The Scotmsan Football Show
Mark Atkinson, Matthew Elder and Alan Pattullo look ahead to the weekend's Scottish Premiership football.
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00:00Hello and welcome to another episode of the Scotsman football show. Looking ahead to match
00:12day two in the new William Hill Scots Premiership football season. My name is Matthew Elder.
00:17I'm joined today by our sports editor, Mark Atkinson, and our chief football writer, Alan
00:21Patillo, to look ahead to the matches that are taking place this weekend. Mark, how are
00:25you doing today?
00:26I'm good, Matthew. Yourself?
00:28Good, thanks. And Alan, how are you?
00:29Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you, Matthew. Looking forward to the weekend of football.
00:33Yeah, always seems the way. Only one place to start really, Rangers' mother well at Hampden
00:40Park tomorrow. Ibrox, five miles away, will be sitting empty as Rangers start their home
00:45campaign at the National Stadium. What an unusual set of circumstances and probably
00:51something Philip Clermont could do without as he's looking for his first win of the season
00:55after a winless pre-season in opening the campaign with two draws, one against Herts
00:59at Tyne Castle last week and the midweek one in Poland against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions
01:04League, which was probably a far better draw. But Alan, you were at Hampden Park yesterday
01:09for the sort of pre-match media duties ahead of that game at Hampden tomorrow. How's the
01:15National Stadium shaping up for hosting Rangers?
01:18Yeah, it was surreal. It was a pre-match press conference for Dundee v Herts held in the
01:26shadow of Hampden Park at Leicester Hampden. Premier Sports put it on for their showing
01:32the game tomorrow. But yeah, it did allow me a chance to have a quick peek at Hampden
01:37and see how it was looking ahead of this very strange arrangement, isn't it? Rangers and
01:45Motherwell playing a league match at Hampden in August. The branding had started to go
01:52up outside Hampden, outside the front porch at Hampden. A big picture of David Cooper
01:58appropriately that was already there, I think, on one of the Hampden turrets. But yeah, a
02:06big sign saying, Rangers FC, welcome to Hampden. It really did divert the gaze as you were
02:17parking the car in the car park. It did look quite odd. But obviously, Rangers trying everything,
02:23understandably, trying to embrace this unwelcome scenario where they're opening their league
02:33campaign, their home league campaign, essentially a neutral territory. But obviously, they're
02:39doing everything they can just to try and make it as homely as possible. On the back
02:44of the Motherwell game tomorrow, they'll have a big European tie on Tuesday night. Again,
02:50as you say, Matthew, Philippe Clément, if he had hair, would be tearing it out. Because
02:55what an absolute perfect game, isn't it? Set up in terms of 1-1 in the way leg,
03:00bringing back to Hampden, bringing back to Ibrox would have been their preference to try and finish
03:05the job off. Obviously, they don't have that opportunity. They have to come to Hampden.
03:12Who's to say what Hampden is going to be like? I did notice in my email box today,
03:17Rangers FC still sending out emails saying there's still tickets available,
03:21limited tickets available for the game. So, will it be a full house? You'd like to think so. But
03:26had it been at Ibrox, it would definitely be a full house. Fascinating few days ahead. Obviously,
03:33Rangers have to get back into the winning track after last weekend's no-no draw against Hearts.
03:40They didn't look great. I don't think they can get away with another draw tomorrow.
03:45Defeat, obviously, I think it's a must-win game already at this stage of the season.
03:48Mark, obviously, Rangers are in the midst of this rebuild, which I don't think is fully
03:56completed yet. Just how big a problem is not going to be playing at Ibrox for the opening
04:01two months of the season, possibly longer, going to be for Philip Lamont?
04:05I think it could be a problem. I think, as Alan said there, it's difficult to get your
04:10head around the fact that Rangers are playing their home match at Hampden. Ibrox is ubiquitous
04:14with Rangers. It's been their trump card for so many seasons, particularly in Europe. I just can't
04:21imagine Hampden having the same atmosphere that Ibrox generates. The stadiums, it's a different
04:28build. It doesn't have the same tightness. I don't think it has the same intimidation factor
04:35that Ibrox has. I'm not even sure if Rangers fans are particularly excited about going to Hampden
04:40either. It's not been a happy venue for them for a number of matches, although they did win the
04:45League Cup last season, of course. But they're missing Ibrox. They're missing their spiritual
04:52home. The players will not get the same energy from the stands. It's very difficult to say that.
04:59They should have enough to beat Motherwell tomorrow. They should, but Motherwell will be
05:04difficult opponents. And if they don't win that game, then it makes it difficult for them to
05:12create Hampden with positive vibes. This game is really vital for them to kick off the Hampden
05:17era. If you win, then you go, right, we've got the three points, we've got positive memories,
05:22let's kick on and make sure that we win as many games here as we are here for.
05:27I don't think Motherwell will fear Hampden in the same way they would fear Ibrox. Although it is
05:33Motherwell's last visit to Ibrox, they won 2-1. So perhaps they will prefer to be back there too.
05:38It's just a very strange scenario. I just don't think it sits comfortably with Rangers.
05:42I think Alan's absolutely right about Clement. He must be infuriated by this. They need all the help
05:47they can get Rangers right now and they haven't got their hopes taken. It will be fascinating to
05:52see how they adapt to life there. I think an important unknown factor at this stage is what
05:58the pitch is looking like as well. Obviously, they've had to bring in and very hurriedly relay
06:05this pitch. It was being re-seeded, I think, anyway for the head of the Scotland Nations
06:11League campaign. It's kicking off next month. I think Rangers have had to come in and do some,
06:15I don't know what they've done, bring in some new turf from elsewhere. How is that looking?
06:22I did notice yesterday at Hampden, very heavy rain last night as I was leaving the car park.
06:28I did wonder how is this pitch bedding in? It's a huge unknown and fascinating to see again
06:34what happens against Motherwell, how the pitch looks. All these unknowns that will be
06:42revealed in the next few days.
06:45It's vital for Rangers that they win because Celtic play on the Sunday. We'll come to that
06:48in a second. They cannot afford to give Celtic any more of a head start. The point at Tyne Castle
06:55might look like a good point because hearts are strong, but you can't afford not to take
07:00care of business against Motherwell at home when Celtic already look pretty strong.
07:07Rangers won't be wanting to drop any more points ahead of that September 1st over from Derby
07:12at Celtic Park, the first one of the season. It promises to be a fascinating game at Hampden,
07:18how Rangers settle in there. We've got another three o'clock kick-off tomorrow,
07:22Ross County, Dundee United. I know Alan, you were at Tannerdice last week for the Dundee Derby.
07:28Dundee United put in an impressive performance in the first half, but Dundee more than deserved
07:33I think their draw in the second half. How are Dundee United looking after their rebuild as well,
07:38a few foreign imports and first season back up from the Championship?
07:43They were a great unknown quantity and I thought they showed up really well.
07:48The first game since coming back up, obviously a lot of new additions to the squad and a couple
07:54more have been made even in the time since the Derby. More than that, it looked like an
08:02entertaining watch actually, but United fans have probably not had what they feel their
08:10value for money in the last few years at Tannerdice, certainly.
08:13But the players that Jim Goodwin has brought in today, they look like they can do a good job and
08:20the two North Macedonians obviously thought were superb in the first half and faded slightly in
08:24the second half. Some young talent coming through too, so I think they showed up well and obviously
08:33a great crowd, 12,000 to 12,500 at Tannerdice. It was a rocking atmosphere. I'm sure
08:43there'll be a big United contingent travelling up the A9 tomorrow to Dingwall and try and keep
08:51things going in such an upbeat way, but certainly a very impressive start last weekend, I thought.
08:59Talking of the Dundee clubs, that brings us to our first Premier Sports match of the Premiership
09:04season. Obviously, the TV deal split between Sky and Premier this season. I think Premier have got
09:0920 games to show and the first one that they have picked is Dundee Hearts at the end. Hearts
09:15obviously quite impressive last weekend getting that draw against Rangers, probably on the balance
09:20of play, the side that looked more likely to win it on the day. Mark, are we looking to follow that
09:24up with a win at Dundee? They will be. I thought Hearts were good on Saturday against Rangers.
09:31They had been a little bit worrying in pre-season, but that's a good indication of why pre-season
09:35shouldn't take them a pinch of salt because they were excellent. What I liked about Hearts was
09:39they had more creativity in the team than they had last year. Last season, it was all about
09:44Lauren Shankland and you felt that if he wasn't firing, Hearts wouldn't score any goals. But
09:48Barry McKay is now fully fit after a season plagued by injuries. Jan Danda looked very good.
09:54They got Blair Spittle off the bench, Alan Forrest off the bench. So that team's now got a little bit
09:59more stardust. I think with the pace of Kenneth Vargas as well, they're going to be a dangerous
10:06team for a lot of opponents this season. Saying that though, this game is intriguing. I think
10:12Dundee will make it very difficult for Hearts. Dundee had a great season last year. I was so
10:17impressed with Tony Daugherty's maiden campaign as a manager. He's assembled a really vibrant team.
10:25It's got a good blend of young players, experience, creativity and just robustness. They beat Hearts
10:32at Dens Park last season. I think it must have been almost a year to the day. It was certainly
10:37earlier in the season when they won against Hearts. With it being a 5.30 kick-off with a new pitch at
10:43Dens Park, I think this game has got real, real excitement about it. I wouldn't like to call it,
10:49I don't think it's a give-away for Hearts by any stretch of the imagination. I think Dundee will
10:52test them. The fact that we've got these 5.30 kick-offs as well, I remember the good old days
10:59of, I think it was 6.05 they used to have on a Sunday, the Sky kick-offs back in the early
11:05noughties. I used to really enjoy those matches. Something about an early evening kick-off at the
11:09weekend which is quite alluring. I think it'll be a decent crowd there tomorrow and I expect it to
11:14be a really entertaining match. That concludes the Saturday matches and it takes us into
11:22the Sunday kick-off, 12.30, Hibs Celtic. Still on the subject of Dundee,
11:28Alan, obviously Hibs have already made a bid for Luke McEwan. They're expected to go back in with
11:33another one. Just how big a blow to Dundee would that be to lose McEwan and how big a boost would
11:39it be to Hibs to get him? Significant in both those questions. Huge loss for Dundee. Not only
11:49has he been the creative outlet of late, he's also a skipper. He's got the armband and he's
11:56been a bit of a good skipper in the wake of Joe Shaughnessy's serious injury. Tony Doherty gave
12:01the armband to Luke and perhaps surprising in some measures. I was surprised that Jordan McGee
12:08might get the armband. But I know Luke McEwan, aged 26, in his prime, captain of Dundee. To
12:16lose him at this stage, in this chance of window, would be a terrible blow for Dundee.
12:24Possibly the advice for Dundee fans now is to enjoy him while they can. Three games now to
12:29a chance of window. It does look like he's going to go elsewhere. It does look like Hibs are the
12:35ones that are pushing to try and get to him. I can see why they want him. Hibs like to see
12:43themselves as a team that play good football and entertaining football. Luke McEwan is a
12:48wonderful player to watch, wonderful left foot on him. He orchestrated things last week in the second
12:55half of Dundee against Dundee United. He had a fairly quiet first half but the second half really
12:59came on to the game and just controlled things. I look at forums of clubs that Dundee are playing
13:06and the fans always seem to say, stop McEwan and you can stop Dundee. I think that's probably
13:14quite accurate. A lot of the play does go through McEwan and I think he would fit into the Hibs
13:22style of play. Hibs have done some decent business in the last few days. It's looking
13:29quite exciting there. I know they had a terrible start last weekend. If they can add McEwan to what
13:36they have, it could be better days ahead at Easter Road. Tony Doherty was keeping his
13:42cards close to his chest yesterday at the press conference when he was asked about McEwan's
13:47future. Obviously he's still a Dundee player for the time being so we'll see what happens and
13:53whether Dundee are going to play hardball in terms of what they want for McEwan. I would suggest
14:01probably upwards of half a million, three quarters of a million. Maybe Mark might have an opinion on
14:07that himself. Mark, you were at Paisley last week to watch Hibs capitulate in that second
14:17half. A rather concerning start to the new season for them after the way last season went.
14:23Everybody was looking for Hibs to improve and kick on. They've obviously responded to that
14:27with what Alan touched on there. Quite an impressive week in the transfer market I would
14:31say. Three quick-fire sign-ins. Junior Hoylett, who impressed at Aberdeen in the second half of
14:35last season. Nicky Cadden, who's got a reputation as a solid player. Kieran Bowie, who I haven't
14:40watched him break through at Raith. I think he's got a really high ceiling, a lot of potential
14:45there and possibly a future full Scotland international having played for the under-21s.
14:50But that was the kind of response Hibs needed this week, Mark, didn't they? After last week
14:53they really needed to pick the fans back up again. Obviously a tall order against Celtic but
15:00they've made some shrewd business this week on the face of it.
15:03Yeah, on the face of it, it looks good sign-ins. All those players are British or Scottish football
15:10orientated and I think that's very interesting that Hibs are targeting players that are
15:14from these shores. And they've definitely addressed the left-hand side of the forward
15:20line because all three of those players can play there that you mentioned. Bowie can play across
15:24the forward line and speaking to David Gray yesterday, he was delighted to get Kieran Bowie
15:29and he's so pleased. He's got real high hopes for him. They've spent a lot of money on Bowie,
15:34four-year deal, fee in the region of ÂŁ600,000. And the one position that I think is still very
15:41glaring at Hibs, and they haven't had it for a while now, is that creative midfielder. Dare I
15:46say it, a Scott Allen type player. A player that can pick a pass, that can play in between the
15:50midfield and the attack. Of those players, there's not that many of them in Scottish football.
15:56Secondly, those that are there are expensive, but Luke McCowan ticks all the boxes for me.
16:01And I really enjoy watching Luke McCowan. I think he's got the maturity now to step up.
16:07And with a great respect to Dundee, Hibs, the expectation levels are slightly higher.
16:11So it would require a mental step up to play for Hibs, but I think McCowan is capable of doing
16:16that. And the key thing for Hibs is that Dundee will know that Hibs are flush with cash. It's
16:23well documented that Hibs have got money in the bank from the Bill Foley investment.
16:27And I think when you shop in the Scottish market, clubs will be aware of that and they'll be saying,
16:32look, you know what, you're going to have to pay good money. And Dundee are absolutely right to
16:35hold out for good money for Luke McCowan because they can't replace McCowan at all. It's impossible
16:40to replace McCowan, even probably with three quarters of a billion pounds. So that money will
16:45need to be invested wisely back into the squad, maybe for two, three players. And I think Dundee
16:50will be absolutely right to dig their heels in. The question I suppose is, does McCowan want to
16:54go? I was quite impressed with the way that he spoke about the transfer speculation. Again,
16:59it showed that maturity. You'd imagine that the money on offer at Hibs would be greater than Dundee.
17:05So I think this one's going to run and run. It could run right to the end of the window.
17:08There's no doubt Hibs want him. David Gray is a big fan. And okay, playing Celtic this Sunday
17:16and playing Celtic the following Sunday in the Cup, I'm not sure McCowan's presence could make
17:21a whole lot of difference in that short space of time. But going forward, Hibs need a player like
17:26that, need a talismanic creative figure in that team. And he's the one they want. And I think,
17:32yeah, we've got a potential transfer saga on our hands as we get closer to the deadline.
17:39Hibs, all these new signings, they'll make a difference. But will it be enough against Celtic
17:43on Sunday? You were there on Sunday, Matthew, against Kilmarnock from what you wrote and said
17:47they look pretty good. They're in a good place. Brendan Rodgers seems to be in a very contented
17:53figure right now, and they still have Matt O'Reilly. So Hibs will do well to get something
17:56off Celtic. But they have done damage to Celtic in the past at Easter Road. And I expect a reaction
18:02from Hibs. They were very poor against St Mirren. So yeah, a fascinating match again. And Hibs are
18:09going to be a fascinating club to watch, I think, between now and the window, because
18:12McCowan and others will be targeted.
18:17Yeah, I was very impressed with Celtic last weekend. Covered games at Celtic Park at the
18:21start of last season when Brendan Rodgers had obviously just first come back in the door
18:26and been there last Sunday. It was just night and day. A very, very polished Celtic team.
18:33And a bizarre scenario where they're actually in a situation squad-wise where they're weaker
18:38than the end of last season. But yeah, obviously Brendan Rodgers having a full pre-season again
18:43to work with these players. Going to the US, really showing up against Man City and Chelsea.
18:49Obviously a lot of space in those type of matches to counter-attack into. But Kilmarnock offered
18:54no space and Celtic still had the answers. Very quick, sharp, one-touch passing football in and
19:01around the box. Exactly the throwback to Brendan Rodgers' first spell at Celtic.
19:06So, ominous times for Rangers and the rest of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic are starting
19:11like that and have not properly strengthened yet. So, yeah, I think the Hibs have probably got a
19:16top order. I think the Hibs season will maybe properly start after these Celtic games are out
19:20the way, to be honest. But, Alan, how have you been impressed with Celtic over the course of
19:27pre-season and going into the start of this one? Yeah, well, I've not yet to make my
19:34Celtic debut, which I'm looking forward to. On Sunday, seeing them for the first time
19:41live. But, yeah, they've certainly looked very good from results in America.
19:47And, yeah, from what you say there and what I saw in the highlights against Kilmarnock,
19:51they looked very fluid. And, you know, exactly, if Rangers, if it's not one thing, it's another.
19:57Not only do they have to deal with this Hamden scenario, but they've also got a Celtic team
20:03that are just sort of powering along quite nicely. And with the players still to come in,
20:07you'd imagine before the end of the transfer window, obviously, that either transfer looks
20:13like it might be concluded in the next few days. So, I'm not saying that he was obviously there
20:19at the end of last season. So, yeah, they look good. They look good. And I guess the one ÂŁ25
20:27million question is what's going to happen with Matt O'Reilly, whether he's going to still be
20:31there at the end of the transfer window? Perhaps I'd suggest not. But, you know, I'm sure
20:38Brent Rodgers has some replacements in mind. Dare I say it, Luke McCarron might be one of them.
20:45Yeah, he's certainly been linked. So, watch this space on that one.
20:49Two more matches that we've not covered yet. Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Aberdeen St Mirren,
20:54two of our European teams in action last night. It's going to be tough for Kilmarnock and St
20:59Mirren, isn't it, just to juggle the European fixtures with the domestic action that don't
21:06really have the squad depth to cope with it. Although St Mirren did so very impressively
21:11with their win over Hibs last weekend. Do you see that continuing, Mark, when they go up to Petodra?
21:18Yeah, a difficult one for St Mirren on Sunday. The game last night against Brann. Brann are a
21:24good team, second in the Norwegian top flight. Brann actually dominated a lot of the game last
21:30night. Eloy Balcombe, the St Mirren keeper, played very well. Brann got their goal and you kind of
21:35thought that it was going to go back to Norway with a 1-0 defeat and then they get a late goal
21:40through Alessandria, just to give that tyre a little bit of hope. But they will have expended
21:44a lot of energy in that game, probably more so than they did against Valera the week before.
21:48And, of course, they're travelling north to play Aberdeen and I think they're playing an
21:52Aberdeen team that's in better shape than Hibs right now. So you would imagine they would be
21:58underdogs to go and get something at Petodra. I suppose the one thing that might help St Mirren
22:03and conversely might disrupt Aberdeen is the speculation surrounding Bojan Mijovski,
22:09who now looks like he's going to depart sooner rather than later. The report suggests that
22:14Girona, who are in the Champions League this season, the Spanish La Liga team, are eyeing
22:19him up as a replacement for Artem Dobvik. I think it would be a great move for Mijovski,
22:24first and foremost, and if Aberdeen do recoup anything close to the ÂŁ6.5 million that's been
22:29talked about, then that's exceptional business for a striker who has outgrown Aberdeen in the
22:34nicest possible way. It's funny, we talk about Adam Ida going to Celtic for roughly the same
22:39amount of money. If I had ÂŁ6 million to spend, I would be thinking about Bojan Mijovski. I just
22:45think he's a classy player, really intelligent, he's quick, he's improved in the air, he's got a
22:51lovely left foot and he's got a high ceiling. I like that term. He can definitely improve,
22:59but it looks like he's going to go to Girona or indeed somebody of that ilk.
23:04However he replaces him, Esther Sockler, the jury's out on him, flashes for the Slovenian,
23:10but maybe he'll grow into that role now that Mijovski's set to depart.
23:15But if Aberdeen are without Mijovski, they are a diminished force and St Mirren caused Aberdeen a
23:21lot of problems last season. They're a difficult team to play against and this will be a real test
23:26of Jimmy Tolleen. I think St Mirren are definitely an upgrade on St Johnstone and Tolleen will want
23:31to get his campaign up and running with a win. I don't think Aberdeen will lose that match,
23:38it's whether St Mirren could recover, as you say, from that game against Bran.
23:41But another really fascinating match between two good teams.
23:45In Gwanak, we're the third Scottish team to score a last-minute equaliser in Europe this week.
23:51It's remarkable that all the Scottish teams did the same thing and came out unscathed in terms of
23:56defeat with injury-time equalisers. But again, they'll be feeling the effects of that, Alan,
24:04when they host St Johnstone on Saturday. That's St Johnstone's side who really need to get their
24:08season kick-started because already I think people are fearing for them.
24:12Both teams need to get their season kick-started, league season kick-started.
24:17Gwanak too. But yeah, I think it will be an upbeat following that last-minute equaliser.
24:25You don't want to be going away to Norway with a defeat. I think the last-minute
24:32equaliser almost made that seem like a win.
24:36I think there'll be another good crowd at Kilmarnock at Rugby Park for this game.
24:43I can see Kilmarnock getting their season underway with a win and leaving St Johnstone
24:48with two defeats at the start of the season. In a season when a lot of pundits have predicted
24:55them to be finishing bottom, it's not a great way to start, is it?
24:59Yeah, I think there'll be some alarm bells ringing if they do go to Rugby Park and lose again.
25:04But Mark and Alan, thanks very much for joining me today to look ahead to
25:08the weekend's action and thanks to everyone who's tuned in to watch.
25:13You can read about all the preview to the action on scotsman.com forward slash sport
25:19and likewise all the reports and reaction from the weekend games on the website too.
25:24And don't forget to buy a paper if you get a chance.
25:26Thanks for watching and see you on the next football show.