box he sits in at the back of the stand. He looked rattled by the way the team fell apart against Wales and I hope the team have been shaken by the outcry over the past week and a half because the performance was terrible."

That was a reference to how television cameras caught Robinson venting his displeasure during the 6-24 defeat as he pounded on the glass panes of a box he shares with fellow coaches and team analysts.

In particular, Armstrong has called for a new set of half-backs, saying: "Greig Laidlaw did nothing wrong when introduced as a substitute for the second half against New Zealand but hasn't had an opportunity since to show what he can do. At Edinburgh he has been making Mike Blair work for a scrum-half place and even starting ahead of him.

"I think the time has come for Greig to take over with Scotland," he said of a position he occupied with distinction.

If Laidlaw does come in, it will mean leapfrogging both Blair and Rory Lawson, who has started on both occasions so far. Added Armstrong: "As for stand off I couldn't understand picking Dan Parks against Wales when he plays his club rugby there with Cardiff and all the Welsh boys knew exactly what he could and couldn't do.

"Now is the time to start Ruaridh Jackson and find out if he can handle the occasion.

Labels: Armstrong, changes, demands, Nations, Scotland, Scotsman

However, Robinson has had to add Hugo Southwell, who suffered a bad cheek injury against Wales, Joe Ansbro and Rory Lamont - both injured paying for their clubs at the weekend - to a casualty list that still includes Glasgow pair Chris Cusiter and Graeme Morrison, fly-half Phil Godman and prop Alasdair Dickinson. The coach also has to make a call on whether Glasgow No 8 Johnnie Beattie is fit enough to return to the Test arena after playing just five games since a seven-month period out injured.

Those in the doubtful category are No 8 Richie Vernon (calf injury), Nathan Hines (knee), Dougie Hall (shoulder/neck), Rob Harley (side), Ross Rennie (big toe) and Jon Welsh (ribs). Only some of those players are expected to be fit to resume training today. The team is due to be announced tomorrow, so selection would ordinarily be settled by tonight, but there are many permutations still up in the air. Chris Paterson and uncapped Bath youngster Jack Cuthbert are vying to replace Southwell, with Paterson the obvious candidate when the pressure is great on the home side.

The most experienced outside centre in the squad to fill Ansbro's jersey is Max Evans, but the coaches are trying to develop his finishing skills on the wing. Sean Lamont is a contender for 13 as he performed well off the bench against Wales and has played there for the Scarlets and Scotland, but that was fleeting and over a year ago and the opponent this weekend is the streetwise Brian O'Driscoll, with either Gordon D'Arcy or Fergus McFadden inside.

The straightforward solution would be to restore Paterson to full-back, Lamont to the wing and Evans to centre, but whether that is what the coaches feel provides the greatest opportunity to beat Ireland, or is simply the best use of resources this week, would be a point for debate.

There was already much intrigue over the Scotland back division before yesterday, specifically around whether Rory Lawson and Dan Parks were the half-backs to take Scotland forward. Neither player performed well against Wales, but they suffered hugely with the quality of ball being received from the forwards.

Mike Blair awaits the call at scrum-half and Robinson will be mulling over whether to stick with Parks, in the hope that the pack lifts its game and he regains his best form, or whether to hand Ruaridh Jackson his next lesson, and shift the tactical approach.

There is arguably less debate about the make-up of the forward pack as Richie Gray and Beattie could return as straight swaps for Hines and Vernon without weakening the team, but if the others fail to recover the reserve strength will be tested.

It was no surprise that with all this on his plate Robinson was not available to talk about the latest developments yesterday, but, in an SRU statement he said: "We have made the decision now that all three of our injured backs will miss this weekend's international, so that brings clarity to our preparations. We wish all of them a speedy recovery. Our medical staff will continue to treat and monitor our injured forwards.

"Everybody was hurting after the display against Wales but we must now focus on the challenge that Ireland bring and there's absolute determination to bounce back against them at Murrayfield on Sunday."

James Robson, the Scotland team doctor, confirmed the injury problems and said that it was hoped that Southwell and Lamont would report back to the Scotland camp in two weeks' time fit and available for the penultimate match with England. Ansbro could even play for Northampton this weekend, he said, explaining that he could not return to full training until Thursday at the earliest, which was too late for Scotland, but, if everything went well, might open the door to involvement with his club in Saturday's league fixture.

As for the chances of the six doubtful forwards, he said: "It's been a busy weekend and busy morning so far. It is possible (that all 'doubts' will miss Sunday's game], but I would hope that the bulk of those guys will be fit. The beauty of this week, with a Sunday game, is that we have an extra day which is always a luxury in the sports medicine world."

If the physical health is not 100 per cent, the mental health of a squad shattered by their worst Six Nations performance in recent times must also be needing attention before the Irish turn up bidding for revenge from 2010 and their fifth championship win on the trot at Murrayfield.

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Labels: backs, Irish, Robinson, ruled, Scotsman, Selection, trouble

Sunday's 3-0 defeat of Rangers at Celtic Park left Lennon's team eight points clear of the defending champions, who have two games in hand, and has seen their odds on lifting the trophy shorten to as little as 1-3 with some bookmakers.

Kayal, one of a raft of new signings Lennon has gradually moulded into an effective unit over the course of the campaign, has no doubt the manager has already proved himself worthy of an extended tenure.

The 22-year-old Israeli international has emerged as a key performer in a squad he says are committed to bringing sustained success to Celtic over the next few seasons.

"The manager has made this team and it's fantastic," said Kayal.

"Sometimes people forget this is a new team, we have brought in 13 or 14 new players this season. But the team has gelled together very quickly and I think it is because of the manager.

"We are a very young team and if you look at us, then we could be playing together at Celtic for the next three or four years. The manager has built it, so hopefully it's the same for him.

"We have good young players and a good manager. He makes us all feel special, and we all try 100 per cent for him. Together we could have good success. I am learning from him every day in training and all the players feel the same. We have a lot of talent but the manager pushes us
every day and that's why we are a strong team."

Celtic stretched their current unbeaten run to 17 matches on Sunday, 12 of them victories, and remain in pursuit of all three domestic trophies.

They face Rangers in the Scottish Cup fifth-round replay at Celtic Park next Wednesday and will take on their great rivals again in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final at Hamdpen on 20 March.

The form of several of Lennon's recruits during the undefeated sequence, including Kayal, Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre and striker Gary Hooper, has attracted growing attention from English Premier League clubs. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, who attended Sunday's Old Firm game, is the latest to be credited with an interest in Izaguirre. Kayal, however, believes there is a collective desire among the Celtic squad to remain part of a potentially exciting era for the club.

"I am here and happy at Celtic," added Kayal. "I have a long contract and I want to stay here. Really, I feel at home.

"I feel I could play here for the next five or six years with the manager and these players. Great credit must go to the manager for putting us all together and making us feel we have been playing together for years.

"Every day, every game, everyone here wants to play better and we try every game to continue our good form. I think I will learn more here than anywhere else.

"I am learning English and football, so it's fantastic for me to stay here.

"This club has so many talented players. But, not only that, every player really believes we are going to win every game. It is too early to say whether we can win every game until the end of the season, but we will try to do that.

"Rangers are a good team as well, but our manager has given us confidence.

"We are together and push each other to win.

"I don't think we are favourites to win the league yet.

" I was very happy we beat Rangers on Sunday, but we have to give respect to the other teams as well and make sure we focus just as much on every game we play."

Kayal limped out of the Old Firm showdown after 61 minutes with a hamstring strain but is confident it will not force him to miss any matches.

He is suspended for Celtic's next SPL fixture, against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, in any case.

Labels: Beram, Celtic, future, happy, Kayal, Lennon, Scotsman

Lennon, of course, has won nothing yet as Celtic manager and has all along accepted that his prospects of having his initial 12-month contract extended would be dependent on bringing the Scottish Premier League title back to the club for the first time in three years. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the sense that Lennon has already made a compelling case that he is the right man for the job on a longer-term basis. A straw poll of the jubilant home support yesterday would certainly have returned a powerful mandate for the man from Lurgan.

His Celtic team stretched their current unbeaten run to 17 matches with a performance brimful of confidence and conviction. Now eight points clear of Rangers at the top of the table, albeit having played two games more, Lennon's players have put their early season inconsistencies behind them and are responding effectively to both the methods and the motivation of their boss.

There was vindication all over the pitch for Lennon yesterday, from another clean sheet for his defence, through the midfield dominance orchestrated by Beram Kayal and the attacking pace and finishing power of Gary Hooper and Kris Commons. His key signings are coming good at the business end of the season and his team simply looked fresher, livelier and more mobile than Walter Smith's often labouring side.

While Celtic did not have a failure in their ranks, there were few in light blue who mustered pass marks. Ironically, it was the man around whom many anticipated an explosive contest to centre who was perhaps the only exception.

El Hadji Diouf, jeered to the echo by the Celtic supporters from the first moment he appeared, was the only player who looked to possess genuine belief that this could be Rangers' day. The Senegalese international, for all of the contentious baggage he carries with him, clearly has a level of ability which lifts him above the average SPL player.

Labels: agenda, Celtic, contract, Lennon, Scotsman, thunder

• Scott Brown, left, had a running battle with el Hadji diouf at Ibrox

Both players are renowned for having fuses as short as the bristles on their heads. Diouf has made it even more impossible to ignore him having this week dyed blue the narrow strip of hair on his scalp which has escaped the razor blade.

This act will do little to pacify Celtic supporters at Parkhead tomorrow, as their team prepares to host Rangers in a clash which is crucial to both club's title ambitions. These supporters have already installed Diouf as public enemy No 1 after he spat at a home supporter during a Uefa Cup quarter-final clash at Parkhead, while he was at Liverpool.

He was pursued by Brown during the Scottish Cup fifth-round clash between Rangers and Celtic a fortnight ago, before being taunted by the skipper after he had scored the equaliser in the 2-2 draw. Brown stood in front of Diouf with his arms outstretched. Celtic manager Neil Lennon later saluted both the performance and behaviour of his captain - and did so again yesterday.

Smith, however, gave a loaded response to a question which sought to divine the Rangers manager's view of Brown's actions that afternoon at Ibrox. "I'll leave other people to judge whether opposing players' actions were inflammatory or otherwise," he said, before adding that he had no fears about Diouf being caught up in the white heat of his first away match since signing on-loan from Blackburn Rovers on the last day of the transfer window.

Diouf will need to endure a much more hostile atmosphere tomorrow after enjoying a fairly comfortable introduction to Scottish football.

The four matches he has played so far have all been at Ibrox. He has mostly been unmoved by the provocation of opponents and Smith is confident Diouf can again rise above it all tomorrow, when he can expect to be baited by Brown and over 50,000 others. "I didn't speak to him a great deal before the last (Old Firm] game," said Smith. "I had a word with him, not particularly about the match. But he's an experienced enough player to know what's happened and I don't see why we should have a problem there.

"In the games he's played for us the lad hasn't done anything untoward," added Smith. "Sometimes when a player's career has been tainted by a reaction to certain situations that's the picture everybody paints of him. But we can only go by what we've seen. Everybody in an Old Firm game - and not just El Hadji Diouf - has to be aware of how their behaviour (can have an impact]."

Lennon, meanwhile, again gave solid backing to his captain's conduct and said Brown had learned there were certain lines "he cannot cross".

Labels: backs, Brown, Diouf, handle, Scotsman, Smith

Labels: avoid, blues, first, Hines, Nathan, Scots, Scotsman, start

However, even before that player imbalance, for which Hartley should look at himself rather than the actions of the referee Steven McLean or booked opponent Keith Lasley against whom he crazily retaliated, the visitors seemed more constructive and threatening.

Their intent came good when Jamie Murphy raced forward and steered a low shot into the corner after being put in on goal by a misjudged header from Aberdeen defender Zander Diamond.

Until last night, the Fir Park faithful and their club seemed to have been badly missing Brown, as exemplified by the ragged nature of their performance against Rangers at the weekend. Last night, though, marked a pretty remarkable turnaround a mere three days on from that debacle.

Even losing a goal scored by Sone Aluko only two minutes in, McCall's men demonstrated commendable courage to open up and play passes and in so doing seize the initiative. Credit was due to their to manager for that, his selection proving surprisingly adventurous with Murphy in the hole behind a front two of John Sutton and Francis Jeffers, who scored Motherwell's equaliser. The tactics paid off with McCall picking up his second league win since succeeding Brown.

This was a fixture which should have been Brown's first in charge at Pittodrie but the winter weather put paid to that. Nevertheless, while the best part of two months have passed since then, he still found time to mention his debt of gratitude to the Fir Park club in his programme notes, where he said he was "led to believe we achieved the best record of any Motherwell management team during John Boyle's (12-year] reign, and by some distance".

Brown also made that point in pre-match briefings, no doubt to give any travelling fans who intended to taunt him for his treachery something to think about. He needn't have worried.

On a stinking, squally night, precious few travelled up and those who did were too cold, too drookit and, for the opening stages of this game, too down to give him the treatment meted out to the last manager to swap Lanarkshire for Grampian, Mark McGhee.

Labels: Aberdeen, Brown, Craig, haunt, Motherwell, return, Scotsman

"I couldn't believe it," said Mr Long, who was taking his two children to school. "He asked if we were OK and pushed the car to safety. We were stuck on the A10 roundabout for about ten minutes, which was pretty dangerous. He got us out of a sticky situation."

Labels: after, aposin, aweapos, Beckham, David, Driver, Scotsman

Nick De Luca's error set the tone and though skipper Alastair Kellock, Kelly Brown and Sean Lamont all w

And although scoring three tries against Marc Lievremont's side is no mean feat, the scores were of scant consolation for Robinson who knows it could have been so much better.

"If you give them the freedom that we gave them from our turnovers they are a fantastic side; it was shown there today," he said.

"I was delighted with the attitude that was shown and the way we went out to play the game, but we're here to win Test matches and we've got to have a ruthless edge about the way that we play.

"It's really frustrating. They scored all their tries when we had the ball. We have to be a lot better with ball in hand.

"Their counter attack was very fast and very skilful but for France to score four tries from our turnovers is not good enough. Even the penalty try came from a turnover on our lineout. We have a lot of respect for the French scrum - I believe they're the best scrum in the world - and it was a tough day for the guys.

"They got the benefit of the referee's decisions and got the better of the hit but if I was on the other side I would have been screaming for a penalty try.

"If we can show the composure on the ball and still play with the same attitude we will be a good side."

De Luca was the first culprit, being turned over in midfield to allow Aurélien Rougerie to thread a delightful grubber kick through for Maxime Medard to score the opening try after just two minutes.

Labels: French, handing, Nations, Robinson, Scotsman